Brilliant Earth — Local services in Palo Alto

I had seen their ads, liked their mission, and had high hopes that the company would deliver good service, however, that could not be further from the truth. -hidden policies and procedures -lack of knowledge among staff -deceitful sales tactics

Full story: Our initial experience was with the San Francisco showroom on April 1st, 2021. My fiancé and I visited the showroom to look at engagement rings, I picked a design, and he then purchased the ring online that same day. We were in a time crunch to get the ring because my father had become very sick with cancer and had only a few weeks to live. My fiancé paid extra to ensure I got my engagement ring before my father passed away. The ring was supposed to be finished and ready for pick up on April 16th 2021. The ring was not ready at the promised time. There was no refund Brilliant Earth offered for lying about their “expected date of deliver.” Needless to say, my father passed away and never got to see my engagement ring. The ring was actually delivered a week AFTER the promised time on April 21, 2021.

I got married early August 2023 in Mexico. I took my engagement ring to be re-plated and cleaned up before the wedding. I called the Palo Alto show room to make sure I could stop by to drop my ring off for repair. They said yes, of course, no problem, come it. I dropped it off at the showroom on July 1, 2023. One month before I leave for Mexico. The worker at the store told me repairs take 2-3 weeks and I should “definitely have my ring back” by then. I repeated to her that I leave on August 2. And I told her about my previous experience with Brilliant Earth not delivering on their promised delivery dates. She assured me it would be fine.

When I dropped it off, she asked me what I wanted done to the ring and I told her “re-dipped in white gold and made to look like new for the wedding.” She said sure, no problem, we will send you an email when it is ready. Not once did she mention the prices, not once did the mention I would need to schedule a consultation with a salesperson for them to sell me a repair package… I was shocked to get an email 2 weeks after I dropped it off saying that not only was the ring not ready.. they had NOT EVEN STARTED to work on the repair because I needed to schedule a phone consultation. I called the store. I asked them why I needed a consultation if I had clearly stated I wanted re-dipping and cleaning of the ring. They explained on the phone I needed a consultation to select a repair package. I explained I was never told about this when I dropped it off. Then I asked if they could just give me the prices over the phone so I could pick a package. They refused, saying I needed a consultation. When was the next consultation? 5 days later. No. I just want my ring back. I called 2 other jewelers near me that same day, they told me the exact prices over the phone and the exact dates when the ring would be ready, both providing service within 1 week. It is not difficult to be clear and transparent with customers.

Why can’t Brilliant Earth be transparent about its policies? Is it the staff? Lack of knowledge, lack of training, lack of care for customer satisfaction? Purposely trying to deceive customers? At this point, I think it is a mix of everything. I am upset and disappointed that I have fallen into this trap not once but twice.

It should be noted that I sent a copy this exact detailed story to Brilliant Earth customer service. My fiancé and I got the chance to speak to a representative from Brilliant Earth named Ashley. My first question was “did you get a chance to read the email I sent?” She said no. Again, disregard for customer needs by not taking the time to just read my email before calling me. Ashley did apologize on behalf of Brilliant Earth and was very kind over the phone. She offered us free services and discounts which I refused. My goal with this complaint is to let Brilliant Earth know where they are lacking and to let other potential customers know what they may have...

6/24/25 update: After posting my initial review I was contacted by Jillian from brilliant earth who over the course of the next few weeks was incredibly understanding and apologetic of the situation, and made every effort to make it right for us. While the ring ultimately was delayed once more, it did finally arrive today and was made beautifully. I appreciate Jillian’s efforts to not only resolve this issue but to go above and beyond to ensure our satisfaction with the solution.

