Should we bargain and reduce the price while buying gold and diamonds in U S?

hemalathaK · Apr 24, 2012

One of my friend went to buy a pair of diamond earrings from an Indian jewelry shop in NJ.

The tag attatched to the earring had the details of color, clarity , carat and also the price in $.

The price in the tag was 4300$ and she bargained and reduced the price for 3150$ for a 1.87carat diamond earrings in 18k yellow gold.the model was a traditional 7 stoned flower design.So overall 14 diamonds for 1.87 carat.

The color is G and clarity is VS.
I was surprised to hear this.May be the original price of the earrings should be the final price.

If that is the case how can someone who has no such previous experience dare to buy the stuff without knowing the original price?

I searched other websites including bluenile.com and Macy's and other Indian online stores too and got to decide that that was the best deal she finalised and got.

Do anyone has similar experience like this.Also please share your opinion whether the price she paid seems to be worth the diamonds she got for.

This will definitely help many of us who have so many doubts regarding buying diamond jewelry in US.

hemalathaK · May 2, 2012

89 views, still no replies????

come one some one please reply and clear all my doubts.

JustMyself · May 2, 2012

Hello Hema,

I do not know much about diamonds, so can not comment about the price.

But, when it comes to Indian gold jewellery prices in US, I definitely recommend bargaining, as they always sell it at way above prices. I generally check the gold rate for that day before going to the shop (I refer GRT Jewellers | Jewellery India | Indian Jewellery Online >>> "Today's Rate"), and add 7-8$ for making charges etc. If the per gram price quoted is higher than the final amount, I bargain to bring it down.

Also, here in US, the store owners quote "piece values" for small pieces like rings, ear-rings etc, which is not the case in India. I try to buy more grams,to bring the price down.

(e.g) A 5gm gold ear-ring set was quoted at $630, and after bargaining, ended up buying the ear ring for $350, that is like 70$ per gram, when the original "rate of gold on market" was only 53$. I aimed at paying only 62$ per gram, but could buy it only at 70$ per gram, as I bought only 1 set of ear ring set.
Had I bought this ear-ring with a necklace, the price per gram would have reduced further.

Sorry, could not add much about diamond jewellery. I recommend that you check rate of diamonds in market before venturing to buy them. Am aware, diamonds differ in price based on their size, clarity, color, cut, shape, depth, mount etc. But once u start searching on it, you would get an idea.

Also, Indian jewellers generally expect customers to bargain, so they keep their prices high. You would know that by the price they are quoting. 6-7$ above market rate is the median. Anything above, you are "expected" to bargain Just my 2 cents..

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
JM

Pranjjal · May 2, 2012

Various characteristics of diamonds are graded and categorized by the diamond industry. And these characteristics are Cut,Color,Clarity and Carat weight and one more is Certification of diamond.

Shopping for certified diamonds allows you to make an informed choice about your diamond selections and to comparison shop among various diamond merchants.
You can compare one diamond with a particular weight and quality with other diamonds of similar weight and quality to determine which diamond is the better value -- or which merchant has the best prices.
In India, If u purchase from reputed jewelers u don't need to bargain u get the certification of Diamond. Yesterday only I went to Zales Diamond shop I hv seen One Candian certifies diamond studs 1Ct cost was $2999. No discount.