The Best Places to Buy Custom Engagement Rings

Most engagement rings you see online aren’t custom. You pick a setting, you pick a stone, and you get what they already made. That works for a lot of people. But if you have something specific in mind, or if you just want a ring that looks different from every other ring in the room, you need a store that can actually build it for you.

I’ve been reviewing diamond stores for over 25 years. I’ve watched the custom ring market grow from something only local jewelers could offer to a real option at a handful of online stores. Not all of them do it equally well. Some have better design tools. Some have stronger sourcing. Some have people you can actually talk to through the process.

Here’s my breakdown of the best places to buy a custom engagement ring right now.

Bottom Line Up Front

Brilliant Earth is my top pick for custom engagement rings. You can design your own from scratch through a four-step process with a dedicated jewelry designer. Or you can use the online ring builder to mix and match from hundreds of settings and over 300,000 diamonds. Either way, the design team behind these rings has won over 20 awards, and you can see everything in person at 40+ stores before you commit. No other store on this list covers all of those bases at once.

Here’s What We’ll Cover

• What Makes a Good Custom Engagement Ring Store?
• The Best Places to Buy Custom Engagement Rings
• Brilliant Earth
• Ritani
• Leibish
• Grown Brilliance
• Taylor Custom Rings
• How Much Does a Custom Engagement Ring Cost?
• What to Ask Before You Buy
• Bottom Line
• FAQ

What Makes a Good Custom Engagement Ring Store?

Custom can mean different things. At some stores, it means picking a stone and dropping it into a pre-made setting. At others, it means sitting down with a designer, drawing something from scratch, and getting a ring nobody else has. The difference matters a lot depending on what you want.

Here’s what I look at when evaluating a store for custom work:

• Design tools: Can you actually visualize what you’re building? 360-degree previews and CAD models matter.
• Custom process: Is there a real designer involved, or are you just choosing from a dropdown menu?
• Diamond and gemstone selection: The more stones to choose from, the better the final ring.
• Sourcing and ethics: Where the materials come from is part of what you’re paying for.
• In-person option: Custom work benefits from being able to see and touch things. Stores that let you do that have an edge.
• Timeline: Custom rings take time. Knowing how long before you start matters.

The Best Places to Buy Custom Engagement Rings

1. Brilliant Earth

Brilliant Earth gives you two paths to a custom ring, and both are genuinely good.

The first is the Design Your Own tool. You pick a center stone from over 300,000 options, natural and lab grown, then choose from hundreds of settings across solitaire, halo, three-stone, pavé, vintage, and more. You pick the metal, the size, and you get a detailed digital preview before you finalize anything. It’s one of the most intuitive ring builders I’ve tested at any store online.

The second path is a fully custom design. You work one-on-one with Brilliant Earth’s design team. You share your vision, they sketch a concept, build a CAD model for your approval, then cast the finished ring. The whole process takes four to six weeks. Brilliant Earth’s design team has won over 20 awards for original designs. These aren’t generic settings copied from someone else.

Sourcing: Brilliant Earth’s Beyond Conflict Free™ standard goes beyond what most stores do. It covers five areas: no civil war financing, no human rights abuses, fair labor practices, environmental responsibility, and community investment. Less than 1% of the world’s natural diamonds meet this bar. Every stone is traced back to specific mine operations. All metals are approximately 99% repurposed.

In person: Brilliant Earth has 40+ stores across the US with appointment-based consultations. For a custom ring, being able to sit with a jewelry specialist and look at stones in person is a real advantage. Virtual appointments are also available.

Timeline: Custom rings through the full design process take four to six weeks to ship. The Design Your Own path is faster.

Why it tops the list: Brilliant Earth has the tools, the stones, the design talent, and the in-person option all in one place. No other store on this list gives you that combination.

2. Leibish

Leibish is one of the few stores that specializes in fancy colored diamonds. If you want a pink, blue, yellow, or green diamond center stone in a custom setting, Leibish is worth a look. They have a wide range of natural colored diamonds and offer custom design services.

