James Allen vs. Brilliant Earth: Battle of the Sparkles (2022)

Last Updated on December 29, 2023

Shopping for an engagement or wedding ring has become easier than ever with the ease and accessibility of online jewelers.

James Allen and Brilliant Earth know all about creating the perfect online engagement experience and have reshaped the way customers purchase the perfect ring.

Contents

Who are James Allen and Brilliant Earth?

James Allen and Brilliant Earth are two of the best known online diamond and engagement ring retailers. With a large selection of loose diamonds and empty ring settings, James Allen and Brilliant Earth have paved the way for online engagement sales in very different ways.

Brilliant Earth: Social Responsibility and Sustainability

Brilliant Earth has focused their efforts on bringing ethically sourced and “Beyond Conflict-Free” naturally grown diamonds to consumers. The company has a robust tracing system that tracks the origin of every diamond and gemstone sold through Brilliant Earth. Additionally, Brilliant Earth partners with suppliers who participate in sustainable diamond mining.

Aside from having an array of natural and lab grown diamonds, Brilliant Earth boasts a stunning collection of colored diamonds and gemstones. With just over 171,000 unique stones to choose from, including vintage, antique, and recycled stones and rings, Brilliant Earth has certainly piqued the interest of ethically-minded customers across the globe.

James Allen: Love is in the Details

With an astounding collection of over 200,000 diamond options, James Allen has made designing the perfect engagement ring simple. With their easy-to-use interface, excellent customer service, and collection of Conflict-Free diamonds sourced through exclusive vendors, James Allen allows customers to create the ring of their dreams at a substantial discount.

Aside from their diamonds, James Allen has a large collection of designer rings and colored gemstones. Customers can purchase both natural and lab grown diamonds at a fraction of the cost of traditional jewelers and can select from a variety of popular diamond styles, including pave, halo, and solitaire.

The Products

James Allen and Brilliant Earth provide extensive collections of diamonds and gemstones, making both retailers a great option for customers looking for unique stones.

Brilliant Earth: Vintage, Antique, and Recycled

Brilliant Earth prides itself on being a sustainable jeweler working to reduce unethical and harmful diamond mining. Brilliant Earth has a robust collection of diamond shapes, including:

  • Round
  • Oval
  • Cushion
  • Pear
  • Princess
  • Heart

Additionally, Brilliant Earth offers platinum, white, yellow, and rose gold band options, as well as diamond, eternity, and stackable style rings. Brilliant Earth also offers vintage, antique, and recycled rings and gemstones to further support eco-sustainability, but can come at a premium cost.

James Allen: Completely Custom Options

James Allen allows customers complete control over designing their perfect ring. With six different metal options to choose from, including platinum and 14k and 18k white, yellow, and rose golds, James Allen is truly the top tier for custom engagement and wedding rings.

James Allen also boasts an array of popular ring styles, including:

  • Classic
  • Carved
  • Diamond
  • Stackable

Lastly, James Allen offers some of the most popular diamond cuts, including solitaire, channel, and tension set, as well as designer collections from Verragio, Dan Hov, and Jeff Cooper.

The Shopping Experience

Both James Allen and Brilliant Earth allow customers to experience their collection of diamonds and gemstones from the comfort of their home. With a streamlined design and easy-to-use interface, James Allen and Brilliant Earth make buying the perfect ring a truly stress-free experience.

Brilliant Earth Experience

Shopping with Brilliant Earth is a streamlined process that allows customers to design the perfect ring. Using a three step process, a Brilliant Earth customer can select a natural or lab grown diamond and filter diamond options by price, cut, and carat.

After selecting a diamond, a customer can browse Brilliant Earth’s setting collection and filter options by metal, style, and price. Brilliant Earth offers an extensive selection of setting options, including luxe, three-stone, and halo. Additionally, all rings can be viewed up close and at a full 360 degrees.

Brilliant Earth offers a variety of flexible buying options available to customers in the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, including a 1.5% discount for payments made via wire transfer, as well as layaway plans and Affirm Financing. Brilliant Earth also operates six showroom locations for those who prefer an in-person shopping experience.

James Allen Experience

James Allen allows customers to create completely customizable engagement rings. Using a similar three-step process, a James Allen customer can select either an earth or lab grown diamond, along with the shape, cut, and price of the diamond that completes the perfect ring. James Allen allows customers to use the James Allen Diamond Display Technology and view all diamonds in HD with up to 40 times magnification to view the smallest details within each stone.

Next, a customer can select from one of James Allen’s many setting options, including sidestone, vintage, and tension. After selecting a setting, the customer will select the perfect metal band to complete the ring.

James Allen offers a variety of payment options, including James Allen’s 6 month no-interest or 24 month payment plans. Additionally, James Allen offers a 1.5% discount for payments made via wire transfer and ships orders via FedEx Priority Overnight or FedEx Two Day Saver. Because James Allen has done away with brick-and-mortar retail spaces, the company is able to offer high-quality diamonds at a lower cost to consumers.

The Final Verdict

Both James Allen and Brilliant Earth offer a large selection of natural and lab grown diamonds at a fraction of the price of traditional jewelers. While Brilliant Earth offers a larger selection of unique vintage pieces and ethically-sourced diamonds than James Allen, it’s hard to beat the inventory, affordability, and high-definition shopping experience that James Allen provides to customers around the globe.

With an inventory of over 200,000 diamonds, options for every budget, fast shipping, and hassle-free returns, James Allen is the go-to online engagement retailer who’s made designing and buying the perfect engagement ring a simple and accessible process. With their bucket-list of benefits and easy-to-use interface, James Allen has certainly swept the rug out from beneath its competition’s feet.

Eran Hayo is the Chief Editor of Jewels Advisor, with over 5 years of experience in the fields of jewelry and memorabilia. He built Jewels Advisor to serve one main purpose – to teach you everything he knows about jewelry, and help you make better-informed decisions when buying diamonds and engagement rings online. His work has been cited on famous publications such as The Sun, MSN and WikiHow.