Brilliant Earth wins on custom rings, lab-grown selection, and pricing

A bezel-set oval and a classic four-prong solitaire can look like two entirely different moods, and Brilliant Earth has built its appeal around helping buyers make those choices with real guidance, not just a digital click. In a market crowded with lab-grown stones and build-your-own tools, the question is no longer whether you can customize a ring elsewhere. It is whether Brilliant Earth still makes that customization feel worth paying for.

Why Brilliant Earth still stands out

Brilliant Earth’s strongest argument is not novelty, but combination. The retailer brings together a design-your-own ring builder, showroom access, and a notably large lab-grown inventory, which makes it useful for buyers who want both breadth and hand-holding. That matters in engagement rings, where the difference between a low-set bezel, a knife-edge shank, or a more traditional prong setting changes not only the look of a ring but how it wears every day.

The company also says its pricing is competitive on both natural and lab-grown diamonds, which is central to its 2026 value proposition. In a category where many retailers can now offer a loose stone and a mount, Brilliant Earth is betting that trust, presentation, and in-person consultation still justify a premium over the cheapest online alternatives. That is a real advantage, but only if you value the process as much as the final invoice.

The custom ring case

Brilliant Earth’s design-your-own system is the part of the brand that feels most aligned with current engagement-ring buying. Buyers can move from stone to setting to finished ring without leaving the brand’s ecosystem, which simplifies a process that can otherwise feel fragmented across several websites and vendors. For anyone comparing an east-west oval, a toi-et-moi layout, or a more traditional solitaire, the appeal is control: you can shape the proportions, profile, and metal choice around the stone you actually want.

That customization is not just cosmetic. Setting style affects durability, comfort, and the way a diamond reads on the hand. A bezel can give a center stone a clean, modern outline and more protection around the girdle, while prongs can open the stone up to more light and a more classic presentation. Brilliant Earth’s strength is that it gives those decisions a retail framework, backed by showrooms and consultation rather than a purely self-serve interface.

Lab-grown depth is now part of the brand identity

Brilliant Earth was one of the first in the industry to sell lab-grown diamonds as a mining-free alternative to natural diamonds, and that early positioning still shapes how the company reads today. What was once a differentiator is now almost table stakes in the bridal market, but the retailer’s scale still gives it an edge for buyers who want a wide selection without hunting across multiple sites. In practical terms, that means more room to compare sizes, shapes, and price points before settling on a final ring.

The company also says 99% of the gold used in its products is recycled, which reinforces its sustainability pitch. That is a useful credential in a market where many shoppers want the language of responsibility to match the romance of the purchase. For buyers who see engagement rings as heirloom objects and ethical statements at once, that combination can carry real weight.

The retail experience is the premium

Brilliant Earth’s newest showroom strategy makes its priorities obvious. In January 2026, the company opened a reimagined Beverly Hills flagship it called its “Showroom of the Future,” a phrase that reflects how heavily it is leaning into experience-led retail. The move underscores a broader shift in the engagement-ring business: the brands that win are increasingly the ones that can turn a high-stakes purchase into a guided appointment rather than a transactional cart checkout.

The retailer’s store locator also emphasizes appointment-based consultations and expert design services for engagement rings and other fine jewelry. That structure is important because engagement-ring shopping is still one of the few luxury purchases where many buyers want to see scale, proportions, and sparkle in person before committing. A showroom can make the difference between a ring that feels merely selected and one that feels properly understood.

The numbers show a company with momentum, but not perfection

Brilliant Earth’s scale suggests the brand has real traction. The company reported $437.5 million in net sales for fiscal 2025, up from $422.2 million in 2024, and ended the year with 42 U.S. showrooms. It also reported $124.4 million in net sales in the fourth quarter of 2025, which it called the largest quarter of net sales in company history. Those figures point to a business that is still expanding its reach even as the bridal market grows more competitive.

The margin profile is also telling. For fiscal 2025, Brilliant Earth reported a 57.5% gross margin, but it also posted a net loss of $6.4 million. That combination suggests a retailer that can make money on product economics while still spending heavily on the brand experience, retail footprint, and customer acquisition that define its positioning. In other words, the premium experience is part of the business model, not a side effect.

Trust cuts both ways

Brilliant Earth was founded in 2005 by Beth Gerstein and Eric Grossberg and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. It went public in 2021 under the ticker BRLT, a milestone that pushed it further into the mainstream of jewelry retail. The company’s age and scale should inspire some confidence, especially for buyers making a major purchase that may involve a custom design and a significant diamond budget.

Still, the customer experience is not uniformly polished. Brilliant Earth has active complaint listings with the Better Business Bureau and on consumer review sites, which is worth factoring into any premium-price decision. That does not erase the brand’s strengths, but it does change the calculus: if you are paying for service, you should be particularly attentive to how the company handles communication, timelines, and post-purchase support.

The verdict on its premium

Brilliant Earth earns its place when the buyer wants more than a box and a certificate. The combination of design flexibility, showroom consultations, lab-grown depth, and competitive pricing gives it a strong case in a market where many rivals can match one of those advantages, but not all of them at once. Its premium is most justified for shoppers who want to compare settings in person, refine proportions, and leave with a ring that feels tailored rather than simply assembled.

The harder truth is that the brand’s edge is now conditional, not automatic. If price alone matters, there are likely cheaper paths. If confidence, customization, and a guided experience matter, Brilliant Earth still has a compelling claim to the high ground in 2026.