I just got back from a trip to Costa Rica, where I proposed to my girlfriend. Things couldn't have been any more perfect, aided by the beautiful ring I gave her, which turned out to be exactly what she wanted. I purchased it from Carlee at Diamonds Chicago. Carlee was very knowledgeable and great to work with. I was initially intimidated by the thought of buying a diamond, but Carlee made me very comfortable, and really took the time to educate me on diamonds and the process of buying a diamond, before we began looking at any stones.
Diamonds Chicago is a wholesaler in the downtown Chicago diamond district. Not being from Chicago, I had no idea where to go and nobody I knew had any suggestions for a specific jeweler. In my google search for "Chicago Diamond District," Diamonds Chicago came up. After looking at their web-site and the many positive reviews they had on Yelp, Citysearch, and Yahoo, I decided to reach out to them. They are by appointment only, so I setup a first appointment with Carlee. I highly recommend setting up an appointment to see them, bypassing all the retailers on the street level (Diamonds Chicago is on the 2nd floor). Also, Carlee and Fahmina do not work on commission like most retailers, so there was absolutely no pressure, making it a better buying experience.
After taking about an hour to educate me on diamonds and what to look for, how to buy on "value" (not based just on certification), we started looking at diamonds, recording each diamond and comments. I had some basic criteria of what I was looking for, and brought a couple of pictures. From there, we were able to start narrowing down and look for the right diamond. At the end of my second appointment (having seen about 15 stones), I selected a diamond and put a 30% deposit down to hold the diamond for a week (if within a week, I decided against it or wanted to keep searching there was a 100% refund guarantee - after one week, the 30% could have just gone toward a different stone if I decided to keep searching). During the week I had the stone on hold, I went to look at another place, just to have something to benchmark against. It turned out to be a waste of time, other than to put my mind at ease that I was getting the best deal I could. Diamonds Chicago has an enormous selection that can fit any need, and I saved at least $2,000 compared to the other place I looked at.
After deciding the stone I initially selected was the perfect one, I went back to re-confirm and choose the setting. From there, it was a simple and quick process to have the stone set and the ring sized. I have nothing but great things to say about my experience purchasing from Diamonds Chicago, and I strongly recommend going to Diamonds Chicago when searching for an engagement ring.
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