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If you’re looking for diamonds or diamond jewelry, particularly the more affordable and superior lab-grown diamonds, you’ve likely come across Grown Brilliance and Brilliant Earth. And you may be wondering which is the best place to shop. In this detailed comparison of Grown Brilliance vs. Brilliant Earth, we’ll break down everything you need to know, explain the difference between Brilliant Earth and Grown Brilliance, and help you determine which is better for your needs.
At LabGrownCarats.com, we specialize in reviewing lab diamond jewelers. Our in-depth analysis of Grown Brilliance and Brilliant Earth covers key factors like diamond and jewelry selection, pricing, quality, and the overall shopping experience to determine the pros and cons of each. Based on our assessment, we recommend the best place for you to purchase diamonds and jewelry.
Keep reading to determine whether Grown Brilliance vs. Brilliant Earth is the right choice for your next diamond jewelry purchase.
- Summary of Grown Brilliance vs. Brilliant Earth
- Introduction to Grown Brilliance
- Introduction to Brilliant Earth
- Grown Brilliance vs. Brilliant Earth: Diamond selection
- Grown Brilliance vs. Brilliant Earth: Price Comparison
- Grown Brilliance vs. Brilliant Earth: Shopping Experience
- Grown Brilliance vs. Brilliant Earth: Sustainability
- Grown Brilliance vs. Brilliant Earth: Shipping and Returns
- Grown Brilliance vs. Brilliant Earth: Pros and Cons
- More Diamond Seller Comparisons and Reviews
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Summary of Grown Brilliance vs. Brilliant Earth
Fantastic prices, unique and stunning designs
Vast selection of diamonds and jewelry at great prices
Introduction to Grown Brilliance
Grown Brilliance started as an Amazon-first brand and became a leading online diamond jeweler offering premium features. As it has expanded its online and physical presence, Grown Brilliance competes with leading lab diamond sellers such as James Allen, Ritani, and Brilliant Earth.
The team behind the brand has years of expertise in the diamond and luxury product industry. Founded by a third-generation jeweler, Akshie Jhaver, Grown Brilliance is owned by a group of investors called AJS Creations LLC.
To learn more, dig into our detailed Grown Brilliance review.
Introduction to Brilliant Earth
Founded in 2005, Brilliant Earth’s primary goal is to provide customers with ethical and sustainable diamond options. As one of the largest online diamond retailers, they offer a vast collection of lab-grown and mined diamonds. In addition, their San Francisco studio designs a wide range of stunning jewelry styles.
Moreover, they ensure sustainability by using recycled materials for packaging, offsetting carbon emissions, and utilizing precious recycled metals.
For more information, check out our detailed review of Brilliant Earth
Grown Brilliance vs. Brilliant Earth: Diamond selection
To compare the diamond and jewelry selections of Grown Brilliance and Brilliant Earth, we assess each jeweler’s diamond inventory and breadth of diamond jewelry before summing up and comparing.
Grown Brilliance Diamond Quality and Inventory
Grown Brilliance offers a vast selection of high-quality lab-grown diamonds in various shapes, sizes, and grades. Their inventory boasts approximately 259,000 loose round diamonds.
- Carats range from 1 and all the way up to 20.60 carats.
- The inventory only includes ideal and excellent cut grades
- Diamonds range from D-G color and clarity levels from VS2 to IF.
They prioritize high-grade stones, so if you’re looking for a more budget-friendly option with lower clarity or color, you may be disappointed.
In addition to loose diamonds, Grown Brilliance also has a wide selection of ready-to-ship jewelry designs. The jeweler guarantees a specific quality range in these designs, though the customer does not choose the particular diamond. While we always recommend that shoppers customize by picking their diamonds from the loose diamond inventory, the quality of pre-set jewelry at Grown Brilliance is excellent, with only a few exceptions.
The selection of pre-set jewelry designs is impressive and varied, ranging from traditional to unique and stunning pieces. It includes designer collaborations and a high-end premium collection.
Brilliant Earth Diamond Quality and Inventory
Brilliant Earth offers a wide variety of diamonds, including mined diamonds, lab-grown diamonds, and sustainably rated lab diamonds. It also has a wide selection of fancy diamond shapes and colors, making it suitable for any preference.
