brilliant earth vs kay

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Sabrina Lopez is a professional jewelry designer and illustrator with a degree in fashion design. She has created jewelry collections and illustrations for brands around the world, and her contemporary pieces have been exhibited in several museums. She also runs her own jewelry brand, bringing a designer’s eye and hands-on industry knowledge to every piece she creates and writes about.

Comparison Chart

Feature	Brilliant Earth	KAY Jewelers
Diamonds	Natural and lab-grown diamonds.	No loose diamonds.
Online Shopping Experience	High-quality images and 360° videos of diamonds and rings.	No real-life photos showing how the piece looks when worn. Not all rings have a 360-degree video.
Grading Report	Natural: GIA, IGI, and HRD Lab- grown: GIA, IGI, and GCAL	No certified jewelry.
Physical stores	43 stores in the USA.	1005 stores in the USA.
Return Policy	Free 30-day returns.	Free 30-day returns.

Brilliant Earth Vs KAY Jewelers: Features Comparison

Pricing

Brilliant Earth offers everyday transparent pricing at accessible price points. You won’t have to wait for a promotion to know you’re getting a good deal. Brilliant Earth regularly offers promotions of gift with purchase as well as special offers during seasonal moments such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

KAY features special sales and promotional cycles. It participates in Black Friday and Cyber Monday, holds Valentine’s Day sales and semi-annual sales, holiday and Christmas clearance, and summer and appreciation sales.

Customization

Brilliant Earth is an expert in this area and offers two methods of ring customization. One approach is to start with the setting and then choose the diamond, or vice versa. Your options include natural diamonds, lab-grown diamonds, and colored gemstones. What makes it stand out from other brands is the variety of settings offered and the ability to choose the exact diamond that will eventually go into the ring, so you can select your preferred color, clarity, carat, and cut.

The other customization option is creating a design from scratch with the help of Brilliant Earth’s designers. First, the designers create your design based on your sketch and ideas. Once approved, a render or wax model is produced to refine the details, and finally, the ring moves to the production stage. Custom designs start at $2,000 and take approximately one month to finish. This service is offered online, so there’s no need to visit a showroom, but it’s also available in store if that’s your preference.

KAY also offers two customization options. One allows you to build your ring by choosing the center stone (diamond or colored gemstone), then the setting style (halo, prong, crown, pavé), and finally, the band style (split, hidden halo, single, etc.). You can also select your preferred metal and add an engraving. As you make your selections, a rendering of the ring appears, showing how your finished choice would look. However, the software lacks extensive options for the diamonds themselves; you can only choose the shape, size, and general quality tier (Good, Better, or Best), but you never get to see the specific diamond as they select it for you.

The other way to customize your ring is by booking an appointment in-store or online with one of their jewelry experts to create your ring from scratch. The timeline for creating custom jewelry varies depending on factors such as the complexity of the design, availability of materials, and the workload of the jeweler.

Diamond Inventory

As of the date of writing, Brilliant Earth has 112,422 natural diamonds, 288,669 lab-grown diamonds, and 38,884 colored gemstones. They allow you to purchase these stones loose, and their inventory offers a choice of different qualities with a wide range of prices.

KAY does not carry an inventory of loose diamonds or gemstones; all their jewelry comes with the stones already set. If you choose to customize a piece, you can select the diamond’s specifications (such as carat weight and shape), but you cannot view the diamond itself in detail.

EXPERT TIP: Always examine the diamond closely; if buying online, the site should feature a 360-degree video, and if viewing it in person, move your wrist to observe its sparkle and color.

Online shopping vs. In-store Shopping

Brilliant Earth focuses on online sales and positions itself as a top choice among online jewelry brands for shoppers, whereas KAY focuses on maintaining a large number of physical stores.

Brilliant Earth has a more optimized website, allowing for greater specificity regarding jewelry and featuring thousands of listed products. Each diamond can be viewed via 360-degree video and photos from various angles, and the site offers highly specific search filters ranging from carat weight to fluorescence, with advisors available to answer questions 24 hours a day. It targets a millennial audience accustomed to making online purchases.

