Gale Diamonds Chicago

What a great person to work with… I came to Gale Diamonds for an engagement ring and I can’t say enough about how enlightening and informative Mike was during this whole process. I knew next to NOTHING about diamonds coming in to Mike’s place. When I left I felt educated and confident. Unlike some other jewelers I visited, never once did I feel like Mike was trying to sell me something. I felt like he was listening and trying to work with my best interest and budget in mind. I gave Mike my idea for the ring and he NAILED it. My fiancé could not be happier and neither can I.

I had a black opal, three weeks before her birthday and no idea of what I wanted in a ring.
Mike was amazing with his advice on how to bring the most out of my stone.
Fair price, great advice and he got it done on time.
Thanks Mike!!!

I wanted to give my only daughter a pair of heirloom-​quality diamond earrings on her wedding day. I was looking for a matched set of 1-​carat diamonds that could stand on their own as solitaires in case future generations wished to re-​purpose them. I had looked at on-​line sites and although the prices were competitive, I felt uncomfortable buying something this important without seeing it first. I had also searched local jewelers who had beautiful stones, but whose prices were beyond my budget. Finally I took a look at Diamond Row jewelers in Chicago and ran across Mike Gale’s stellar reviews. He did not disappoint! After Mike learned the type of stones I was seeking, he said he would see what he could find and get back to me. Two weeks later, I was looking at several magnificent pairs of diamonds. As Mike described the diamonds and guided my examination of them with a loupe, his experience and knowledge were apparent. Oh, my! With a tiny stretch of my wallet, I could purchase the largest beautiful pair. Heart pounding, I decided to do it. I took Mike’s excellent advice as to setting. Mike gave me the GIA reports, which confirmed everything I had seen through the loupe. An independent appraiser examined the diamonds and pronounced them of exceptional quality. His valuation indicated that they were also a good value. Needless to say, on her wedding day, my daughter gasped with amazement when she opened the stunning presentation box and saw the brilliant diamond earrings blazing in full glory. Her fingers shaking, she put them on and wore them as she walked down the aisle. She says that they will always remind her of her lovely wedding day and I know they will always whisper in her ear how very much she is loved. Thank you, Mike! You are the best!

Quote from my fiancée: «Never in my dreams did I think I would ever have a diamond ring that was this beautiful».
That about says it all. Great work on a custom-​made ring at a fair price. We’ll definitely be back for the wedding bands.

This review is long overdue. It’s hard to give Mike Gale and his team 5 stars because they did above and beyond 5 stars; I would have to give them 10 stars for the smile my fiancée gets every time she looks at her ring.
Mike was easy to work with and very trustworthy. Being on Jewelers Row can give consumers a «bait and switch» feel but rest assured, Gale Diamonds is by far the best jeweler I’ve worked with. My entire $ 10K++ purchase was done through email and the phone, that’s how well respected Mike came when i first reached out.
Mike created a custom design based on what my fiancée wanted. 1.8MM instead of 2.0 MM band, specific prawns, etc, etc. Mike delivered everything and delivered it on time.
Honestly, words cannot describe how easy the process was. Being my first (and last) engagement ring purchase I consulted with multiple jewelers, no one came close to what Mike delivered (financially and aesthetics). I even brought the invoice Mike gave me back to one of the jewelers just to show them I wasn’t blowing smoke.
If you’re looking for a customized, one-​off ring, look no further.

Mike was great! I walked in with a budget and an idea that was over budget and he made it WORK!!! My wife loves her ring and Mike has cleaned it up for me on occasion for free. There should be more people like Mike! He’ll definitely give you an education on what you’re spending your money on, with respect to diamonds.

With Mike’s help I designed my fiancés beautiful engagement ring. Mike was very genuine, honest, and helpful with his insights into the industry. We couldn’t be happier with his work

My fiancé proposed about six weeks ago with an absolutely gorgeous ring that he created with Mike Gale. From what he described to me, his experience was educational and pain free. Mike listened to exactly what he wanted from his budget to his vision and built the most beautiful engagement ring with a brilliant princess cut center stone.
I could not be more pleased with my ring. I get tons of compliments from friends who know nothing about fine jewels to professional jewelers that always point out the stone’s quality and sparkle. It really is the most sparkly diamond I’ve ever seen. But, what I love the most is that it was designed and created just for me and nobody else in the world has it.
I highly recommend Mike Gale based on the product I received and the experience my fiancé had working with him. After all, it can be a stressful time on a guy when picking out and designing something so important while trying to keep it a secret! We will definitely be returning to Mike Gale for our wedding bands. Thanks Mike!

