Brilliantly Engaged

Bespoke jewelry at its finest. I would recommend Chris A and his colleagues without any hesitation. After doing extensive research… and weeks to months of finding someone I could trust to make a ring to my specifications. Chris and his staff did not let me down. My fiancé after having doubts about the process and Chris’s technical expertise… Chris first made a CAD model of the ring to our specifications. My fiancé was very particular and wanted it designed a certain way. After the CAD model was molded she had issues with some of the dimensions. Chris went about fixing the issue and went about molding the ring. It was a long process but she was litterally blown away on how amazing her ring looked…
To this day she gets complements on how amazing her ring looks. Yes I had a part in choosing a perfect diamond but what good is a diamond if the ring is not elegantly designed.
Thanks Chris A. You made me and my bride forever happy.

This review is for Mark and the amazing experience I had in purchasing my wife’s engagement ring. I’ve had about a year to reflect on the experience!
Background: I tend to become obsessive compulsive when it comes to researching and buying an engagement ring clearly fed my compulsiveness. I spent about 6 months researching, contacting jewelers, and finally deciding to go with Mark.
Why I Chose Brilliantly Engaged: In the end of my research, I realized that I would never become an expert. However, what the research provided me is the background/​base knowledge to become a bit more discernable on who I could trust. After speaking with multiple jewelers, Mark and his team won me over with their honesty and patience. With such a big investment, it was important to me to choose someone that I could trust and be fair.
Visit: My wife (fiancé at the time) and I went to visit Mark to choose the diamond to have on her engagement ring. This was a great experience. Here we were able to view different types of diamonds and Mark chose many «Emerald Cuts» to look at and explained the differences in prices and taught us how to look at them. His patience, knowledge, and passion really shined bright through this experience. Additionally, he did not try to convince us to buy the most expensive diamond, but rather helped us make the «best» decision.
Engagement Ring: Mark worked with me to have a custom ring done based on another type of ring I saw with slight modifications. I’d say it is fairly unique and it turned out great! My wife loves it and it made me very happy to choose Mark and his team.
Customer Service: Mark went above and beyond. Right after I received the ring, I went to an appraise to get it appraised (Trust but Verify as I’ve learned in my life). During the appraisal, they saw a slight issue with one of the straight baguettes on the side of her ring. I immediately forwarded the paperwork to Mark and I was stressed b/​c I was going to propose within a week. Mark, had me ship the ring back to him (they paid of course) and they fixed it. The amazing part is that Mark took the train from NYC to DC to make sure I would get the ring in time before proposing (tight turn-​around time and he didn’t want to risk it).
Concluding Thoughts /​Recommendation: Do your research so you can understand and start connecting what people say to what you know. The research I did helped me ask questions and discern by the responses on who was truly knowledgeable and who was just trying to sell me a line. I definitely recommend Brilliantly Engaged!

I had an overwhelmingly positive experience with Mark and the team at Brilliantly Engaged. First of all Mark and his team are extremely personable and the customer service is second to none. Mark wants to get to know his customers and it leads to a great experience.
I knew I wanted to purchase a cushion style ring and after doing a quick search I knew Mark and Brilliantly Engaged was the place to go. I am not based in NYC so I primarily communicated to Mark via email and phone. The experience was pretty seamless. I told Mark my budget and my diamond preferences and he took about 24 hours to go through his inventory to find the best stone. He provided me with a copy of the GIA/​AGS certificate as well. We then decided on the ring style and he sent me some renderings within a few days. I gave the OK and the ring was ready in 2 – 3 weeks. It was shipped via Fedex overnight to a secure location.
The ring is absolutely perfect and my fiancé loved it. A big thank you to Mark and the Brilliantly Engaged team for making this such an easy going experience.

