Grown Brilliance Review
Should you choose Grown Brilliance for your engagement ring?
Grown Brilliance is a relatively new engagement ring company, with a strong focus on customer experience, craftsmanship and collaboration.
But there are a lot of other engagement ring start-ups out there, especially since the rise of lab-grown diamonds has given a raft of new businesses an opportunity to establish themselves in a pretty crowded marketplace.
So should you consider Grown Brilliance for your ring?
Short answer: yes.
Read on to find out why.
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What Makes Grown Brilliance Stand Out
Grown Brilliance sets itself apart from the crowded diamond retailer market with their commitment to sustainable and carbon-neutral jewelry by way of lab grown diamonds. While not all lab-grown diamonds sold by retailers are carbon-free, the lab grown diamonds at Grown Brilliance are. They are committed toward 100% sustainability by implementing 96% recycled gold and biodegradable packaging.
Furthermore, this company is not only minority owned, but prides itself on being 75% female-led. Grown Brilliance aims to remain this way, encouraging women all over the world to pursue their career dreams.
Grown Brilliance mainly operates as an online diamond retailer, but can be visited at 8 locations within the United States.
TLDR: What makes Grown Brilliance different
In a world of new jewelry start-ups, Grown Brilliance have got some key differentiators going for them:
- Focusing on high quality, larger lab-grown stones only means that you don’t need to worry about your stone looking beautiful.
- Focus on co-creation, rather than just guys buying for their partners, reducing stress
- Excellent prices for diamonds – leaving more budget for a special proposal or for your wedding
Grown Brilliance User Reviews
When checking out the customer reception online, Grown Brilliance isn’t on a lot of review sites like Yelp or Wedding Wire. This is likely due to the newness of the site among a bunch of other online diamond retailers. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any.
The most promising Grown Brilliance reviews are on TrustPilot with a glowing 4.5 rating and on Reddit.com. The majority of reviews in the last year on TrustPilot are extremely pleased with their experiences and quality of their diamond jewelry.
While recent review on Reddit are scarce, there’s a decent amount of reviews and discussion from three years ago. Many report being pleased with their jewelry, but there are a lot of complaints about the simplicity of packaging and unresponsive customer service. Some users report shipping issues and communication issues while waiting for responses.
Overall, Grown Brilliance user reviews are positive and most of the negative reviews occurred a few years ago when the company was still gathering their footing.
Grown Brilliance diamond quality
Engagement rings are all about the diamond, and being able to choose a diamond that will sparkle brilliantly will make the difference between a truly stunning engagement ring and one that looks dull and unimpressive.
In this section of our Grown Brilliance review, we’ll examine the quality of diamonds they offer, as well as how transparent they are about the quality of the diamonds themselves.
Grown Brilliance doesn’t sell mined diamonds, which could be troublesome if you’re looking to go the natural diamond route. But this doesn’t come as much of a surprise considering Grown Brilliance’s mission.
When I reviewed the Grown Brilliance website, I found that the ethical diamond seller carries around 207,612 loose lab grown diamonds of varying diamond grades and carat weights. This is more than enough to find the perfect lab grown diamond.
Furthermore, Grown Brilliance only sells lab grown diamonds with higher grades than most lab grown diamond jewelry stores. All of the lab grown diamonds at Grown Brilliance have a minimum of VS2 clarity and a minimum of G color grades. In other worlds all of the diamonds at Grown Brilliance are eye clean diamonds and nearly all of them are in the colorless range.
Additionally, all of Grown Brilliance’s diamonds are excellent or ideal cut diamonds with a minimum of 1 carat. The minimum of 1 carat limits those who were hoping to purchase carat weights under, but that isn’t the typical trend with lab grown diamonds.
Taking all these factors under consideration, Grown Brilliance clearly provides a curated collection of the highest quality carbon neutral lab grown diamonds.
Each diamond at Grown Brilliance seems to have a simple 360˚ viewer with no added features. The quality is good, but not as high as I’ve seen at other diamond retailers.
While the majority of lab grown diamonds are IGI certified, there are around 10,000 lab grown diamonds with GIA certificates. Both of these laboratories have been accepted as reputable for lab grown diamonds.
To check out Grown Brilliance’s curated selection of lab grown diamonds, click here.
Grown Brilliance Ring Settings Selection
The ring settings selection at Grown Brilliance is unlike most diamond retailers I’ve seen. Instead of a number of listings organized by type and category, Grown Brilliance has implemented a diamond ring builder similar to some retailers, but more comprehensive than I’ve ever seen.
