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I believe I was the one who told you about Windy City Diamonds (as that's where I got my ring!) but we also negotiated there!
I had my ring custom made based on a designer ring I loved from the Sylvie Collection. There is only one jeweler in Chicago-land that sells Sylvie rings so I had called and found out my dream ring would cost $2,100 for just the setting. When we were at my jeweler, they made a computer aided drawing of a replica ring like my dream setting. We were talking about pricing and I had mentioned that I inquired about the ring at other stores. He asked how much they were selling it for. Even though I was quoted $2,100 at the other store, I told the guy I was quoted $1,900 and he said he would make the setting for $1,600 - it is 14k white gold with a split shank band and halo with 0.71 cttw in diamonds! The center stone was a separate cost, but I'm glad I was able to negotiate the cost of the custom designed setting!
I didn't try to negotiate the diamond price, but the owner of WCD owns another business where he sells wholesale diamonds so he has great prices. It's worth a shot!
@Mrs. Fireworks: Yes, you did! I appreciate the help. 
That's great re: the setting. I've found a few beautiful ones that cost $3k+ which would be out of our range if we get the diamond we want. How long did it take for you to get your ring set? We'll be in town from the 15-30th of Dec. and were hoping that the ring could be done in under 2 weeks.
If you want to negotiate the price, you need to be prepared to pay in cash immediately.
My SO negotiated the price of our diamond and ring setting to take off $4,000.
1) What really helped was doing the research of comparable diamonds both online and other jewelry stores in the area. Print out the quotes and bring them in. If anything, they'll try to match and beat that price to induce you to go with them.
2) Also, the associates at the jewelry store we went to do not work of commission so it helped in that we didn't have to worry about a salesman's ulterior motive for boosting their paycheck.
3) Be serious and let your associate know you are willing to buy if the price is right. They are more willing to whip out the calculator and crunch numbers with a buyer who is ready.
4) Don't hesitate to speak to a manager. Managers always have to worry about sales quotas. Even if a sales associate is hesitant, a manager can be of more assistance at times.
5) As mentioned above, ask if they offer a discount if you pay cash. But my jeweler told us we could still finance even though we haggled for a reduced price. We opted to buy it outright.
6) Remember: you a buying a big ticket item from them. In this recession, no store wants to lose a big sale like that. If they don't offer you the total amount you requested see if you can ask for waived services that can help recoup the difference such as warranties and upgrades.
Lastly, even if you seek a discount, be realistic about how much they will take off. Some stores can only go so low.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
We were lucky in the fact that FI told the jeweler what he wanted and what his overall budget was (he was willing to spend a bit more) and he did more than we asked for for well under. I suggest telling them you want this for X amount (lower than what your willing to spend) and see what happens. But stay pretty firm. What type of break they're willing to give you depends on what they have already invested in the stone/setting. They're going to want to make a profit.
You could also look at stones that are slightly below the 2ct mark. There is no visible difference between a ~1.9 and 2ct stone and staying under that 2ct mark will save a pretty penny.
We negotiated A LOT. We spent four months going to independent jewlers and comparing prices. We finally got a ring with a 1.77 ct stone, F color VVS1 clarity, with a setting and band with diamonds all the way around (significantly big diamonds) for $6,000. We had originally been quoted close to 9k for a ring with a significantly smaller stone.
You just have to be persistent. And search. Even if its frustrating and you feel like you want to "settle" go to one more jeweler. They want your business, so tell them another store said they could get you the same ring for less. Don't be afraid to negotiate.
Thank all of you so much for your help! I've got a lot of good ideas now. Though I can't imagine what it would feel like taking the paying in cash route, carrying all of that around!
@ane7: They told us a custom ring could take up to 4-6 weeks so my FI waited that long before even calling the place to check. Turns out it was done in less than 2 weeks!
@ane7: Another tip I have: Since you will be buying a fairly substantial diamond/ring, please make sure you work with Garry Zimmerman. He is the owner of the store and has been a GIA certified gemologist for over 30 years I think. We worked with him from start to finish (even when I called to find out about the store) and he is phenomenal. We were in there for nearly 2 hours on a Saturday afternoon and he never did anything to rush us, force us to buy anything, or put any kind of pressure on us. He was VERY mindful of budget and willing to make sure I got the ring of my dreams at a price my FI could afford. Tell him you came to see him based on a recommendation and I think he'll be even more happy to work with you.
If you need more details, feel free to PM me. He remembers me and my FI and knows I have referred 3 girls to his store for services since I got my ring :)
Like they already said - always ask for the best price they can offer, even if that means they or you go to their manager. Jewelers typically have a discounted price they're willing to offer if it means sealing the deal. Again, DO HOMEWORK. Get to know the lingo and what consistutes a great buy. Going in with no information and just demanding a discount cause you want one won't always go over well. Make sure you have research and quotes to back your requests.