WORST experience ordering from Brilliant Earth. Will never order again and regret ordering in the first place. Would highly encourage anyone reading this to shop elsewhere. First, I had requested to see 3 different settings in person. I had called, texted, and emailed to ensure these would be ready for viewing and I was repeatedly reassured that they would be. I received my appointment date and proceeded to go to the showroom, which is a trek from where I live, to find that only one of the three settings I had requested was available. The associate was very kind and did everything she could to show us other pieces and, in subsequent appointments, she did ensure all pieces were available, but it was highly inconvenient to have to make two trips even after I had done my due diligence to see all three pieces at once. Further, at the time I was nine months pregnant and getting around was not so simple. In the end, I was able to see all the settings I wanted, but the process of requesting them and making sure they were available was highly disorganized and frustrating. The level of disorganization should have deterred me but I looked past the red flags and finally ended up choosing a setting and ordering a ring off the website on April 16. When the ring arrived several weeks later in May, it was constructed extremely poorly. For a company that literally only makes jewelry, it was appalling to see this utterly disgraceful level of craftsmanship. The bezel and center stone were fixed at a slant, so the entire stone was leaning to the right. I have received more symmetrical jewelry from gumball machines. I immediately brought it back to the showroom where it was taken in for repair and resizing. Several weeks later I received an email informing me that the piece needed to be remade entirely and could not be repaired. I agreed to the remake of the ring and was given an estimated delivery date of June 2. On June 1 I received an email that there was a delay with my order and the ring would be delivered on June 6. On June 5 I received another email saying that the ring had undergone and additional delay and would now be delivered June 12. On June 11 I received an additional email saying that the ring had undergone further delay and would now be delivered June 23. At this point I have low expectations that it will arrive on June 23 or even beyond that. I have called customer service many times and every time I’m reassured that the ring is in production and will arrive on the stated delivery date, which thus far has proven to be incorrect information from customer service. This ring was supposed to be a gift for the birth of my daughter. My daughter was born a month ago and this ring is still nowhere in my possession. It’s been 2 months since my original order. For a company that makes jewelry day in and day out, it is highly disappointing for a piece to have been constructed so poorly in the first place and for their customer service to be so...

So many empty promises.

I first visited Brilliant Earth about 6 months before I planned to propose. I had a nice appointment. The associate (Associate A) suggested I reach out to her later to finalize the ring. I emailed Associate A about a month before I proposed and never heard back. (I believe Associate A still works their because their name keep appearing in reviews.)

I placed the order myself online using the band Associate A originally suggested for a temporary setting. (I wanted to pick out the diamond to surprise my fiance but let her pick out the final band.) Brilliant earth delivered the wrong size.

I propose; my fiance is excited; everything is good. It is a 60 day window for resetting the temporary setting, so we make an appointment together to view bands (and get her proper size) about 40 days after I picked up the ring. Associate B is nice and chatty. My fiance falls in love with a band, so Associate B takes the first ring back for the diamond to be reset. Associate B tells us it will be 2-3 weeks, safely before we fly out to my soon-to-be in-laws. After 2 weeks I get an email asking me to call to process the payment. (1) I assumed everything was processed in store. (2) They mischaracterized the resetting as a return and are trying to overcharge me $200.

I call and explain the situation. The phone operator (Associate C) takes a few minutes to realize Briliant Earth's mistake, and then she tells me they have a team working to fix the quote. (Also they dropped my call after 15 minutes on hold, so that was pleasant.) Not only that, they have not started working on the ring. The eta is now 4 days after we depart for my future in-laws. It takes them 24 hours to fix the quote, and Associate C assures me she will follow up to get the ring on time.

They process the payment, and I wait. I try to use their unhelpful online tracking system, and the eta gets pushed back 6 days instead of up 4. The ring does not arrive on time. We go; we come back. Over 5 weeks after we handed the ring in, we get the new one.

TL;DR. Brilliant Earth has friendly associates who make empty promises to sell rings. The company is structured horribly, and the customer is hurt from it. We are definitely not getting wedding bands here, and I have already told friends to not use this jeweler. The only reason they are getting 2 stars is because my fiance...