You can select from options including engagement ring styles and watch as your choices are shown in a high quality 360˚ view. The quality of the viewer is impeccable, allowing you to flip the ring in any way seamlessly. If you choose to add hidden halos, you can turn the engagement ring completely over instead of side-to-side.
I noticed that Grown Brilliance offers elongated cushion cut diamonds, which is beyond the scope of the typical 10 shapes offered by most retailers. Metal options include:
- 14K white gold
- 14K yellow gold
- 14K rose gold
- 18K rose gold
- 18K yellow gold
- 18K white gold
- Platinum
There are so many ways to create a unique engagement ring even though you have pre-selected options. You could spend hours trying to create an engagement ring with the details and options you’re given.
If you want to build your engagement ring from scratch, you have the option to do a Truly Custom engagement ring. This allows you to work with a jeweler, designing every element to your specification using your own ideas or inspiration. Prices and processing times vary based on complexity of the item. Note that all Truly Custom pieces are considered a special order and are subjected to certain return policies, which we’ll cover down the road.
On the other hand, the ring builder could be a little advanced if you don’t know a lot about engagement ring settings or haven’t had much experience online.
Grown Brilliance service
Buying an engagement ring is a special purchase, and you want to have confidence that the retailer will not only treat you well while buying your ring, but also that they will stand behind their product after the purchase too.
Beyond user reviews, it’s important to understand where a retailer stands on other service policies.
Grown Brilliance Returns and Shipping
Grown Brilliance offers free shipping on all orders within the US and requires a signature for delivery. In-Stock items ship within 1-4 business days. From there it ships via Fed-Ex two day shipping. Note that this is after the 1-4 processing timeframe.
Expedited options are available for a fee, but it may still take 1-2 business days for processing- even if you pay for overnight delivery. This could be an issue for those who pay and expect their purchase to be received the following day.
Made-to-order items have individual estimated shipping timeframes. Note that it is estimated, not guaranteed. Some items may ship a few days after the estimated date depending on the manufacturer and quality control checks.
Once ready to ship, made-to-order items will ship using the FedEx two day shipping service. You can choose to pay the overnight shipping fee, but this doesn’t affect the creation and processing timeframe.
International orders can be shipped to the following countries via Fed-Ex international shipping (2-5 days) for free:
- Australia
- Canada
- Denmark
- United Kingdom
- Germany
- Italy
- Spain
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Saudi Arabia
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Qatar
Grown Brilliance accommodates their international customers by providing prices in their own currency and languages.
Make sure you double-check your address when checking out. Address can’t be changed after placing the order. Grown Brilliance does not assume responsibility for loss of item due to incorrect addresses or once it leaves the shipment center.
All returns at Grown Brilliance are free for both domestic and international customers within 30 days. Exceptions to returns include:
- All returned products must be in their original, unworn condition and accompanied by all original documentation
- Returns without the lab grown diamond certificate will be charged a $100 replacement fee
- Items that have been modified, engraved, or resized by a company
- Returns showing signs of wear or damage
- Returns without Return Shipping Authorization number will not be accepted
- Return abusers will not be accepted
Special orders, including Truly Custom orders can only be returned for store credit. If you choose another Truly Custom piece, it is considered a redesign and cannot be refunded a second time. It is the final sale.
Returns go through an inspection process, which may take up to 7 business days. All refunds go back to the original method of payment, unless bank wire or cash which is sent by check. Credit card refunds can take up to one month’s billing cycle to show.
Grown Brilliance Financing and Methods of Payment
Grown Brilliance does not have their own credit card, but offers financing through Affirm. The interest, length of term, and monthly payments will vary based on approval.
Alternatively, Grown Brilliance offers a Lease-to-Own option via Katapult with no credit check. Lease-to-own pre-approval is up to $3500. Choose hyper flexible payments with an instant decision.
Other forms of payment accepted by Grown Brilliance include credit/debit, bank wire on purchases $500 or more, Paypal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Venmo checkout on mobile orders only.
For international customers, these payment options may not all be available in your market, Some international shipments may also be done using Klarna payments. Payment options will show during checkout to see what is accepted in your country.
Grown Brilliance Warranty and Repairs
Grown Brilliance offers customers a lifetime manufacturer’s warranty. This guarantees your purchase is free from defects, replacing anything that is deemed defected.
Note that this manufacturer’s warranty does not cover routine repairs, loss of center stone, or rhodium plating.