Also, if you go in to just buy a stone, you may be able to get an additional discount if you offer to buy your setting from them as well. When we were haggling we told the jeweler this and he gave us an even lower price if we purchased both a stone and setting that day. We came armed with 6 months of hardcore diamond research and ended up getting exactly what we wanted. In the end, we didn't buy a setting from them, but we bought an additional stone and a watch and he gave us a huge discount for buying "in bulk." But it took 3 hours of hardcore haggling. Ended up with a 3 ct tanzanite and a 1.5 ct VS1 light fancy yellow cushion and managed to get them for thousands less than what they were selling for originally.
Good luck! :)
@claireos: Oh wow, what an awesome deal you guys got! We've definitely done our research, and I'd definitely be comfortalbe going your route of buying 'in bulk.'
And thank you everyone, again, for all of your help! xx
I would see what Blue Nile charges for a similar ring and negotiate down from there with the jeweller. According to magazine articles, Blue Nile sells more diamonds than anyone and their profit margin is less than independent jewellers who have to pad their prices to make up for less volume.
Another thing is make sure you have a GIA report with your diamond. Never buy an expensive diamond without the GIA report.
@mrscheetos: Wow, what a great deal! I am looking for a 1.5ct round, F color, VS2+ and they are all around $15,000 - which is WAYYYY too much. The setting I love is $5,500.
Any other suggestions on how to get a better deal like you did??
Where did you end up finding your diamond?
@louisianablue: This. We did this for my e-ring and both our wedding rings. Cash is king! :)
I negotiated the price on my new wedding set. I used the same jeweler from my original ering and they were very eager to keep my business. We went the wholesaler route, we visited the LA and NY diamond districts. We also talked to a lot of friends and family to see if anyone had contacts. We found our jeweler through a friend of a friend.
When it came to actual negotiating, I told them what I was looking for - size range, color, clarity, cut. I also let them know that we were prepared to wire the money immediately. They had a about 20 diamonds to offer but all were over what I was willing to spend and I let them know that. I told them my budget, well about $800 less than my budget (anticipating going back and forth) and asked them to get back to me because I could tell they were hemming and hawing. I left and was called the next day offering me a diamond that fit my specifications perfectly for my budget, and they offered to set it and give me a free wedding band.
So here's the thing. Generally, people who think they are getting a great deal on diamonds are in reality being played by their jewelers.
I'm not selling you are paying more than you should - in reality, you probably paid exactly what you ought to have - but the fact is that we just can't afford to give huge discounts on diamonds for one simple fact. Diamonds are a commodity and their prices are HIGHLY regulated by the industry, which is why prices are comparable from store to store. Simply put, we cannot mark certified diamonds up much. You can't make a nickel on a GIA stone anymore because if your price is too high, the customer will go elsewhere.
Often some jewelers will artifically inflate the price of their stones so they can "take off" money - thus, you think you are getting a deal. The very real situation is that we cannot knock off a lot of money on certified stones because our markup is so small, if we give you a hefty discount you are paying us less than we paid for the stone! We make our money on settings and labor because the margin on stones is so small.
So I agree with one of the above comments. If you want an actual discount, be prepared to pay in cash immediately. That is actually the only means of haggling I personally do, as I don't like to artifically inflate my prices. But if somebody pays me in cash and I can avoid a credit card fee, I'm more able to be a little lenient.
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Hi Ladies,
Was curious how many of you were able to negotiate a good deal on your diamond/engagement ring, and how you went about doing it? I'm already "secretly" married, but DH and I want to do a more traditional engagement/wedding since we feel like we missed out on all that fun. We and plan on diamond shopping in the next few weeks as we'll be in Chicago visiting my family for the holidays. We've already found a few vendors (Windy City Diamonds, Dimend Scaasi) that we plan on looking at, but are open for recommendations from any of you Chicagoans out there!
We've already set our budget and know what we're looking for in a diamond (radiant, 2+ct, VS2+clarity, D-F color). Based on my research, it seems like diamonds in that range retail for around $20k or more, but we were hoping to negotiate that cost down a bit. For those of you that have done it, how did you go about negotiating exactly? If I offered 20-40% less than what the diamond was listed at, would I just get laughed at? Are there any tricks that I might not be aware of? We are in a position where we could pay in full immediately, if that would help with negotiation.
I guess I just don't want to end up with diamond that I paid too much for, but also don't want to look like an idiot when going about negotiating.