Q&A: Brilliant Earth’s CEO on the New Beverly Hills Store

Brilliant Earth has opened what it is calling “The Showroom of the Future” in Beverly Hills, California, as it looks to revamp the fine jewelry shopping experience.

The new location centers around guided experiences and consultations, with a focus on design.

The space features natural materials and sculptural details inspired by its jewelry, seen throughout its private consultation rooms and VIP salon.

In an interview with National Jeweler, Brilliant Earth CEO Beth Gerstein spoke about the new showroom and how the jewelry retailer is approaching fine jewelry shopping.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Lenore Fedow: So, you all created “The Showroom of the Future” to update the fine jewelry shopping experience. What do you think was missing that this new showroom offers?

Beth Gerstein: We’re calling this our flagship, and we’re incredibly proud of how it turned out. It’s the culmination of 20 years.

I founded this company 20 years ago with Eric [Grossberg], and over time, we’ve understood and just continued to test and iterate. This concept, to me, feels like the culmination, and just the physical realization of our brand.

Every detail [of the new store] was approached with intention.

Our brand’s North Star is “delight in the details,” and every detail that we brought to life was incredibly well thought through.

Part of that is having distinctive spaces for bridal and fine jewelry.

As you know, we’ve been growing our fine jewelry collections and leaning into design there and so, we’re able to showcase those jewelry collections in a much broader way.

We were also very intentional about separating the bridal experience. I think we’ve been bridal experts for many years and really understand how couples are shopping for engagement rings, but we wanted to give each shopping experience its own space and energy.

That’s something we couldn’t accommodate previously, but is [now] just based on the scale of the space that we have available in Beverly Hills.

LF: When we’re talking specifically about your customers who are shopping for engagement rings, what do you think is the most important thing to them?

BG: I think what we’re trying to do is make shopping for an engagement ring much more personal and create an exceptional experience.

We recognize this isn’t a transaction. This is supposed to be a celebration of a couple commemorating a really important milestone for them.

And so, we’re taking something that previously felt daunting and intimidating, and turning it into something they’re always going to remember and that they’ll reflect on in years to come. So that’s what we’re trying to do, curate this really beautiful experience for them that brings joy to something that otherwise might be more intimidating.

LF: You’re seeing a new generation come into the stores. What’s different about them versus shoppers of years past?

BG: What I think people are craving is just a real, authentic experience, having genuine connections and having something in-store that is exceptional. I think their standards and expectations are higher than ever. 

Gen Z is shopping more and more in real life. 

I think our digital experiences continue to be important, and customers, they’re highly educated. They arrive knowing so much more information. They’ve done the research. 

But I think experiencing something real and having that one-on-one relationship with our sales associate, our jewelry consultant, that, to me, is where the magic is. 

We’re really trying to inspire our customers, not just educate them, which I think is always going to be important. 

We’re creating a highly personalized, curated experience for them. When you do that, when you have transparency, when you create a personal relationship, trust grows, and the moment becomes even more meaningful.

LF: The new showroom offers a guided consultation for couples called the “Date Night” experience. Can you walk me through what that’s like?

BG: We’re really proud of our Date Night experience. This is a moment when we’re trying to celebrate an exceptional moment in a couple’s life and trying to make something that could be stressful genuinely fun and celebratory.

We’re creating an experience around hospitality and personalization.

We’ve always had personalized, one-on-one appointments, where we understand what customers are looking for. When they come in, we have brought out exact diamonds, ring styles, whatever it is that we understand from their preferences.

This experience takes that premise and then it elevates it to really create fun moments, curating an experience for them but also making sure that it’s fun, it’s interactive, and it’s something that they’re going to look back on and [remember.]

LF: Yeah, there’s a huge difference in the experience of shopping for an engagement ring and coming in for non-bridal fine jewelry.

BG: Absolutely. And we want to make that celebratory versus what you might find walking into a lot of jewelers right now. It’s intimidating.

This is the largest purchase that our customers are going to make at this point in their lives, and how do you create trust and the confidence and the inspiration for them, and create this really personalized experience they will remember always?

LF: Some of your customers are shopping for non-bridal jewelry as well. What are they looking to get out of the shopping experience?

BG: Fine jewelry customers today are looking for beauty and inspiration. They are looking for well-designed pieces that resonate with them that they can wear every day, not just for special occasions.

It’s about design, artistry, and styling and having fun, discovering new ways to style and layer.

That’s what our space is built for—showcasing our beautiful collections but making it interactive so they are excited to discover something they didn’t think they needed, but they absolutely love.

LF: Customization is now pretty big for you all as well, I’d imagine.

BG: Absolutely, and we have a personalization bar we’ve created where you can see different birds, these different zodiac symbols, and different ways you can engrave and personalize our jewelry collections, which I think resonates a lot with our audience.

LF: Going back to the new showroom, can we talk about the design and what inspired it? What kind of vibe are you going for in the store?

BG: In terms of the vibe, inviting, elevated, approachable, and inspired. We want people to feel welcomed from the moment that they walk in, and know this is a beautiful space that they can feel really comfortable in.

I think the brand’s North Star, “delight in the details,” really informs the entire design, so everything from the art wall we created, which draws on our natural elements that run through our jewelry collection. You can see all of the branches and banana leaves from our Jane Goodall collection, our camellia flowers.

Those design details are showcased throughout the space. The other concept that we have that we’re really excited about is “every eternity begins with a date.”

You can see that the bar the date night experience is created around is circular, kind of like an eternity ring, and that concept of eternity and of eternal love is resonant throughout the space as well.

Those are design details that we think through, that are kind of creating that inspiration and comfort and approachability for our consumers.

LF: Lastly, is this showroom concept expanding to other locations?

BG: We absolutely plan to bring elements of the experience into our existing fleet and into future stores. 

We’re very much a test-and-learn company. We’re always understanding how to make our experiences better. 

I think we have created real magic in this showroom, and being able to take it to other showrooms is our plan.