As of now, Brilliant Earth has an impressive inventory of high-quality lab-grown diamonds, with close to 400,000 loose lab diamonds available. Out of the 400,000 diamonds, about 100,000 are ‘Quick Ship’.
- Carats are available from .25 to an impressive 56.77.
- Cut grades span from fair to super ideal.
- The clarity ranges from SI2 to FL (flawless).
In contrast to Grown Brilliance, you’ll see a more varied selection of diamonds. Though we don’t recommend the lower range clarity, cut, or color, it is nice to have the option if you’re on a budget. And to be honest, it’s not always worth the money to go for the near-colorless diamonds.
If you’re interested in learning more, then read our guide to Guide to Buying a Lab-Grown Diamond
Brilliant Earth also offers diverse jewelry designs, from timeless to modern and unique styles. You can also create your own diamond jewelry by selecting loose lab-grown diamonds from their vast collection. This option ensures you get higher-quality diamonds than pre-set diamond jewelry, which typically comes with lower-quality diamonds.
Diamond Inventory Summary
In summary, Brilliant Earth offers a broader selection and options for every style and budget, whether you’re seeking top-grade brilliance or more affordable selections. Grown Brilliance, on the other hand, boasts a better selection of unique designs and jewelry collaborations.
Grown Brilliance vs. Brilliant Earth: Price Comparison
In the next part of our Grown Brilliance vs. Brilliant Earth assessment, we will compare the diamond prices of both brands, beginning with Grown Brilliance.
Grown Brilliance diamond prices
Grown Brilliance offers some of the most affordable prices for loose lab-grown diamonds. Their prices are comparable to Ritani, known for its competitive pricing. When you shop at Grown Brilliance, you can be sure you are getting a great deal.
Grown Brilliance’s loose lab-grown diamonds range from $800 to $1,170, making them some of the most affordable diamonds available today. Grown Brilliance offers some of the best prices for lab-grown diamonds compared to other diamond retailers. In addition to loose diamonds, Grown Brilliance also offers pre-set diamond jewelry at very reasonable prices.
For example, their 1/2 carat (tw.) solitaire pendant costs only $695, which is less expensive than similar-sized but better-cut graded diamonds offered by Ritani ($900) or James Allen ($950).
However, we recommend that you create your own jewelry piece by selecting your own diamond to get the best quality. Grown Brilliance is an excellent place to create your own jewelry piece.
Brilliant Earth Diamond Prices
Brilliant Earth is an excellent option if you’re looking for loose, lab-grown diamonds at reasonable prices. Compared with leading diamond sellers like Ritani, Brilliant Earth’s prices are slightly higher but still competitive.
When we compared prices with other diamond jewelers using our reference diamond, we found that Brilliant Earth’s prices ranged from $1,100 to $1,890, one of the lowest prices available. While a few other diamond sellers may have slightly lower prices, Brilliant Earth’s prices are still very reasonable.
In addition to their competitive prices, Brilliant Earth also offers well-priced jewelry settings. You can pair their inexpensive lab diamonds with any piece of jewelry and still end up with a very affordable total price.
The quality of Brilliant Earth’s lab diamonds is also excellent, so you can be confident that you’re getting a great diamond at an excellent price.
However, the prices for pre-set diamond jewelry at Brilliant Earth can be mixed. Some designs are higher than those of the price-price leaders Ritani. However, like Grown Brilliance or James Allen, they are still very reasonable considering the premium quality.
Therefore, we recommend you avoid purchasing pre-set jewelry at Brilliant Earth and instead use their build-your-own jewelry option to get a better diamond for the same price.
Price Summary
After comparing diamond prices at Grown Brilliance and Brilliant Earth, we discovered that Grown Brilliance’s are among the lowest we’ve seen, often on par with, and in some cases lower than, those at Ritani.
Brilliant Earth’s prices are slightly higher than those of Grown Brilliance or Ritani, but they are still very competitive and similar to James Allen’s.
As we will learn later in our comparison, both Grown Brilliance and Brilliant Earth are focused on sustainability. Still, Brilliant Earth offers more sustainable options, which can make up for the slightly higher prices. That said, Grown Brilliance wins this round.