After seeing Mark’s name pop up again and again on PriceScope (search Brilliantly Engaged under the boards and you’ll see what I’m talking about), I contacted him about finding a cushion cut diamond. Although my fiancé and I had visited a few other jewelers in NYC, we found others to be too pushy and clearly uninterested when they learned we were the type that needed to do our research before making such a large purchase. Our experience with Mark was immediately different, since our first meeting was simply an informational session to help us learn more about diamonds in general. After telling Mark more about us and our preferences, he was able to outline exactly what we were looking for and what was available within our budget. Mark was very patient with us and after seeing two rounds of diamonds, we found our center stone. Mark then worked with my fiancé to create the setting, and the ring was shipped overnight less than three weeks later. Overall, we couldn’t be happier with the ring, and being one of the first of our family and friends to get engaged, I’m sure we will be sending a lot of people his way over the next several years!

Here goes another perfect review for Mark and Brilliantly Engaged. I’m a research geek and toil away for hours on end searching for the best of whatever I’m going to buy. When it came to looking for a jeweler for an engagement ring, I was referred to many stores and jewelers, but none matched the experience Mark provided.
I live and work in NYC and after spending hours with other jewelers, getting hard sells, lessons on what to look for and other bits of info, I decided to meet with Mark.
We spoke on the phone for about 15 minutes and he asked me the usual questions: shape, size, clarity, color, setting, and price range. We set up an initial 90 minute meeting for a few days later and Mark had prepared 5 beautiful stones as we had discussed.
Within the first few moments of meeting Mark, I knew he would be getting my business. His first questions were not about how much I was willing to spend, but «Why are you looking to get engaged? Who is this special person in your life?» Mark makes the process so easy and painless. I walked out of Brilliantly Engaged about two hours later and I had put a deposit down on a beautiful cushion cut diamond in a platinum pavé setting. Three weeks later, as Mark had promised, the ring was ready for me to inspect, pick up, finalize the payment process and receive the ring’s appraisal for insurance. It was perfect.
Mark is a well-​respected jeweler with extensive experience, spending many years teaching at the GIA before starting his own shop. He was actually referred to me by a competitor with nearly 50 perfect reviews on Unilocal and numerous other sites because of his ability to source and provide amazing cushion cut diamonds. That’s not to say that Mark focuses on one cut of diamond, he really has it all. It is a testament to the level of respect that Mark has built in the industry when competitors refer to him as the «King of Cushion Cuts».
I proposed three weeks ago and my now fiancé couldn’t be happier. The ring is perfect for her, the stone is gorgeous, it’s perfect. I couldn’t have hoped for a better experience with Mark and his team. We’ll be back in the next few months to get started on wedding bands.
Mark, thank you again for all of your patience, guidance and the amazing ring. Another incredibly satisfied customer.

This review is for Mark and his wonderful team.
About Me:
I am originally from CA and we made arrangements to see Mark in NY specifically for ring shopping.
Booking the Appointment:
I had booked the flights out to NY months before our appointment so I had time to research and prepare as well. Throughout everything, Mark was very communicative and responsive. His humorous personality shines through in his emails, which makes you feel relaxed!
Day of Appointment:
Mark was sooo gracious and kind throughout the entire process! He is extremely personable and he did what he could and showed us diamonds that were in our price range.
He genuinely really cares about his customers and he did something that no other vendor had done. He had taken out his loupe and ideal scope so we can view the diamonds. In addition, he sat down, gave us some history on diamonds and himself and even gave my boyfriend a diamond lesson on how to use a loupe. This sounds silly, but most vendors won’t even give you a loupe or will just hand one over to you thinking you know how to do it.
The appointment with Mark was very relaxed and he made sure that we had his undivided attention. We never felt rushed OR pressured which can be what you experience when buying diamonds. He took things slowly and at our pace. He even took the time to get to know US as individuals as we were looking at diamonds. A lot of other vendors really just get straight to the point, show the diamonds, ask you what you think, then you are standing there just nervous and limited in time.
Another thing that diamond lovers will appreciate is that Mark’s office is set up in an area where there is a tone of natural lighting. A lot of other vendors will have numerous lights hitting the stones to give it more fire and brilliance! The diamonds you see on Mark’s desk is pretty true to what it will look like when you leave the store. The only light he has is the desk light. I think that’s one of the things that should be noted. When you’re looking at a diamond try to see it in different lighting. I’ve been to some stores where there are 2 – 3 lights on the diamond — of course it will sparkle!
If you want a vendor that will really take care of you, I highly recommend Mark and his team. He is raved about on diamond websites. He’s not part of those cheap jewelry booths where they are just trying to ring in a couple of bucks (and trust me, I’ve been to those in LA and NY). You’re basically a piece of meat.
Brilliantly Engaged will treat you with utmost respect and care. They want to make sure you are happy!