Grown Brilliance has partnered with Extend repair plans to cover a variety of repair services including the replacement of loss center stones or side stones as well as cracked stones. They will do routine maintenance such as rhodium plating, prong retipping, and stone tightening. If they can’t repair it, they’ll replace it.
Extend Plans will vary based on the cost of the item purchased, as will the length of the plan. For an engagement ring I created that costs a total of $3,075, I am given the costs of $219 for a 3 year plan, $249 for a 5 year plan, and $409 for a lifetime plan.
Without the Extend plan, repairs are charged based on assessment. Customers are responsible for shipping fees for repairs while Grown Brilliance will pay for the return shipping of the repair. Repairs done by another jeweler voids your manufacturer’s warranty.
Resizing is free within 30 days of purchase. US orders are given the option to resize once per year, though too many resizings can compromise your setting, which you would have to pay for a new one if Grown Brilliance deems it too many resizings.
If they are unable to resize your ring, you will be given the option to have a special order in your size or ship the ring back to you. Note that this will make your order a special order, which has different return policies. You are required to pay the shipping fee to send your ring for resizing, but Grown Brilliance will pay the return shipping.
For an extra bit of personalization, Grown Brilliance can engrave your ring with 20 characters, though it is recommended to do 15 or less. There does not appear to be a charge for this service.
Additionally, you can easily add a matching band by selecting so and the price will automatically be added to your order.
Grown Brilliance value for money
Buying a diamond ring is a big commitment – both financially and emotionally. So it’s important that you ensure sure that you are getting good value for money and aren’t spending more than you need to.
After all, if you’re buying an engagement ring, it’s likely that you will have a wedding to pay for soon.
I’ve chosen a 1.06ct excellent cut round brilliant lab grown diamond with G color and VS1 clarity grades from Grown Brilliance’s inventory.
The diamond is accompanied by an IGI certificate and costs around $865.
This is one of the cheaper lab grown diamond prices than many retailers I’ve seen. This price is in line with some of the other retailers that offer less expensive lab grown diamonds.
Grown Brilliance does not offer sale prices but extends their “GB 365 policy” to customers – a promise that all diamonds and settings are offered at the least expensive prices with the aim of ensuring thatfor buyers, theres no need to wait for a sale or having buyer’s remorse after a ring goes on sale.
Though there aren’t any sale prices, but Grown Brilliance adds a variety of special promotions to their site. For example, at the time of writing review, there is a promotion for a free pair of 1ct diamond earring studs with the purchase of $3,000 or more. Exact promotions are subject to change at their discretion.
If purchasing a 4.0 ct lab grown diamond or higher, customers can enjoy a free engagement ring setting from the Most Popular, Timeless, and Contemporary categories. Customers who utilize the Design Your Ring tool and purchase a 4.0 ct diamond from the Exceptional category will receive $2,000.00 off their ring setting. This promotion is subject to change.
Customers who sign up for the Grown Brilliance email list can receive $100 off their first purchase of $2,000 or more. New customers that create a Grown Brilliance account will receive a coupon for $200 off their first purchase of $1000. Note that these offers are not combinable. Offer is only valid for a limited time, so make sure you order before it expires.
Additionally, military, first-responders, medical professionals, and teachers can receive 10% off their order when they verify their identity with SheerID. This offer can’t be combined with other offers.
Taking all the diamond pricing and the promotional offers into account, Ringspo has determined Grown Brilliance is determined to have a good price for value, though you might find even cheaper prices at another retailer.
Grown Brilliance Jewelers review
Store Name: Grown Brilliance Jewelers
Store Description: Grown Brilliance is a US-based jeweler, specialising in diamonds and engagement rings.
Price range: $2,000 - $20,000
Overall
-
Settings Selection
(4.5)
-
Diamonds Quality
(4.5)
-
Service
(3.5)
-
Value For Money
(5)
Do we recommend Grown Brilliance?
Grown Brilliance do a lot of things right and their excellent user review reinforce that they are a great option for a lab-grown ring.
Where they fall down slightly compared to competitors is on their after-sales service, but if you are confident on what you are looking for, this shouldn’t be an issue.
With a huge selection of high quality certified lab-grown stones, excellent prices and an extensive selection of settings, you should be able to find your perfect ring. Plus, Grown Brilliance also has some of the best promotions in the business – click here to check them out.
Pros
- Extremely competitive prices
- Carbon-neutral diamonds and recycled gold
- Attractive promotions
Cons
- Overprice care plans
- No free routine repairs
- Custom designs are final sale.