Grown Brilliance vs. Brilliant Earth: Shopping Experience
When purchasing a diamond, it’s crucial to consider the shopping experience and the ability to inspect the prospective diamond. In this comparison, we have analyzed and compared the buying experiences at Grown Brilliance and Brilliant Earth. We visited both stores and experienced every aspect of the buying process, from analyzing diamonds to purchasing jewelry and contacting customer support.
The Grown Brilliance Shopping Experience
User-Friendly Website With High-Quality Visuals
Grown Brilliance has a user-friendly website that makes purchasing diamonds straightforward and hassle-free. One of the standout features is the ability to view 360-degree high-definition videos and images for almost all diamonds, along with detailed diamond data from their entire inventory, ensuring you get a crystal-clear view of your potential purchase.
Grown Brilliance’s website is excellent, easy to navigate, and well-designed, which makes navigating their vast selection of diamonds effortless. The online shopping experience is fantastic, especially when designing diamond rings. In this aspect, Grown Brilliance even beats the best, James Allen, which is why we have crowned Grown Brilliance the best place to buy diamond engagement rings.
Lack of Quick Access to Diamond Grading Reports
However, one downside is that grading reports are not available for immediate download. You’ll need to reach out to customer support to obtain them. Although this process can be a bit of a hassle, all diamonds are graded independently, and grading reports are available. You just need to be patient.
Expert Assistance at Your Fingertips
Grown Brilliance provides expert assistance through email, phone, and live chat with its customer service and diamond experts. This is useful not only for getting diamond certificates but also for buying advice and getting answers to all your potential questions. The customer support team is knowledgeable and helpful.
But unlike competitors such as James Allen and Ritani, you won’t always be able to contact a diamond expert or gemologist. We recommend setting up a virtual appointment to speak to one of Grown Brilliance’s experts.
Final Thoughts: Outstanding Shopping Experience
We also enjoyed shopping for other diamond jewelry at Grown Brilliance. The images and videos are very high quality, all information is readily available, and we felt confident shopping there.
In addition, Grown Brilliance has an ever-growing number of flagship stores where you can set up appointments and see physical samples.
In conclusion, despite the lack of downloadable diamond certificates, we still found that the shopping experience at Grown Brilliance was pretty outstanding.
Next, let’s compare the Brilliant Earth buying experience.
The Brilliant Earth Shopping Experience
The shopping experience at Brilliant Earth is exceptional. Their website is user-friendly and easy to navigate, providing all the necessary information to evaluate diamond quality. The diamond certificates are legible, although they are low-quality.
Brilliant Earth’s outstanding diamond inspection service and expert support from trained gemologists set it apart. You can contact them via email or chat or set up a virtual meeting where they’ll guide you through the process.
In addition, Brilliant Earth offers a unique service for building your own diamond jewelry. Unlike other jewelers, they allow you to design almost any type of diamond jewelry. We highly recommend building your own jewelry, as it ensures you get a high-quality diamond and avoids subpar pre-set pairings.
Building your own diamond jewelry at Brilliant Earth is easy, but if you require any assistance, their highly qualified support team is readily available to help you out.
In addition to online shopping, Brilliant Earth has 37 stores across America. We have visited several of them and have always found their service excellent, but we prefer to purchase online and compare diamonds side by side.
Shopping Experience Summary
Based on our shopping experiences at Grown Brilliance and Brilliant Earth, both in-store and online, we learned that both offer excellent shopping experiences. Both offer jewelry customization, purchasing loose diamonds, and finding pre-set jewelry.
Grown Brilliance offers a few more advanced features, including their leading ring designer. On the other hand, Brilliant Earth gives you direct access to all diamond certificates and generally better diamond inspection features.
This round is a tie, and we recommend comparing both yourself.
Grown Brilliance vs. Brilliant Earth: Sustainability
Brilliant Earth, Vrai, and Pandora are leaders in sustainability and ethical diamond retail. We recommend Brilliant Earth as the best place to buy sustainable diamonds. But what about Grown Brilliance? In the following, we’ll compare Brilliant Earth vs. Grown Brilliance to learn who provides the more sustainable diamond options.
Grown Brilliance Sustainability
Grown Brilliance sells only lab-grown diamonds. They believe lab-grown diamonds are a sustainable alternative to traditional diamonds and positively impact the environment and society. We appreciate their commitment to changing the diamond industry and making consumers ethical choices.
