For Diamond Lovers!

[Shanafan]

I understand what you are saying, but I have a hard time believing that the insurance company will hand you twice what you paid for your ring in the event it was lost. Hopefully, your ring will always be safe and you will never have to make a claim. If you did make a claim, I can easily see the insurance company either replacing the ring with a similar one since it would cost less or just giving you the actual replacement value. By the way, all of those stores that are recommended by the cruise pay a fee to the cruise line to be recommended. It's just another racket.

 

I believe the appraisal is basically replacement value. As long as you go to a certified appraiser there should be no problem. I have no desire to sell my jewelry for a profit. I like nice jewelry and will have plenty to pass down to my daughters. And in the mean time.....I get to enjoy it!

[ckrobyn]

I believe the appraisal is basically replacement value. As long as you go to a certified appraiser there should be no problem. I have no desire to sell my jewelry for a profit. I like nice jewelry and will have plenty to pass down to my daughters. And in the mean time.....I get to enjoy it!

 

 

Lisa,

 

My thoughts exactly ;)

[lephysteria]

My insurance gal said the same thing. I was worried that the appraisal for the wedding rings wouldn't come back as what we paid for them (meaning that we overpaid).

 

But when Naren looked at the appraisal, he said everything was fine. He won't let me see how much he spent. :p

[ckrobyn]

My insurance gal said the same thing. I was worried that the appraisal for the wedding rings wouldn't come back as what we paid for them (meaning that we overpaid).

 

But when Naren looked at the appraisal, he said everything was fine. He won't let me see how much he spent. :p

 

Does Naren have a cousin, uncle, or any other male relative that needs a wife who is already married? ;)

[Milhouse]

Had to throw my two bits in...

 

 

I bought my fiancée’s engagement ring (loose diamond and custom ring) from a local jewelry manufacturer who sources their own diamonds. Their clientele is primarily retail jewelry stores. The diamond came with a cert from AGS (which confirmed its specs) but we also took it to an independent appraiser for insurance purposes. The independent appraiser verified it's (replacement) value at pretty much 2x I paid for it. Going to various retail outlets, the prices for a "comparable" ring & diamond were more than I paid out of pocket and less than the appraised value.

 

 

What's the moral of the story? There are lots of different places you can buy a diamond from. It's pretty hard to know where you can get the absolute lowest price. I personally wouldn't buy a large diamond without a cert & independent appraisal but everyone's got their own risk comfort level and should do their homework before buying.

[Runaway26]

I have had many jewelry purchases in St Maartan and I always get them appraised. We have always shopped at Joe's Jewelry in St Maarten.

 

Pear shaped Emerald and Diamond slide pd $516 appr. $1900

 

14kt tennis style bracelet with 29 mystic topaz stones (29) weighing 20.6 grams. pd $467 appr. $950 These are not precious stones but the bracelet was really cool.

 

My best purchase was Emerald oval shaped earrings with a single diamond. We bought my Mom a pair as a gift for $180. They appaised for $1200! Went back 6 months later and bought another pair.......had them appraised.....same thing! This next trip in November I will be getting myself some more Emeralds.

 

Tanzanite is another good purchase. My Tanzanite and Diamond necklace we paid $$800 and it appraised for $1900.

 

I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.......I highly recommend this place.

 

I also have bought numerous pieces at Joe's Jewelry with very good results!

 

Diane

[FOXTROT]

In Nassau I purchased an Atocha coin pendant. Going through airport security it set off the metal detector. Took it to a jeweler, yep fake. Thank goodness I had bought it in a guarenteed store. Called them, sent it back to them & recieved a credit all within a month. Bought a real Atocha coin on Ebay & had it mounted. About the same cost as the fake.

[cruizeblues]

I love the blue diamonds, too! I got the 3 stone diamond ring a couple years ago but at that time I did not see the blue diamonds. This past trip I got the matching 3 stone pendant. Do they have 3 stone earrings?

