Last updated on November 30th, 2025
Choosing the perfect diamond, be it for an engagement, special occasion, or simply as a high-quality accessory for your own look, can be daunting. Finding the gem of the right quality that you can trust is important, given the significance that diamonds tend to have.
As such, where you buy your stones is just as important as the stones themselves. As e-commerce continues to grow, more and more buyers are looking to online jewelers to help them find their ideal diamonds.
One such jeweler getting more attention is Rare Carat. Here, we’re going to review Rare Carat, looking at what it is, how it works, and whether it’s a reliable and valuable option for those looking to buy diamonds in 2025.
Introducing Rare Carat
Rare Carat was founded in 2016 by Ajay Anand, inspired by his own challenges when trying to purchase an engagement ring online. Against the backdrop of opaque price ranges and overwhelming options, he opened an online jeweler that aimed to simplify the process, combining advanced technology with expert advice.
Rare Carat stands out amongst its competitors through the energy it puts in customer support. A team of over a hundred GIA gemologists is here to guide American shoppers through the (sometimes technical and often stressful) purchase of their engagement ring. In an industry riddled with scams, having a dedicated & responsive gemologist chatting with you and helping you with the pros and cons of each diamond is a game-changer, and a real difference over the competition. The customer support team is also known to be very responsive and helpful in processing returns and exchanges as needed. It’s worth noting that Rare Carat has one of the lowest return rates in the industry, despite offering a more generous return policy. This highlights the premium quality of both the products and the packaging.
What do past customers say about Rare Carat? With over three thousand reviews on Trustpilot, an average rating of 5.0/5 and less than 1% of “1 star” ratings, past customers overwhelmingly report that Rare Carat’s experience is superior to that of competitors Brilliant Earth (4.3/5 on Trustpilot, 17% of customers rated them “1 star”), Blue Nile (4.1/5 on Trustpilot, 20% of customers rated them 1 star) or James Allen (4.2 on Trustpilot, 13% of 1 star). Ritani, another competitor, has an even worse 2.5/5 Trustpilot average rating. Rare Carat stands out so much in the industry that Trustpilot even partnered with them and published a case study on their best practices, from sales to the post-purchase experience. Customers are undeniably crowning Rare Carat as the best place to buy an engagement ring in the USA – let’s dig into the reasons for this success.
Why Choose To Buy Your Ring Online?
Purchasing diamonds traditionally would see you visiting brick-and-mortar stores, but like everything else, they have gone online. Companies like Rare Carat are beginning to stand out from retailers for a host of reasons, as well, including:
- Broader Selection: Behind the scenes, Rare Carat aggregates a pool of diamonds from a wide range of vendors, offering more variety to buyers. That being said, Rare Carat is always the merchant of record in all transactions, protecting the customer from payment processing to returns & exchanges, and all products sold on Rare Carat are branded with Rare Carat’s mark.
- Price Competition: Multiple diamond suppliers competing in the same place often leads to prices more reflective of real market value rather than overinflation. Rare Carat applies a small markup to the prices shared in real time by its suppliers, and then sells the diamond to the customer. The inventory-light and purely online business model of Rare Carat allows it to have much thinner margins than its competitors while maintaining an arguably better level of customer service.
- Transparency and Education: Detailed filters and educational resources help demystify the diamond buying process, helping buyers be more informed with their choices. Even though Rare Carat lists much more diamonds than its competitors, the browsing experience is better, thanks to years of optimisation of the UI for intuitive navigation.
- Consumer Protection: Rare Carat verifies all its diamonds in-house with state-of-the-art equipment and offers policies to protect the customers.
This shift towards online buying reflects changing consumer habits and a desire for greater convenience and clarity in what has historically been a complicated purchasing process.
What Rare Carat Offers to Buyers
As a jeweler since 2021, Rare Carat is no longer just a listing site; it’s a full-service diamond and jewelry retailer and advisor. It offers a selection of both natural and lab-grown diamonds, as well as Moissanite, a popular diamond alternative known for its brilliance and affordability. Their selection also includes engagement rings, wedding bands, eternity rings, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets.
The platform ifts through over a million diamonds to present options that match the buyer’s specific criteria. This also contributes to a Deal Score, a metric that evaluates each diamond’s price relative to quality and market value.
Rare Carat also offers free access to GIA-trained gemologists through chat or phone consultations, providing personalized advice and answering any questions about the diamond buying process. Those seeking more guidance can also look to their Diamond Concierge Service, which walks buyers through the whole process with tailored support to suit their needs.
Benefits of Shopping with Rare Carat
There is a whole range of advantages that stand out when using Rare Carat as your shopping platform of choice, especially for those who want to make confident and informed diamond purchases. These include the following:
- Data-Driven Shopping Experience: The site helps customers filter their choices, with options to choose based on cut, clarity, color, and carat. The UI automatically surfaces the diamonds with the best ratios, and even includes diamonds that are sometimes “better” than the restrictive search filters the user might have set. The Deal Score offers an immediate and objective value of whether or not the diamond is a good value buy at the price it’s offered, too.
- Expert Advice: A team of independent gemologists helps customers get unbiased information about the diamonds they’re looking at, including any potential issues like treatments or fluorescence that might affect their appearance or durability.
- Customer-Friendly Policies: Rare Carat stands out for its focus on customer satisfaction beyond the products themselves, including a 30-day money-back guarantee that means buyers can return their purchases for any reason, as well as 90-day resizing options to adjust rings if their size fit isn’t perfect. While it’s easy and free to return an order, Rare Carat has one of the lowest return rates in the industry thanks to its high quality standard and to the amount of personalized advice it gives to customers pre-sale.
- Secure Shipping: Orders are shipped insured and require a signature on delivery, providing security and peace of mind. Packaging is branded and elegant, creating a memorable unboxing experience.
Add all of this to their wide selection of diamonds from vendors across the globe, and buyers can easily find the stone that matches their preferences and budget.
Drawbacks to Consider
Although there are plenty of benefits, Rare Carat also has a few limitations to be mindful of, including the following:
- No Physical Store: Since they operate entirely online, Rare Carat shoppers can’t see or try on jewelry in person before buying. Though their 360-degree views help, some customers still prefer the more hands-on experience. Some customers actually place orders just to check out the products, with the intention of returning them.
- US-Focused: For now, the company doesn’t ship outside of the US and Canada.
Is Rare Carat the Best Place to Buy Diamonds Online?
If your priority is finding a trustworthy platform that makes buying diamonds more accessible across multiple sellers with expert advice, Rare Carat is a standout option. Its combination of AI-powered pricing analysis and human gemologist expertise offers a rare blend of convenience, transparency, and confidence in online diamond shopping.
The wide variety of products on offer, supported by its excellent search system, makes it easier than ever to find the diamonds that meet your specific criteria. The Deal Score feature is a standout for providing at-a-glance confidence behind your choices.
