Where to buy fine jewlery?

[JudithLynne]

My husband and I are cruising to the Carribean next year. I understand that St. Thomas is the place to buy fine jewlery? Does anyone have a particular shop that would be recommended? I would like an honest seller that I can trust.

 

Thanks for any information.

[kitt6345]

I usually buy mine in st. maartens at Rays--they have 2 stores- the first one ,if you walking from cruise ship down the main street, is the sons store. If you keep going , you come to the second store ,which is run by the parents. go to the parents store..

[jollycruise]

Little Switzerland :D

[JudithLynne]

Little Switzerland :D

 

I thought that they were out of business.

[dolfandude]

I usually buy mine in st. maartens at Rays--they have 2 stores- the first one ,if you walking from cruise ship down the main street, is the sons store. If you keep going , you come to the second store ,which is run by the parents. go to the parents store..

The poster asked about St Thomas NOT St. Martin....:rolleyes: Catch up dude!

[Sugar*Magnolia]

Trident in St Thomas, family owned.

[darl]

There are many many fine stores in St. Thomas. The cruise line will guarantee your purchases at some of the stores such as Diamonds International.

[reno3]

Hook bracelets and Pandora charms?

[crewsweeper]

Hook bracelets and Pandora charms?

Boochands, Imperial, Beverly's all carry Pandora charms...Don't expect any discount over what you'd pay stateside. And they may not carry a full selection.

 

For any jewelery/cameras, etc. you should do a price comparison for local stores in your area and on the internet before you shop at stores on any island or port in the Caribbean...you may find that you can get better selection and prices at home (albeit, taxes may be the difference) or via the net (depending upon shipping costs).

[bigeagle12]

Cardow Jewelers .. we have had great experiences with them. Good prices and items have appraised for much more when we get home. Feel free to haggle over price. :)

[jollycruise]

I thought that they were out of business.

 

 

Oh that would be a bummer. We had such great service there and we haven't had one issue with the items we bought there. Thanks for the heads up.

[JudithLynne]

Oh that would be a bummer. We had such great service there and we haven't had one issue with the items we bought there. Thanks for the heads up.

 

They haven't closed. I found them online. They are in the Havensight Mall. They are gone from the Alaskan ports. I have a feeling that may be due to not offering duty free prices.

 

darl: We try not to use cruise ship recommended stores.

 

Judith

[VegasCrossfire]

We were in St. Thomas 2 weeks ago. Little Switzerland was alive and well!

[cruiserlkb]

Ballerina Jewelers.....we have had great success with them

[dennis46]

Rita's jewelers on St Thomas and Royal Jewelers on St Martins. I have been dealing with this family for 20 years and feel they are the best on the Islands. They treat you fair and honest!!

 

Dennis

[PimpDaddy2Kool]

My husband and I are cruising to the Carribean next year. I understand that St. Thomas is the place to buy fine jewlery? Does anyone have a particular shop that would be recommended? I would like an honest seller that I can trust.

 

Thanks for any information.

 

H Stern is the only high end place in St. Thomas - they have their main showroom on 5th Ave in NYC. The rest of the stores have the same stuff - cheaper to buy in St. Maarten.

[MamaParrotHead]

I also made a purchase at Ballerina jewelers, some loose gemstones (I had a mother's ring made). They're a great souvenir from our last stop there, but when I got home I had them appraised and I would have paid them same amount if i'd have gotten them here.

[dcikon2]

I didn't think St. Thomas was all that great of place to buy jewelry. The weight of jewelry is not great.

[Betsy's Mom]

Be very careful and know what you want and what you are buying.:D There are very few real bargains in St Thomas any more. You will always save the tax, but generally that is it. The quality is not "fine" as in Tiffany or Cartier fine unless you buy from Tiffany or Cartier on the Island.

Enjoy:)

B.

[dennis46]

As previously posted, Royal Jewelers in St Martins is the place to go. My wife and I have been dealing with Vince for many years and are completely satisfied with our jewelry!!

 

Dennis

[m steve]

They were there when I first visited in '61 and still offer great designs. I just avoid all other stores that the shopping advisor touts, especially DI.

[bohaiboy]

A friend of mine is watch HO. He has bought numerous watches in St aThomas, not sure of the store. Recently at a store here in Houston he mentioned that he always bought his watches in ST because of the duty free. She said she would match any price he had been given.

 

Remember Duty Free does not mean Profit Free. I bought my wife a Mont Blanc Pen set in Dubai(where I believe pt be dest DF in the world) for less than $300. Exact smae set at Schipol Amsterdamm was almost $500.

[laser110]

As you can see from what has been posted, there are many fine shops on St. Thomas to buy jewelery. My best advice to you is take your time, compare, ask questions, and then go with the place you feel most comfortable at buying. As Betsy's Mom posted, what you get will not be Tiffany's or Cartier quality, unless you buy from them, but you can find some good stuff.

 

Jewelery is subjective and as long as you feel you got the best deal, then it probably was.

 

Scott

[Lsimon]

Ballerina is a great dealer with stores in St. Thomas and St. Martin.

 

There are many many fine stores in St. Thomas. The cruise line will guarantee your purchases at some of the stores such as Diamonds International.

 

The cruise line will recommend stores like Diamonds International only because they pay the cruise line an advertising fee. There is some sort of a guarantee but I've read many posts on these boards by cruisers who never received satisfaction. Google "Diamond International Complaints" or "diamond international ripoff" before you consider shopping there. Do the same for other stores recommended in this thread and compare the results. And beyond everything else if you're planning on buying expensive jewelry do some shopping at home so you know a little about what to look for and how much it would cost you at home.

[Hlitner]

Where to buy fine jewelry? Near home is probably best and the internet (Blue Nile) and Costco are great for diamonds that have legit GIA papers. Keep in mind that if you buy in St Thomas and are later not satisfied you will have little recourse (the cruise line guarantees are not very reliable). If you insist on buying in St Thomas you might want to go to H. Stern which has a worldwide good reputation and also has some stores in the USA (main office is on 5th Ave in NYC) where you can get repairs if there is a problem.

 

Hank