 

Hi Shanafan, I didn't notice any matching earrings or pendants. At the time I had my heart set on an anniversary ring--didn't look at much else! But Kay's (in town, not at the pier) had the largest selection of blue diamonds to choose from and their prices were reasonable. They have them right next to the white diamonds--along with a few other colors--pink, yellow, & grey that I noticed.

[judy&steve]

We have shopped on four occassions with Sammy at Kay's Jewelers in St. Martin. He is located at the main island store not the one at dockside. Tell him Debbie from Colorado sent you. In January, purchased 2.5 ct earrings and friend bought 3.5 ct marquise stone.

 

Don't forget Kays if you are visiting Aruba!!

Same owners, same prices and customer service!!

Highly reliable and honest.

 

Judy

[ckrobyn]

Don't forget Kays if you are visiting Aruba!!

Same owners, same prices and customer service!!

Highly reliable and honest.

 

Judy

 

Judy:

I will be visiting Aruba on my next cruise and will definitely stop by Kays!

Thanks for the suggestion :)

[Earthling]

A small word of warning when buying watches in some of the ports. My wife and I each bought new watches in Cozumel. I had fallen in love with a Movado in Costa Maya but decided it was priced a bit too high. I was quoted $495.00 for the watch that was originally priced for $595.00 in Diamond's international. The salesperson also told me the watch would run me about $1,000 in the states. As I already own a few women's Movados I was not surprised by his assesment of the original price. Of course I was really drawn to this watch as it was a brand new style of Movado and drop dead gorgeous. My wife and I decided to hold off and wait until Cozumel. It was a good thing we made that decision. In Cozumel we found the exact same watch in Diamond's International for $362.00. We bought it there. Here is the bad news though. when we got home we disccovered the same watch at Amazon.com for only $299.00 plus tax. It was still cheaper through Amazon. You can find the watch at Amazon by doing a search under jewlery + Movado. It is on the third page and called the Movado Women's Timema Watch #0605358.

 

Now for some good news. My wife bought herself a Phillip Stein watch which is the type that Oprah raves about. It is a beautiful watch that we picked up at the same time as mine. It was $475.00. We have not found it here in the states for under $469.00 plus tax. We figure we saved money on hers with the taxes.

 

Now even though we may not have really done well with the watches, even though Tasha from the Explorer said we would, we are still happy with our watches and consider them as souviniers. We enjoy the memories that went with the haggling of prices as well as the sightseeing that are attached. My only concern is that you all do some research ahead of time on any watches you may buy. We were told by so many people that we would get the best prices anywhere by getting our watches in the Mexican ports. I guess they were all wrong.

[ckrobyn]

A small word of warning when buying watches in some of the ports. My wife and I each bought new watches in Cozumel. I had fallen in love with a Movado in Costa Maya but decided it was priced a bit too high. I was quoted $495.00 for the watch that was originally priced for $595.00 in Diamond's international. The salesperson also told me the watch would run me about $1,000 in the states. As I already own a few women's Movados I was not surprised by his assesment of the original price. Of course I was really drawn to this watch as it was a brand new style of Movado and drop dead gorgeous. My wife and I decided to hold off and wait until Cozumel. It was a good thing we made that decision. In Cozumel we found the exact same watch in Diamond's International for $362.00. We bought it there. Here is the bad news though. when we got home we disccovered the same watch at Amazon.com for only $299.00 plus tax. It was still cheaper through Amazon. You can find the watch at Amazon by doing a search under jewlery + Movado. It is on the third page and called the Movado Women's Timema Watch #0605358.

 

Now for some good news. My wife bought herself a Phillip Stein watch which is the type that Oprah raves about. It is a beautiful watch that we picked up at the same time as mine. It was $475.00. We have not found it here in the states for under $469.00 plus tax. We figure we saved money on hers with the taxes.

 

Now even though we may not have really done well with the watches, even though Tasha from the Explorer said we would, we are still happy with our watches and consider them as souviniers. We enjoy the memories that went with the haggling of prices as well as the sightseeing that are attached. My only concern is that you all do some research ahead of time on any watches you may buy. We were told by so many people that we would get the best prices anywhere by getting our watches in the Mexican ports. I guess they were all wrong.

