cost negotiating emerald-cut diamond

[bojanglesman]

Hello,

I'm starting the engagement ring shopping process and I've done a good amount of reading. This is my first diamond purchase. I don't think I have the time or the know-how to get my own individual stones wholesale, so I found a local jewelry store that it well repsected in the community, never heard anyone say a bad thing about these people. I'm currently looking at loose stones for ultimately a 3-stone emerald-cut diamond ring in platinum (rather have platinum than gold). My budget is probably going to allow for about 32-33 point sidestones and a 75 point center. I'm looking for VS1-VS2 clarity, G-H color. I know the traditional markup at ANY store is going to be substantial, so it doesn't surprise me that the first stones the store got in to show me were above what I expected when comparing to bluenile.com and such. I don't hold that against them.

The center stone (GIA cert.) was a 75 point emerald-cut, G color, VS1. Depth- 71.2, Table- 65, girdle- med-thk, polish- gd, meas- 6.12X4.31X3.07

I was quoted $4200 initially for this stone. I know that is too high, and I expected them to start high like most any jewlery store would, after all, its a business. I do really like the people at the store and I'd love to buy from them because they have a great reputation and I trust them with quality and workmanship. But this is the stone I want (it looked great to me and under the loupe) and I'm not gonna pay that much for it. I refuse to settle for lesser quality so I can pay less. So what I'm looking for is a ballpark price that I should be able to get them down to reasonably on this stone and any tips on how to do this. I've read a few things about "negotiating" stones. I plan on making it known that this is the diamond I want, not a lesser quality and I plan on taking in some price comaprisons from bluenile, and bringing a diamond buying guide just to let 'em know I mean business. I've talked to another store locally, but they priced even higher and I frankly don't know anything about them. I just wonder how they are gonna come down from that price a substantial amount without looking bad since they marked it up so much. Anyway, thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[bojanglesman]

After thinking about this, the diamond above is the diamond I want for the center stone. It is very beautiful. I don't want to settle for less quality to save cash. I think I should be able to save money on this diamond. I took a look at RockDoc's negotiating tips and they are great. What I need is a factual basis for why this diamond should be sold for less. I have found diamonds on bluenile.com for about $1000 less and of comaparable quality, but I also realize that is an internet price and I don't want to get into purchasing and returning diamonds until I get the right one. I'd rather have them "matched" together by someone with a little more knowledge than me. I'm willing to pay a little more for the convenience of a local jeweler, but not too much more. Just wondering if anybody can give me some cut and dry evidence based on the GIA report measurements above as to why this should be negotiated down and what a ballpark # might be. I am a newbie to all this, but I'm trying not to look like one in front of the jeweler Thanks!

Oh, he also gave me a quote for the sidestones- both VS2 G color 32 point emerald stones- $1495 total for both. The sidestones seem much more reasonable than the center stone when compared to similar diamonds online.

Another stupid question.........to me quality is more important than size, but......... when talking casually about the "carat" of a three stone ring, is it usually referred to by the total stone size or just the center? i.e., if I got a 75 point center and 32 point sides, is it a 3/4 carat ring or a 1.39 carat ring? I paid for them all, they ought to all count! Hahahaha..... Dumb question, just curious.

 

[AChiOAlumna]

Hey Bojangles!!

Welcome to PS!! First, the easier to answer. Most times a ring is given in total carat weight (TCW). So, if you were to describe the ring, it would be 1.39 carats. However, you''d want to include the breakdown when showing your ring to provide the most honesty of what is being shown...that being said...

I''m not an expert on diamonds, but I did a lot of research on ECs as I just got one myself. There are SO many variables on fancy-cut shaped diamonds that there aren''t any great guides as to what they should cost. You''re right that online sellers will charge less due to difference of business overhead. But the larger the diamond, the more it''s worth than smaller diamonds, hence the price differential for the .32''s as opposed to the .75 center. The cut (depth/table) and where the inclusions are located will impact the diamond''s price considerably...for example, a EC whose cut is too deep, a table that''s too large &/or a inclusion visible from the table, are all going to lower the cost of the stone.

While making comparison''s to BNs diamonds, without actually seeing them side-by-side, you don''t know whether the diamond you are getting performs better than the BN diamonds with the same or similar dimensions...this makes "price negotiation" harder to achieve.

Hopefully one of the experts here will be able to provide better negotiation information...good luck on purchasing your diamond!!

 

[murray93]

The stone you are looking at on paper doesn''t sound fantastic - but EC are a strange breed and it may be lovely to behold. If you can''t get the B&M store to come down on price, I''d look online for sure. I think you could actually find better quality for less $$. Many vendors here on PS will set the stones and as part of that process, match the side stones to the center stone. And as far as sending the stones back and forth for your approval - you can pay to ship quite a few stones and barely make a dent in the price difference between B&M and the online vendors. That''s the way I looked at it, at least. PS - I just had a custom EC 3-stone ring made by Whiteflash. It''s quite nice.