I’m one who never writes reviews online but my experience buying an e-​ring from this guy warranted it. It doesn’t matter if your spending 2K or 200k in his shop, you will definitely leave well informed and with a jewel you or your spouse will truley love. I highly reccommend talking with Mark T before purchasing anywhere else, be it online or another vendor. He was very responsive to emails, and patient, not once did I feel pressured into buying anything more expensive or that my modest budget wasn’t worth his time and effort. Keep up the good work Mark and thanks again.

There is once in your lives that a couple wants everything to be done right. That is when you are engaged to be married. The ring is so important. It will be worn every day for many years to come. Mark at Brilliantly Engaged knows that and is sensitive to this very special time. He listens to what you want and delivers a product thAt is quality through and through. We are so happy with the engagement ring that he made for us. I can’t say thank you enough.

I had a positive experience with Mark and Brilliantly Engaged. I spent a quite some time in NYC going from jeweler to jeweler, and it is tiring. Most are trying to just drive the transaction, and really do not care about relationship. That’s understandable, since you buy one engagement ring and usually don’t buy another (at least for a while).
I worked with Mark during the week, and he is GIA certified and a gemologist. His approach to sales is education. He will begin to educate you on gems, what makes the price different, color, cut, clarity, carat weight, etc.
He was also very quick in getting diamonds, which is very important. I requested to see 4 – 5 diamonds at a time and fortunately he was able to get them. I spent over an hour with him, looking at the gems, and began shopping around again.
Mark was flexible with pricing, which made it a lot easier for me to move forward with him. Other jewelers were quite adamant (I looked at 30+ gems and had a spreadsheet of pricing all over the place). Mark was willing to budge to cut into his own margins to meet my pricing demands.
All-​in-​all, after a week, we agreed to a price. He sends renderings, you approve them, and he creates the ring.
It took about 3 weeks from purchase to receive the ring (I have no baseline to compare to). I’d recommend speaking to him as he was one of the more trustworthy jewelers.

After dealing with countless shady jewelers i got the recommendation to check out Brilliantly Engaged/​Engagement Rings Direct. I couldn’t be more pleased.
First meeting with Mark we really didn’t even discuss or look at diamonds. He just took some time to educate me. Which was very helpful. Plus i had alot of questions. He isn’t trying to sell you. He is trying to educate you so that you can make the decision yourself.
Once you learn about the diamonds, then he can give you options based on your budget. We went back and forth a few times as i wasn’t sure what i wanted. He was very patient.
All in all, he found a great stone and the setting that was made was absolutely beautiful.
And his prices are very competitive. In fact, his settings are probably significantly under priced for the quality. I saw similar ones for double the price.
All in all, it was a great experience and i am very glad i had the chance to work with him.
Plus the reactions we have gotten from the ring already have been impressive.
My recommendation, don’t even mess with the other vendors. Save yourself the trouble and frustration and go right to ERD/​BE.
Thanks Mark and Chris!

Customer service above and beyond the expected–
I worked with Chris to create a custom setting for my diamond; this was my first custom job and I was told up front that these orders were final sale for understandable reasons.
When I wasn’t 100% satisfied with the finished product and shared my disappointment with Chris, he and Mark worked to rectify the situation and I am now over the moon with the ring I am proud to own.
They are a class act, truly remarkable to find such honest and hardworking people in this cutthroat industry.
Would not hesitate for a single second to work with them again, and hope to do just that one day soon.