 

Thanks for the info... :)

 

I want to buy a watch on my next cruise ( Raymond Weil ) so I will compare prices for sure!

[familycruzer]

I can share what happened to a fellow passenger on our Horizon cruise. A woman bought a very nice diamond ring while in Hamilton Bermuda and lost the diamond out of it on the way home while in the hot tub. Thanks to some kids with goggles the diamond was found. I was kind of disappointed that the crew was not willing to help the passenger. They were asked to stop the jets in the hot tub and they would not do it.

[DeanD]

I understand what you are saying, but I have a hard time believing that the insurance company will hand you twice what you paid for your ring in the event it was lost. Hopefully, your ring will always be safe and you will never have to make a claim. If you did make a claim, I can easily see the insurance company either replacing the ring with a similar one since it would cost less or just giving you the actual replacement value. By the way, all of those stores that are recommended by the cruise pay a fee to the cruise line to be recommended. It's just another racket.

I'll second that there are insurances appraisals that are over priced. The insurance company will charge you based on the value you present. So they don't really care how much it's appraised at as they will get their cut. The higher the appraised value, the more money they will make. Just remember that insurance companies are not set up to lose money on predictable events.

 

That shopping specialist you see on the Cruise usually does not even work for the cruise company but is paid by the recommended shops. I don't know of an exception but there may be some. The "deals" you get shopping in the Caribbean are really a function of overpriced jewelry at home and not a true savings otherwise. If you can find a good reliable wholesale dealer, you will be better off at home. Also remember that those guarantees through RCCL, etc, are short lived. Plus you must present an INDEPENDENT certified appraisal. That means you've got to find someone that does not deal with sales at all in any capacity. That's hard to do in most cities and tends to be expensive if you can find one. You can't go to your local Zales and get an appraisal to dispute the value quoted by the cruise recommended shops.

[Shanafan]

I called our homeowners insurance guy today..AAA and he told me he needed certified appraisals along with pictures of my jewelry. The appraisals can not be older than 2 years old. I do have several that are 3 years old, but if you take the appraisal in that has the weights, ect it is not as hard for the jeweler to look up the current replacement value.

[Earthling]

Has anyone else bought the Discover Shopping Passport books sold onboard on the first seaday? You have to go to a small little shopping seminar about 60-90 minutes long. The books are $20 and have a bunch of coupons in them for all the ports of call.

[ckrobyn]

Has anyone else bought the Discover Shopping Passport books sold onboard on the first seaday? You have to go to a small little shopping seminar about 60-90 minutes long. The books are $20 and have a bunch of coupons in them for all the ports of call.

 

I didn't attend the seminar and did not purchase the book. I am also curious to see what this is all about :confused:

[Gem Lover]

As you can see from my name, I love gems. I have had very good luck in the Caribbean, but you have to know what you are doing. Do some research before you leave the states. I found the best buys on colored gemstones. I bought a beautiful tsavorite garnet at Kay's jeweler's in Aruba. They are a reputable store and I've gotten many nice pieces from them. Another great store is Majesty jewelers in St. Maarten, especially for Pink Sapphires. Omni is great for any gold items. I have bought diamond earrings from Diamonds International in St. Thomas. The salesperson's name was Anne Hamilton and she was great. I never buy jewelry as an investment piece. I buy jewelry becuase I love to wear it.

 

Gem ;)

[ckrobyn]

As you can see from my name, I love gems. I have had very good luck in the Caribbean, but you have to know what you are doing. Do some research before you leave the states. I found the best buys on colored gemstones. I bought a beautiful tsavorite garnet at Kay's jeweler's in Aruba. They are a reputable store and I've gotten many nice pieces from them. Another great store is Majesty jewelers in St. Maarten, especially for Pink Sapphires. Omni is great for any gold items. I have bought diamond earrings from Diamonds International in St. Thomas. The salesperson's name was Anne Hamilton and she was great. I never buy jewelry as an investment piece. I buy jewelry becuase I love to wear it.

 

Gem ;)

 

 

Excellent advice :)

 

Thanks for sharing it with us!