Wow. I can’t believe how many good reviews Gale Diamonds has gotten. Our experience was anything but pleasant. I guess I had much higher expectations. I made an appointment with Mike and we talked twice on the phone about what I was looking for. It was fairly straight forward and should have been one of the easiest sales he could have. I was just looking to replace a diamond that fell out of my engagement ring. We had our appointment and to sum things up, he only had 2 stones to show us and one was $ 500 over our budget. Then he tried to get us to change our minds on the shape of stone I wanted. All the while through our appointment he was talking to other people on the phone while his assistants were sitting next to him. WTH? Guess our little budget of $ 4000 was just to small for him to care about. He told us he thought we would have room to play with. I looked at him and said, «No, our budget is $ 4000. If we wanted to spend more, we would have upped our budget.» He said he just didn’t have that many diamonds in our price range to show us. OK… that’s NOT what he told me on the phone a week earlier! He then got exasperated, told us he’d lower the one diamond down to our budget, then said «$ 4000 cash and it’s yours, but you need to tell me right now» as he literally threw the pouch that the diamond was in at me. I just looked at him dumbfounded. I couldn’t believe how rude and totally disrespectful he was. I have NEVER been treated so poorly. Keeping my cool we got up, thanked him and B-​lined it outta there! To Mike’s credit, he later called me to apologize for his behavior… telling me he was very stressed out with orders he needed to get out that day, blah, blah, blah. I appreciated the apology, but he’s been in the business forever and he should know better than that! If he was so busy, he shouldn’t have scheduled the appointment with us. The biggest red flag… when he, along with his assistants, tell you more than once how honest they are! News flash… you usually don’t have to sell honesty if you truly are honest! Thanks, but no thanks. I wouldn’t take a diamond for free if he offered it to me! In the end, we found a beautiful diamond in our price range from a very honest, lovely vendor and couldn’t be more pleased. Our gain, Mike’s loss.

Mike is a very knowledgeable, patient, and trustworthy man and was a pleasure to work with. The process was incredibly smooth from start to finish. I called Mike and told him what I was looking for. He called me back and we set an appointment for me to come in and look at 5 different stones that fell within my parameters. They were all stunning. There is no pressure to work with him after the appointment, but you’ll probably want to because his diamonds are the best, his prices are fair, his attention to detail is impressive, he takes pride in what he creates, and you’ll never feel pressured.
After I chose the stone, I sent Mike some pictures of what I wanted the setting to look like. He had CAD drawings done and it was exactly what my fiancé wanted. He had the setting cast and set the stone very quickly. The end result blew me away, and my fiancé was speechless. Save yourself the time and go to Mike from the start.

When it came time to get an engagement ring, I, like many other people, went on Unilocal to check out the top rated places. All in all, I went to 7 of the top ten rated places on Unilocal.I made formal appointments, explained what I was looking for, etc etc, and in the end in came down to two places that I felt were absolutely honest and trustworthy. Gale Diamonds and Mike won out.
The first thing that came across about Mike was is utter honesty. I work in marketing and I’m familiar with all of the sales techniques– from the start, Mike explained his philosophy on diamonds and bands. He was patient and understanding, and went out of his way to get 5 diamonds, when he didn’t have any in stock that met my needs. I should mention that he procured the 5 diamonds without a full commitment from me to work with him. I chose one of the five, a band design, and two weeks later ended up with a gorgeous engagement ring that my fiancée absolutely loved. After spending 3 months going through this process, I’m convinced that I got a great deal– Mike’s final price initially came in under the quote he gave!
The only slight downside (being honest) was that I was doing more of the follow-​up with Mike instead of the other way around. But that’s minor, minor nit picking. Go with Mike and you won’t be disappointed!

I looked around at diamonds for a long time and Mike is the guy to go to in Chicago. He fit everything into my budget perfectly and all his diamonds are GIA certified. I couldn’t decide between two ring ideas, so he helped me customize a ring that blended the two styles. All of his work looked amazing and he worked quickly. The best part about it is the price though. Some jewelry stores blew my mind with their marked up prices. Mike hit my price point perfectly and didn’t try to push for any higher prices. Easy to work with. Knows what he is doing. Fiancé was speechless when she got the ring!
Thanks Mike.

