Liori Diamonds vs Brilliant Earth: Which One Should You Buy From?

Last updated: September 2026

Who is writing this: Beyond Carat sells lab-grown diamond jewelry and competes with the brands compared below. Every retailer fact here was checked against the brand’s own public pages in September 2026 and archived that day.

What kind of company is each one?

Liori Diamonds runs a New York showroom at 580 5th Ave #3110, New York, NY 10036, open Monday to Thursday 11am to 6pm and Friday noon to 3pm, closed at weekends. Its locations page also references a Sunny Isles, Florida presence for bespoke work, without an address or hours. Appointments are bookable online, walk-ins are “always warmly welcomed”, and a free 15-minute consultation by FaceTime or phone is offered nationwide.

Brilliant Earth was founded in 2005 by Beth Gerstein and Eric Grossberg, designs its collections at a San Francisco studio, and is today a publicly listed company (Brilliant Earth Group, Inc., NASDAQ: BRLT). It operates more than forty US locations and books virtual appointments, encouraging appointments “for the best experience, but will always do our best to accommodate walk-ins.”

Both sell lab-grown and natural diamonds. If you want a retailer carrying nothing but lab-grown, neither of these is it.

Who grades the diamond, and what exactly does each brand claim?

Brilliant Earth publishes the laboratory. Its lab-grown diamond search filters stones by which laboratory issued the report — IGI, GIA, GCAL or HRD — so you know whose opinion you are buying before you add anything to the cart.

Liori states, on its About page, that every piece “comes with an independent certificate appraised by GIA gemologist graduates from some of the most rigid diamond appraisal labs”. As written, the sentence describes the appraisers’ training; it does not name the laboratory that issues the report. If a report from a specific laboratory matters — and for insurance, resale and any later appraisal it usually does — ask which laboratory issues the certificate on the stone you are looking at, and get the answer before you pay. Our IGI vs GIA comparison explains why the issuer is the part that travels with the stone.

What are the return windows, and why does Liori’s appear twice?

Brilliant Earth is the simpler case. Thirty days, freight paid in both directions: “whether your purchase is headed to you or back to us, we cover the cost of shipping every time.” Resizing is one complimentary resizing within 60 days regardless of range, or up to a year within range. Engraved, personalised and custom pieces are excluded, and returning an engraved ring carries a $40 engraving-removal fee.

Liori publishes its return terms in two places, and as of September 2026 they do not agree. The store policy page states “we accept returns 14 days from the date of receipt”; the delivery and returns terms page states 30 days. Both were live the same day, and neither states who pays for return shipping.

Policy pages drift. It is simply the thing to settle first: get the window that applies to your order confirmed in an email you keep. The store policy page adds that “sized rings are subject to 15% restocking fee” and that unsized returns carry none; the terms page states only “no restocking fees or penalties”.

What do the warranties actually cover?

Liori’s terms describe a “limited lifetime warranty” covering “defects in manufacturing and workmanship”, excluding “excessive wear, abuse, or physical damage”. The same page notes that “upon acceptance of delivery, insurance and protection of merchandise becomes the sole responsibility of the customer” — the loss-and-theft question is yours from the moment the box arrives.

Brilliant Earth states that it “offers a free lifetime warranty against manufacturing defects on all Brilliant Earth fine jewelry”. Both warranties do the same job: they cover the ring failing because of how it was made, not how it was worn. Neither is insurance, and neither replaces a lost stone.

How do Liori Diamonds and Brilliant Earth compare side by side?

Attribute	Liori Diamonds	Brilliant Earth
Diamonds sold	Lab-grown and natural	Lab-grown and natural
What the site says about grading	“An independent certificate appraised by GIA gemologist graduates”	Filter by report issuer: IGI, GIA, GCAL or HRD
Return window	14 days on one page, 30 days on another — confirm which applies	30 days
Who pays return shipping	Not stated on either returns page	Covered in both directions
Fees on return	15% restocking on sized rings; none otherwise	$40 engraving-removal fee on engraved returns
Warranty	Limited lifetime, manufacturing and workmanship	Lifetime, manufacturing defects
Physical locations	New York showroom; Florida presence referenced	40+ US locations
Remote appointments	Free 15-minute FaceTime or phone consultation	Virtual appointments

Details gathered from public retailer pages, checked September 2026. Beyond Carat is not affiliated with any brand listed. We do not publish competitor prices here because they move weekly — compare complete-ring prices at matching certified grades on the day you buy.

Where can you see the rings in person?

Liori has one published address, in midtown Manhattan, with short Friday hours and no weekend opening. For a New York buyer that is an advantage: a single-location independent can give you longer with a person and more room to work outside the catalogue.

Brilliant Earth has the wider footprint. More than forty locations across Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Seattle and Washington D.C. means most US buyers have a showroom within reach.

Who should choose which?

Choose Liori Diamonds if you are in or near New York, want a small independent that will sit with you and build something bespoke, and are comfortable settling the return window and the certificate issuer by email before you pay. The free 15-minute virtual consultation is an easy way to test how they answer both.

Choose Brilliant Earth if you want the policy written down once and consistently: 30 days, freight covered both ways, a grading laboratory named on the lab-grown stones it lists, a resize window measured in months, and more than forty US showrooms.

A third option, stated with its flaws: Beyond Carat is a women-led, lab-grown-only maker in the NYC Diamond District, and since this is our site, weigh it accordingly. Every stone is graded by IGI and the report ships in the box; the band is D, E or F colour with VVS or VS clarity and Excellent cut; returns run 65 days from the date the order ships, with a free prepaid, insured UPS return label on U.S. orders. The concessions are the reason to compare rather than take our word. Beyond Carat carries 4.8 out of 5 on Trustpilot across 51 reviews as of September 2026. It is IGI only, with no GIA option, so if a GIA report is your requirement we do not serve it. It does not offer in-store appointments, so both brands here beat it if you want to try a ring on. And the narrow D–F, VVS–VS band means it cannot be the cheapest quote in a like-for-like search. See our Beyond Carat vs Brilliant Earth page and the wider list of Brilliant Earth alternatives.

Frequently asked questions

Are Liori Diamonds’ stones graded by GIA?

Liori’s About page says each piece comes with “an independent certificate appraised by GIA gemologist graduates”. That describes the appraisers’ training rather than the issuing laboratory, so ask which laboratory issued the report on your stone before you buy.

How long do you have to return a Liori Diamonds order?

Two Liori pages give different answers as of September 2026: the store policy page says 14 days from receipt, the delivery and returns terms page says 30 days. Get the window that applies to your order confirmed in writing. The store policy page adds a 15% restocking fee on sized rings.

Does Brilliant Earth sell only lab-grown diamonds?

No. Brilliant Earth carries both, and its shop-online page publishes a lifetime diamond upgrade programme for loose natural and lab-grown diamonds bought from it: the credit applies toward a new lab-grown diamond of at least 2x the original value, or a natural diamond of at least 1.5x, and its returns page lists upgrade-programme items as non-returnable. Liori also sells both.