KAY targets a customer base that prefers shopping in-store, seeing the piece in person, and trying it on. Their website lacks realistic photos of the rings being worn, as well as videos, since most of the images look like renders. In contrast, Brilliant Earth provides plenty of photos and videos showing how the rings look on the hand.

EXPERT TIP: If you are thinking about going to a store to buy your ring, I recommend looking at it under different lighting conditions, ideally, daylight. Lighting is crucial for truly seeing the diamond’s color and spotting any inclusions.

Financing

Brilliant Earth offers financing options through Affirm and Wells Fargo; the former allows for financing plans of up to 36 months, while the latter offers 12-month plans.

KAY Jewelers has its own credit card, which offers financing plans including promotional zero-down plans for purchases of $300 or more. Its Vault Rewards loyalty program earns members one “Gem” per dollar spent, plus a birthday perk, special offers, and free shipping. KAY also offers other financing options through other companies, such as Affirm and Progressive Leasing.

Grading Reports

Brilliant Earth offers thousands of certified diamonds, both natural and lab-grown. You can find certifications from the following laboratories: GIA, IGI, HRD, and GCAL.

KAY’s diamonds are not certified.

I always recommend buying certified diamonds because it´s proof that you bought a real diamond and not moissanite or zirconia; it confirms that it´s the specific diamond you chose online, and it allows you to verify the diamond’s quality.

Guarantees

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, Brilliant Earth offers free 30-day returns on eligible items. Made-to-order designs, personalized jewelry, engraved designs, and rings that have been resized or modified cannot be returned. Brilliant Earth also offers one complimentary resizing within 60 days regardless of sizing range, or up to one year if within sizing range.

KAY allows returns within 30 days from the purchase shipment date and exchanges within 60 days of the purchase shipment date for jewelry. Returns and exchanges are not allowed on special ordered watches, custom designs, ear piercing earrings, and personalized jewelry.

Brilliant Earth

Best features:

Diamond inventory: They offer an extensive selection of natural and lab-grown diamonds, with the option to either have them set in a piece of jewelry or purchased loose.
Sustainable mission: They use repurposed metals, recycled materials, and transparency in the traceability of their diamonds
Online shopping experience: The site is designed to make the customer feel comfortable shopping online, featuring high-quality photos, 360-degree videos, and clear images of the products being worn.
Modern designs: They feature contemporary and modern ring designs with organic lines that follow bridal trends.
Customization: Highlights include the option to choose the exact stone for the ring and the ability to design your ring from scratch.
Certifications: They offer diamond grading reports from recognized laboratories such as the GIA (Gemological Institute of America).

KAY Jewelers

Best features:

Promotional prices: They offer recurring discounts and sales at different times of the year.
KAY´s credit card: It offers financing options and allows you to join the membership program, providing various benefits based on the number of purchases you make.
Less overwhelming: If you don’t want to pick out diamonds one by one, here you simply select the general characteristics of your diamond, making the purchase process faster.
Several physical stores: They offer personalized service at nearly 1,000 stores across the United States, making it accessible if you want to shop in person.

Final Thoughts

Brilliant Earth focuses on online sales and environmentally conscious customers who are aware of the issues surrounding the diamond industry. In terms of style, the brand targets modern, trend-conscious brides. Its strength lies in diamond engagement rings, with many options for diamonds, ring settings, and a variety of styles.

KAY Jewelers aims to close sales at its physical stores. Its website is not as optimized as those of other jewelry brands. The typical customer is someone who wants to try on the ring, speak with an advisor in person, take advantage of special offers, and enjoy the in-store shopping experience.

The right one for you is the one that best suits your tastes. Now that you know that not all jewelry brands are the same and that there are different ways to buy diamond jewelry, it’s up to you to decide which is the best option for you.