De’Longhi Brilliante Kettle review

De’Longhi’s Brilliante Kettle provides a unique, geometric design which is sure to catch the eye on your kitchen countertop. It features a small lift-out lid and a reflective, diamond-patterned casing, which catches the light as you rotate it. While the appearance is striking, this is a plastic, single temperature kettle which is good value for money. 

When we put this kettle to the test, we found it was very quick to boil, but it scored average marks for external temperature and energy use. It was a tad noisy too. Having said that, if you read our full De’Longhi Brilliante Kettle review, you will see it’s a very lightweight kettle — in fact, it is one of the lightest we’ve seen, and its performance is more than adequate considering the price point, which is why it’s one of our best kettles. 

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De’Longhi Brilliante Kettle review: Price and availability

The De’Longhi Brilliante kettle is available to buy from Amazon for £43.99 and Argos for £43.99. It’s currently available in black and white. It’s not available to buy in the U.S. 

De’Longhi Brilliante Kettle review: Design

The De’Longhi Brilliante Kettle has a minimum capacity of 300ml and a maximum capacity of 1.7 litres. This means the minimum capacity is slightly higher than a single cup of tea, but at its fullest, it can serve just under eight cups. There’s a water gauge which is easy to read underneath the handle, but the minimum capacity is below its lowest marked increment. We only knew the minimal capacity by reading the manual — this would be frustrating if you want to avoid wasting water.

The lid is relatively small and lifts out of the kettle when you grip and pull from the small ball on top. It takes some force to remove and the small ball is difficult to grip as well. The casing is made from plastic, although the diamond-patterned finish gives it a premium appearance. There are chrome accents around the lid and base, and the trigger to switch on the power is chrome and is quite chunky compared to other kettles we’ve tested, although some may prefer this. This is a single-temperature kettle, and makes no audible noises when switched on, but shows a single red light near the base as it’s heating, which isn’t as obvious as it could be. 

This kettle is pyramid-shaped, which is why the lid is so small, although the base is fairly bulky, measuring 27 x 19.5 x 26 cm. Despite this, the design is lightweight, weighing just 835 g when empty — in fact this was one of the lightest kettles we tested, second only to the Morphy Richards Hive Kettle. 

The handle is easy to grip, doesn’t rub, and is comfortable enough, but it could do with cushioning. You can easily support the kettle’s weight under the top of the handle as you carry it, thanks to the angular design. 

The cord is 70cm long, which is about average among the kettles we tested, and the base comes with cord storage should you want to hide the excess. The base feels quite thin and flimsy; like the weight of the kettle could easily shift it in use. 

De’Longhi Brilliante Kettle review: Performance

The De’Longhi Brilliante Kettle was quite quick to boil one litre of water, needing just two minutes and seven seconds on average. It wasn’t quite the fastest, which was the Bosch Sky Kettle at two minutes and four seconds. During this time, the body reached temperatures of 66.4°C, which isn’t as hot as some of the stainless steel models we tested, but it’s still a scalding hazard. The handle remained at room temperature. It was a bit noisy though, clocking 78 dB at maximum — only the Bosch Sky Kettle was noisier. It used an average amount of energy to boil one litre of water, at 0.1135 kWh. 

It’s very easy to pour slowly from this kettle and control the flow, but if you recede slowly, it can dribble back down the spout.   

When boiling water at full capacity, it didn’t leak or spit, and it needed three minutes and 20 seconds to boil 1.7 litres. Noise and temperature readings were very similar to the one litre test, at 77.8 dB and 64.5°C respectfully. The insulation of the casing scored average marks, although it was better than we expected considering it’s just plastic. We boiled it at full capacity and after an hour, the temperature had dropped to 68.6°C. 

De’Longhi Brilliante Kettle review: Ease of use and manual

Fitting and removing the limescale filter is a bit awkward — you have to push it down to detach it — and you have to squeeze it through the small lid opening. As mentioned earlier, the lift-out lid requires some force to remove, but it’s easy enough to push back into place. You can fill this kettle up through the spout, but you need to do so slowly or else the water splashes out. You can easily fill through the lid if you’re impatient, though. The wide water gauge is easy to read as you fill it up. It’s easy enough to power on this kettle, with a flick of the sizable switch; you can’t miss it. 

The manual provides everything you’d expect, from contact details for the manufacturer to diagrams, safety information and step-by-step guidance. There are cleaning and descaling tips too. The only thing it’s missing is a section on troubleshooting. 

De’Longhi Brilliante Kettle review: Verdict

All in all, the De’Longhi Brilliante Kettle is a perfectly adequate kettle considering its price. It’s quick to boil, easy on the eye and scored middle-of-the-pack in all other respects. True, the design is lacking in places — particularly in the removal of the limescale filter and the lift-out lid, but if you can look past that, you’re getting great value for money. 

Compared to our winning kettle, the Bosch Sky Kettle, the De’Longhi Brilliante Kettle is faster to boil at full capacity and slightly quieter too, but the exterior does get hotter. The Bosch Kettle is more energy efficient too. The De’Longhi Brilliante Kettle is much cheaper though and looks quite premium for a plastic kettle.