In addition to selling lab-grown diamonds, Grown Brilliance takes extra steps to ensure sustainability. They follow in the footsteps of companies like Brilliant Earth and Vrai by using eco-friendly practices. For instance, they use recycled materials in their jewelry boxes.
Brilliant Earth Sustainability
Brilliant Earth is a company fully dedicated to sustainability, ethical practices, and eco-friendliness. It was founded to provide consumers with better options for ethical diamonds and encourage the diamond industry to impact society positively.
Brilliant Earth offers a diverse range of diamonds, including both mined and lab-created ones. While they believe that lab-grown diamonds are invariably the ethical choice, they are also pleased to announce that they offer a selection of ethically mined diamonds, which is a vast improvement over traditionally mined diamonds, even though it can sometimes be confusing.
But more importantly, Brilliant Earth sells lab-grown diamonds graded sustainably and produced using sustainable energy sources while following specific guidelines. While the selection is still somewhat limited, it is at the same level as other sustainable diamond industry leaders, such as Vrai.
Brilliant Earth’s dedication to sustainability goes beyond diamonds. They take great care to limit their environmental impact by using sustainable and carbon-neutral packaging and recycled metals to produce their jewelry.
Read more about their commitment to sustainability in our Brilliant Earth review.
Sustainability Summary
Both Grown Brilliance and Brilliant Earth impress us with their commitment to a sustainable and ethical diamond and jewelry trade. Brilliant Earth edges a slight win with its sustainably rated diamonds, but Grown Brilliance is not far off.
Grown Brilliance vs. Brilliant Earth: Shipping and Returns
Shipping:
- Grown Brilliance offers free shipping on all orders and uses FedEx 2-Day delivery, which is fully insured to ensure customers don’t have to worry about lost parcels. However, please note that shipping may vary if you shop at Amazon.
- Brilliant Earth provides free shipping with FedEx on all US, Canadian, UK, and Australian orders. Shipping should be complimentary on high-ticket purchases such as diamonds, so it’s great to see that Brilliant Earth ships free, though we would have liked to see free overnight delivery.
Returns:
- Grown Brilliance also offers a generous 45-day return period for unworn jewelry at no additional cost. You can contact customer service to receive a return label. This return policy is better than most places, where the standard is 30 days.
- Brilliant Earth offers 30 days of free returns, including free return shipping. Again, this is the industry average and should be expected.
Grown Brilliance vs. Brilliant Earth: Pros and Cons
We have compared Brilliant Earth and Grown Brilliance to help you make an informed decision, weighing their pros and cons below.
Pros of Grown Brilliance
Cons of Grown Brilliance
What We Like About Brilliant Earth (Pros)
What We Don’t Like About Brilliant Earth (Cons)
Summary Grown Brilliance vs. Brilliant Earth Comparison
We have spent countless hours analyzing Grown Brilliance and Brilliant Earth, comparing their diamond and jewelry inventory, prices, shopping experience, sustainability profile, shipping and return policies, and more.
Grown Brilliance specializes in lab-grown diamonds and exclusive jewelry designs, including loose lab-created diamonds, engagement rings, and fine diamond jewelry. They offer a wide selection of exclusive designs, such as collaboration with designer Badgley Mischka.
Brilliant Earth is renowned for its ethical diamond trade and sustainability approach. With more stores and a more extensive selection than Grown Brilliance, they offer diverse shapes and colors, including sustainably rated lab diamonds. Although Brilliant Earth has a wide selection of jewelry, it cannot compete with the premium and exclusive designs of Grown Brilliance.
Therefore, we have concluded that it’s a tie. Grown Brilliance is the better choice for those seeking unique diamond jewelry, while Brilliant Earth offers a broader selection of loose and sustainable diamonds.
We recommend comparing prices and jewelry selections from both brands before purchasing.
More Diamond Seller Comparisons and Reviews
We recommend always shopping around and comparing prices and diamond selections. Compare Brilliant Earth and Grown Brilliance with:
- Ritani for the lowest diamond prices (read our Ritani review)
- James Allen for the best shopping experience (read our James Allen review)
