I purchased a beautiful setting but my god, I would never recommend Brilliant Earth as a place to get an engagement ring. I chose a vintage ring listed as in excellent condition. I acknowledge my mistake. During the purchasing process, I should have questioned what their definition of excellent is. The rings are not listed as being sold as is, there is no warning that Brilliant Earth does not replace the stones in a vintage ring at all.
I noticed one of the accent diamonds was dull, it wouldn't sparkle at all and it seemed like it was chipped, so, I took the ring to a few jewelers. All 4 accent diamonds and one of the sapphires have considerable damage to where the jewelers strongly advised to have them replaced. The center diamond also has damage around the girdle but that's more minimal. Instead of offering to sell me replacements, other jewelers told me that I need to have the place that sold the ring replace the stones. Unless you are buying a ring on Ebay, at a marked discounted rate from a jeweler or at a pawn shop, it's not normal to receive stones in that condition, regardless of how old the setting is.
When a person buys jewelry, they come to terms with it being grossly marked up. They justify that with the jewelry being beautiful and in the best condition it can be in. I paid for better quality and it would not have cost the company much at all to have provided it. I was intentionally sold significantly damaged stones for the same price as what most jewelers consider to be excellent quality in the hope I wouldn't notice before the 30 day refund/exchange.
I sent the ring back, I lost my sh*t on the customer service line and so far, Brilliant Earth has confirmed that they intentionally sell damaged stones without disclosure. I was advised that a gemologist had looked at my ring and while they admit the damage is there... the stones are secure in the ring, therefore, the condition is considered excellent and they can only offer for me to return the ring or give me prices to purchase new stones.
A piece of gravel can be secured in the setting, being secured means nothing. BE gave me a diamond that has the entire top of it shaved off. Literally, the top part of the diamond is not there which is why it's dull. How can that be justified by saying the bottom half is still stuck in there well? They might as well have had someone walk out to a parking lot to look for a few little pieces of gravel to gorilla glue in the setting, wrapped the ring in lightly used toilet paper and sent a fu*k you, thanks for the money card. Saying it's vintage does not justify selling VISIBLY DULL AND CHIPPED diamonds. FOR THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS. WITHOUT WARNING.
Brilliant Earth, I purchased an engagement ring, this isn't the same as purchasing a bank foreclosed home with the intention of gutting and renovating. I did not purchase a diamond and gemstone ring for thousands of dollars for you to turn around and offer to sell me new, unbroken stones to put in there. I did not pay thousands of dollars for the setting itself. It may be an old setting but you're not selling it to the Smithsonian trying to make an exhibit featuring it. The ring was not made by a known designer, it did not belong to a celebrity and it's not even unique as in handmade vintage (which I've purchased from another jeweler that was able to provide true excellent condition because they replaced the one stone that needed it). The value of this ring is not in its age, it's still in the materials it's made of.
I'm beyond unhappy and I haven't even gotten into the real emotional effect this experience has given me, so, let's get to it.
Sending back an engagement ring is heartbreaking. It's embarrassing, one day I have a ring and the next it's gone bringing a wave of questioning from friends, family, coworkers. No, the engagement is not off, we were just idiots and got swindled with purchasing a ring online. This past weekend I had a friend fly in from out of state to celebrate with me but... there was no ring. She lives out of state, came to see the ring in person and I don't even have it anymore because I made the foolish decision to see if the company would resolve the issue. Brilliant Earth won't even replace the one small accent diamond that is completely missing the top, I'll have to take the ring elsewhere to replace the stones and I'm SOL for the money I spent for just a setting.
The engagement experience largely revolves around the ring. Brilliant Earth fu*ked it up real bad for me and I warn others not to take the risk for that special of an occasion.
I love the setting, I'm taking the ring back but I was ripped off. The condition of the ring is not comparable to the price I had to pay for it. It's similar to ordering a Chanel purse online and finding out you got a fake, it looks great at first glance but it should not have had the same price.