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Tuesday, January 21st
Brilliant Earth is one of the original jewelers that made a commitment to a more "transparent, sustainable, compassionate and inclusive jewelry industry”, so that customers would never have to choose between conscience and quality. This includes their Beyond Conflict Free diamonds (selected for being responsibly mined), their use of 100% recycled precious metals when possible, and even blockchain-enabled diamonds to track a stone's origin and ownership.
Choose among 200 ready-to-order jewelry styles
If you're looking for jewelry with man-made diamonds, you'll find just under 200 pieces to choose from at Brilliant Earth. That ranges from stud earrings priced at $225 to the Infinite Icon Choker priced at $75,000. It's easy to shop by style: just click on the images at the top of the results to show only earrings, rings, necklaces, and so forth, or use the extra filters if you have a particular metal or style in mind.
Incredible selection of loose lab-created diamonds
If you're looking for a loose lab-grown diamond to use as the foundation for an engagement ring, you can jump to the Diamonds tab and select "Search Lab Diamonds”. Brilliant Earth's selection is extraordinary, with over 170,000 stones to choose from. There are many diamonds priced under $300 that could be used as a small center stone, but you'd be more likely to use them as accents with a larger solitaire. Just how large? That's up to you, and Brilliant Earth has many lab-grown diamonds valued at over $100,000 if you're going big. At the time of this evaluation, the jeweler's most expensive man-made diamond was priced at $216,480 for a 4.52 ct round super ideal cut. Ooh la la!
Great photos and videos
Many stones allow you to view multiple photo angles or even video clips. We particularly like being able to see just how large some diamonds look against the photo of a hand for perspective. You can even move a slider to change the skin tone on that hand (now that's inclusive). Keep in mind that Brilliant Earth's design services for lab-created diamonds are limited to engagement rings; if you wanted to create earrings or a necklace, you'd have to use a mined diamond from their inventory.
Free shipping and returns plus occasional jewelry freebies
No matter what you buy from Brilliant Earth, you'll get free shipping and free returns (the company will pay the postage) within 30 days of your order delivery. We also spotted a promo offering free diamond studs valued at $300 with any purchase over $1,000; be sure to look at the top of the site when you visit to see if there are any deals.
High ratings, but areas of concern
We have mixed feelings about Brilliant Earth's reputation. The Better Business Bureau gives the jeweler an "A+” rating and accreditation, citing Brilliant Earth's 100% response rate to all 130+ complaints filed there over the last three years. And, when you look at other customer feedback around the internet, most ratings wind up averaging around 4 out of 5 stars. However, as we read through the resolved BBB complaints and client comments, we found a few areas of concern.
Gets it right... eventually
The most frequently-mentioned issue is that the jewelry (rings in particular) arrives looking different than what was pictured. Some customers described having their Brilliant Earth pieces evaluated by a local jeweler who confirmed that the jewelry didn't match the description/image and often that it was poorly made. Brilliant Earth's response has been "We'll make it again”. While this it's encouraging that they want to make their customers happy, it's unfortunate that there are quality problems in the first place. Sometimes getting a suitable replacement - or even a refund under the jeweler's 30-day policy - can take a long time.
Impressive diamonds, but room for improvement
Make no mistake - we're impressed with Brilliant Earth's commitment to conflict-free diamonds and their selection of stones. We also like to see that they seem to do whatever's needed to make their customers happy. However, their customer reviews indicate that they've been suffering some quality issues with their jewelry. If you're looking for lab-grown loose diamonds, you don't want to miss the impressive selection at Brilliant Earth. However, for pre-made jewelry pieces, there is room for improvement.
Lab-grown diamonds, also known as synthetic or cultured diamonds, are man-made gemstones that are created in a laboratory environment using advanced technological processes that mimic the natural conditions under which diamonds form in the earth's mantle.
Sounds pretty technical, but the amazing thing is that these diamonds are essentially identical in chemical, physical, and optical properties to natural diamonds mined from the earth. They are also graded on the same 4Cs scale used for natural diamonds, which stands for cut, clarity, color, and carat weight. All of the same sparkle factor? Yes, please!
Better yet, lab-grown diamonds are generally less expensive than natural stones of the same size and quality. And, if you've ever been concerned by the idea of "blood diamonds”, lab-grown stones are perfect for you: they don't involve the environmentally damaging (and often unethical) practices associated with natural diamond mining.
However, lab-grown diamonds have a few small drawbacks. One major concern is that they may not hold their value over time as well as natural diamonds, since they aren't as rare or unique. Additionally, some people may prefer the idea of owning a natural diamond as a symbol of their love or commitment - even if lab-created stones are undetectable as such to the average person's eye.
When you realize that some jewelers offering lab-grown diamonds have an inventory of over 100,000 stones to choose from, you might feel a little overwhelmed. Take a deep breath, try to enjoy the process a little, and use these ideas to make your shopping easier:
Shopping for jewelry made with lab-grown diamonds can be an exhilarating experience, and Top Consumer Reviews has evaluated and ranked today's most popular retailers to give you an advantage as you browse. We hope this information helps take the edge off any nervousness you might be feeling, so that you can find - or create - the perfect piece of jewelry for that proposal, anniversary, or "just because” moment.
Select any 2 Lab Grown Diamond Stores to compare them head to head