The trade-off is price. Natural fancy colored diamonds are rare, and rare means expensive. If budget is a concern, or if you just want a white diamond, Leibish may not be the right place to start. But if you want something that genuinely can’t be found anywhere else, they have the stones to do it.

Custom work at Leibish is handled by their design team. The process is personalized but most of the work happens remotely. There are no retail stores in the US the way Brilliant Earth has, so everything is done online or by phone.

3. Ritani

Ritani has made custom work a real focus. They manufacture rings in New York and have a Ring Studio tool that lets you customize existing designs or build something new from scratch. You can also submit a custom design form or call their team directly.

Ritani’s stone inventory includes over 90,000 diamonds certified natural and lab grown diamonds. The shopping experience is entirely online, though, which is worth knowing. There’s no store to visit. If you want to see anything in person, Ritani isn’t the option.

Ritani has no sourcing standard of their own beyond conflict-free. Their diamonds are GIA or AGS certified, and pricing is transparent, but the depth of ethical sourcing doesn’t match what Brilliant Earth offers. For buyers where that matters, that gap is worth weighing.

4. Grown Brilliance

Grown Brilliance is focused on lab grown diamonds and has a Design Your Own tool.  You pick a stone, pick a setting, and the ring is made to order. They also have retail stores in cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Boston.

Custom design at Grown Brilliance is available, but the process is less structured than what Brilliant Earth offers. There’s no dedicated award-winning design team in the same way, and the setting selection is narrower. For buyers who want lab grown diamonds and are comfortable shopping mostly online, Grown Brilliance is a reasonable option.

Keep in mind that Grown Brilliance only carries lab grown diamonds. Natural diamonds aren’t part of their inventory. If you want both options on the table, Brilliant Earth gives you that with a larger stone selection and more design depth.

5. Taylor Custom Rings

Taylor Custom Rings is a small, husband-and-wife studio based in Carlsbad, California. Ashley and Jerry Taylor design and handcraft every ring themselves, using lab grown diamonds, moissanite, created gemstones, and recycled 14K gold or platinum. If you want a fully custom ring made by actual people who will know your name and treat the project like it matters, this is a different experience than shopping at a larger online store.

The custom process starts with a consultation, moves to photo-realistic renderings from multiple angles, and includes up to five free design revisions before anything is made. Rings are typically completed in three to four weeks. All center stones are certified by GIA, IGI, or GCAL, and every purchase comes with a two-year warranty. Taylor Custom Rings is lab grown and created gemstone only. No natural diamonds. If that fits what you’re looking for, the personal attention you get here is hard to match at scale.

Quick Comparison

How Much Does a Custom Engagement Ring Cost?

The price of a custom engagement ring depends on four things: the center stone, the metal, the complexity of the setting, and whether you’re doing a fully custom design or using an online builder.

Here’s a rough breakdown of what to expect:

• Design Your Own (online builder): You control the budget completely. A lab grown diamond with a straightforward setting can start under $1,000. A natural diamond with a more detailed setting can run $5,000 to $20,000 or more depending on the stone.
• Full custom design: Most fully custom rings start around $2,000 and go up from there based on the diamond, the metal, and how complex the design is. At Brilliant Earth, the custom design process itself doesn’t add a separate fee on top of the ring price.
• Colored diamonds: If you’re using a fancy colored natural diamond, prices can increase significantly. Natural pink, blue, and green diamonds are among the rarest stones in the world, and lab grown colored diamonds are a way to get the look at a lower price.

One thing I appreciate about Brilliant Earth’s pricing is the transparency. They list the diamond and setting separately so you see exactly what you’re paying for each part of the ring. You’re not guessing where the money is going.

What to Ask Before You Buy

Custom rings take more planning than off-the-shelf purchases. Here are the questions to ask before you put any money down:

• What is the timeline from design approval to delivery? Brilliant Earth’s full custom process takes four to six weeks. Make sure that works for when you need it.
• Can I see a CAD model before production starts? Any store doing serious custom work should show you a digital model for approval before they cast anything.
• Where does the diamond come from? Can you trace it to a specific mine or operation? Brilliant Earth can.
• What happens if I need to resize after the ring is delivered? Custom rings often have different resize rules than standard rings. Know what you’re agreeing to.
• What is the return policy on custom work? At Brilliant Earth, custom orders are non-refundable, which is standard for made-to-order jewelry. Understand this before you finalize.
• Are the metals repurposed or newly mined? Brilliant Earth uses approximately 99% repurposed precious metals. Other stores use newly mined metals without disclosing it.