Mike was by far the best and most helpful wholesale jeweler I found in Chicago.
As I started to look for engagement rings, I met with over 20 retailers and wholesalers in Chicago. Mike impressed me with (1) his motivation not just to «sell» me a ring and (2) his deep knowledge of all aspects of the process.
I worked with Mike over the course of several weeks to find the exact ring that aligned to both the style and price I wanted. His craftsmanship with the process, communication, and willingness to help with parallel components (appraisals, insurance, etc.) was very impressive.
I’ve recommended Mike to several of my good friends, and would happy to talk to anyone interested in more detail.
I’d recommend Mike to anyone!

Mike is the best. I went in knowing nothing and came out a pro. He’s very down to earth and will work with your budget. My fiancée and I will be back for the wedding ban.

I went to Mike in the first place because of all of the stellar reviews. Not sure about everyone else using Unilocal or other peer review sites, but I tend to be somewhat skeptical of anyone with a 5 star rating. Either my expectations are too high when I try a restaurant or retailer, or most times few deliver a 5 star product or service.
Having said all that, Mike deserves my first, and possible last, 5 star rating on Unilocal.He was patient, helpful, fair and delivered exactly what he said he would. «This engagement ring will be spectacular…», and it was.

It has taken me forever to get on here and write a review for Mike, but I had to eventually do it.
I first met with Mike back in early January ’14 to discuss engagement rings. Just a few minutes into the meeting, I knew Mike was my guy. Since my fiancé was not involved in the process (I wanted to surprise her) I was a bit nervous.
Mike and I met multiple times in order to discuss our options. The particular type of diamond I wanted is tough to find, and Mike went above and beyond to locate not only the perfect diamond, but the perfect diamond that fit into my budget. That is one thing he is adamant about — working within your budget.
Mike brought this diamond in for me, and didn’t ask for a penny, although he had to front the money to bring it in. I decided to go with the diamond, and he and I worked on a design together. We went through a couple of drafts and finally settled on the perfect ring.
One short week later, my ring was completed. Went in, took a good look at it, and paid in cash. Mike was willing to offer a cash discount, which was very nice.
Overall, just an awesome experience. My fiancé loves her ring! We will absolutely be going back to get our wedding bands. Buying an engagement ring in Chicago can be intimidating, but Mike is the guy to work with.

My fiancé presented me with an exquisite diamond from Gale Diamonds Chicago just last week. We had been working with Mike, the most patient, informed and non-​pressure diamond specialist I’ve ever worked with – he is really a kind man. After several weeks of designing a ring and agreeing to a payment schedule, we were able to settle on a breathtakingly beautiful ring (GIA Certified). If you’re getting engaged or just looking for quality jewelry artfully designed, I highly recommend working with Mike Gale. He will definitely get our repeat business and referrals.
Pamela R.

I can’t believe how long it’s taken a year to write this review. I was referred to Gale Diamonds through a good friend, and decided to stop by when it came to buy an engagement ring. I’d stopped by a few place previously, however I definitely received the most helpful service from Mike. He took the time to educate me and learn about what I what I wanted.
Gale Diamonds is in the Jewelers Row area of Chicago, in an apartment. I assume that this is to cut own on overhead, which for jewelry shoppers translates into savings. I felt I got an exceptional product at a great price, with help, not pressure from Mike and his staff
I would absolutely recommend Mike & Gale Jewelers to those about to take «the plunge».

Actually to tell the truth we had the worst experience ever. The stones we were looking at were not the grade he was selling us. Nothing but lies after lies. What was supposed to be a happy experience we were miserable going to him! He was very rude to my boyfriend and made
Nasty comments to him. Very un professional. So I would never in a million years would ever tell anyone to go there Ever!!! and I gave 1 star cause I couldn’t give 0 !!!

The best!
My fiancé and I met with Mike early on in our ring search. He has a small office in the Chicago diamond district. He is a really nice, honest jeweler, with extensive knowledge and lots of patience.
I did some comparison shopping and his price was the best by far. He took his time with my setting (I changed my mind several times!) and hevwas always available to discuss options and ideas. In the end, I am so in love with my ring. It is 100% perfect and better than I could have imagined. I really dislike dealing with salespeople and hate the feeling of getting ripped off. I couldn’t be happier that we found Mike — he is honest, helpful, and not the least bit pushy. We wil definitely be repeat customers.