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Blue Nile Or Brilliant Earth?

Brilliant Earth or Blue Nile? Peter Norman is better than both!

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Categories: Blog
Most shoppers start with big online names like Brilliant Earth and Blue Nile. That is a fine way to learn the basics, yet it also narrows your options. If you want a ring designed around one person instead of a catalog, a master custom jeweler like Peter Norman is often the better path. What follows… Continue reading Brilliant Earth or Blue Nile? Peter Norman is better than both!
Table Of Contents

Most shoppers start with big online names like Brilliant Earth and Blue Nile. That is a fine way to learn the basics, yet it also narrows your options. If you want a ring designed around one person instead of a catalog, a master custom jeweler like Peter Norman is often the better path.

What follows is a clear, source linked comparison on design, pricing, ethics, flexibility, consulting, and style trends. You will also find notes on the Tiffany solitaire and why you can get the same look through a custom studio.

 

Custom design experience

  • Peter Norman: Every ring is built to order. You work with a GIA-informed team to choose the stone, refine proportions, and set details that suit the wearer’s hand and lifestyle. The studio emphasizes one-of-a-kind work 1.
  • Brilliant Earth and Blue Nile: Both offer a design your own flow that selects a pre-made setting and then a center stone from inventory. This is a configuration rather than a full bespoke 2, 3.

jeweller hand making ring
jeweller

Diamond sourcing and pricing

  • Peter Norman: Offers mined and lab-grown diamonds and states stones are sourced at wholesale prices, with GIA certification options and side-by-side comparison during consults 4, 5, 6.
  • Brilliant Earth and Blue Nile: Operate at retail with strong logistics and selection. Blue Nile highlights a price match style program and 24 7 experts, which can help if speed and inventory are your priority 7, 3.

Diamond Quality

Grading and ethics that change what you pay and what you get

  • Independent grading with side by side report reading at Peter Norman. We review the GIA report for your exact stone and explain how cut, proportions, symmetry, and fluorescence affect what you see on the hand.
    Benefit: you avoid paying for a paper grade that does not improve appearance and can put budget into visible cut quality or carat where it matters most 8.
  • Clear AGS to GIA translation. AGS Laboratories closed in 2022 and integrated with GIA, so you may see a GIA report with an AGS Ideal supplement. We translate the terms and call out when a “super ideal” label is marketing.
    Benefit: apples to apples comparisons across retailers so you do not overpay for a name or a sticker 9, 10, 11.
  • Lab-grown vs mined with clear labeling and real trade-offs. The FTC requires unambiguous labeling for laboratory-created diamonds and reinforced this in 2019. We show both options at your target specs and discuss price, warranty, and resale expectations.
    Benefit: you choose the best value for your priorities rather than a one-size-fits-all list price 12, 13.
  • Documented sourcing beyond the baseline. The Kimberley Process is the starting point for rough diamond controls, not the end of due diligence. We can work with recycled metals and suppliers that provide a chain of custody or origin documentation and summarize what is verified.
    Benefit: ethics you can explain, not vague claims 14, 15.

Why this steers buyers to Peter Norman over big catalogs. Brilliant Earth and Blue Nile provide correct lab reports and required labeling, which is good. Peter Norman adds expert interpretation, side-by-side comparisons on your exact stone, and builds around your design, so the same budget buys a better-looking ring with a higher quality, more beautiful stone than from the big retailers.

Flexibility with heirlooms and client owned stones

  • Peter Norman: Regularly re sets family diamonds and colored gems and designs around heirlooms 16.
  • Brilliant Earth: States clearly that they do not sell or create settings unless the center stone is purchased from Brilliant Earth 17.
  • Blue Nile: Customization is built around Blue Nile inventory, which limits bring your own options 3.

Consulting and service

  • Peter Norman: In-person and virtual consults with a small expert team and iterative review until the design is right 1, 16.
  • Brilliant Earth and Blue Nile: Easy online appointments, fast shipping, and standardized service menus that suit buyers who want a quick preset route 2, 3.

peter norman shop

About solitaires and Tiffany

The six-prong solitaire became famous in 1886 with the Tiffany Setting that lifts the diamond to capture light 18. You do not need to go to Tiffany to get that look. A custom jeweler such as Peter Norman can build a classic six-prong or bezel solitaire to your exact proportions with your choice of mined or lab-grown center stone.

Real-world reviews

Ratings change over time and can vary by location. Check current feedback before you buy.

Celebrity choices often nudge demand toward certain shapes and settings. In August 2025, Taylor Swift’s engagement spotlighted an antique-inspired old mine or antique cushion center set in yellow gold. Major outlets describe a bezel presentation and vintage character and note a surge of interest in antique-style cuts and elongated silhouettes. Expect more requests for old mine style cushions and elongated proportions that visually lengthen the finger 20, 21, 22, 23.

Bottom line

If you want a ring that looks like it was made for everyone, a large online catalog works. If you want a ring that looks like it was made for one person, choose a studio that builds around your hand, your story, and your stone. Peter Norman delivers full bespoke design, GIA-grounded guidance, flexible use of heirloom stones, and competitive stone sourcing. You can still browse Brilliant Earth or Blue Nile for research and ideas, then bring what you like to a master jeweler who will make it yours.

References

  1. Peter Norman site overview of custom work.
  2. Brilliant Earth customer care and design flow.
  3. Blue Nile design your own settings.
  4. Peter Norman Diamonds states wholesale pricing and GIA certification.
  5. Engagement Ring Journey repeats wholesale and GIA language.
  6. Custom Engagement Ring Design notes GIA and IGI options and wholesale supply.
  7. Blue Nile FAQ price guarantee and support info.
  8. Peter Norman clarity guide with GIA framing.
  9. American Gem Society AGS Laboratories resource page explaining closure and integration with GIA.
  10. GIA press on AGS integration, Oct 2022.
  11. GIA news on printed AGS Ideal Reports, 2024.
  12. FTC Jewelry Guides update, 2018.
  13. FTC warning letters on diamond disclosures, 2019.
  14. Kimberley Process official site.
  15. What is the KP explainer.
  16. Peter Norman services for re setting heirlooms.
  17. Brilliant Earth FAQ setting without center stone policy.
  18. The Tiffany Setting history.
  19. Peter Norman on Yelp.
  20. People on Swift ring and old mine cut.
  21. Vogue on bezel set, split shank, and trend impact.
  22. Forbes overview of old mine brilliant details.
  23. Town and Country background on old mine cuts.

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By Peter Norman

Peter Norman is one of Los Angeles’ most celebrated wedding jewelers, with his custom-made engagement rings and wedding bands taking center place in thousands of weddings over the last 40 years. Each engagement ring is custom designed, built to order, and can suit any budget: from the simply elegant 1-carat solitaires to the exquisite pieces fit for (and sometimes purchased by) royalty.