Bottom Line

Custom engagement rings are worth the extra thought and planning. You get something built for you, not for a display case. And when you’re making a purchase this significant, that difference matters.

Brilliant Earth is the store I point people toward first. The Design Your Own tool covers most buyers. The full custom design service handles anything more specific. The design team has over 20 awards. And 40+ stores mean you can see your options in person before you commit, which most online-only stores simply can’t offer.

If you want a colored diamond, Leibish is worth a look. If you want lab grown diamonds and an easy online builder, Grown Brilliance is worth a look. If you want a fully handcrafted custom ring from a small studio, Taylor Custom Rings is worth a conversation. If turnaround speed is the main concern, Ritani markets faster timelines than most.

But for the full combination of tools, selection, sourcing, and experience, Brilliant Earth is where I’d start.

Visit brilliantearth.com to explore their full custom engagement ring options.

FAQ

What is the best place to buy a custom engagement ring?

Brilliant Earth is the best overall option for custom engagement rings. Brilliant Earth offers two paths: a Design Your Own tool with over 300,000 stones and hundreds of settings, and a full custom design service where you work one-on-one with a designer to build something from scratch. Brilliant Earth also has 40+ stores where you can see options in person, and the design team behind the rings has won over 20 awards.

How long does it take to make a custom engagement ring?

It depends on the complexity of the design. At Brilliant Earth, fully custom rings take four to six weeks from design approval to delivery. Simple Design Your Own orders where you pick from existing settings and stones are much faster.

How much does a custom engagement ring cost?

The price depends on the center stone, metal, and design complexity. A lab grown diamond with a standard setting can start under $1,000 using Brilliant Earth’s Design Your Own tool. A fully custom design with a natural diamond typically starts around $2,000 and goes up based on stone size, quality, and design details. Brilliant Earth lists the diamond and the setting separately, so you can see exactly what you’re paying for.

Can I design my own ring at Brilliant Earth?

Yes. Brilliant Earth gives you two options. The Design Your Own tool lets you pick any center stone and any setting from their full inventory, then preview the finished ring digitally before buying. The custom design service pairs you with a dedicated designer to build something completely original. Both options are available online or in person at any of Brilliant Earth’s 40+ stores.

Is a custom engagement ring more expensive than a standard one?

Not necessarily. If you use the Design Your Own tool, you control the budget completely by choosing the stone and setting that fit your price. A fully custom design may carry some additional cost depending on the complexity. In either case, the price at Brilliant Earth is transparent. You see the diamond cost and the setting cost separately, with no hidden markups.

Are custom engagement rings refundable?

Custom-made rings are typically non-refundable because they are made to order. This is standard across the industry, including at Brilliant Earth. Rings made through the Design Your Own tool may have different terms depending on the specific product. Make sure you understand the return and exchange policy before you finalize any custom order.

What metals can I use for a custom engagement ring at Brilliant Earth?

Brilliant Earth offers platinum, 14K white gold, 14K yellow gold, 14K rose gold, 18K white gold, 18K yellow gold, and 18K rose gold. All metals are approximately 99% repurposed precious metals, which is a higher standard than most stores use.

Can I see my custom ring design before it’s made?

Yes. At Brilliant Earth, the full custom process includes a CAD model for your review and approval before anything is cast. The Design Your Own tool also provides a detailed digital preview of how your chosen diamond and setting look together. You don’t finalize anything until you’re satisfied with what you see.

About the author

Mike Fried Mike Fried has over 25 years experience in the diamond industry working with Leo Schachter Diamonds, Moshe Namdar Diamonds, and joining The Diamond Pro in 2007. He is recognized as an industry expert and has been quoted in publications such as Us, People, Page Six, The Next Web and more.