Amber in Russia - Good Purchase or Bad?

[Diva Onboard]

We will be in St. Petersburg this August. I absolutely love amber. Does anyone have an experience with purchasing amber in St. Petersburg? Is it a good deal or bad?

[bobalink]

We found amber in most of the ports on our Baltic cruise, and in the ship's jewelry shop.

 

You may find this thread helpful:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1650556

 

Have fun!

[prish]

Amber is available everywhere in the Baltics, from the upscale jewelry shops to the street vendors. I found the best prices in Tallin, there are several shops all around town, quite a few of them give a guarantee certificate. Didn't buy any in St. Petersburg though.

[Diva Onboard]

Thanks everyone. I guess I better read up on how to tell the real stuff from the fake.

[chaz2010]

Is your ship stopping at Gdansk? we found the best prices and quality there. They have one street with all the amber stores, and they each have someone out on the street with amber in glass cases, so you don't even have to go into the store. Don't remember the name of the street, but it dead ends at the river and it one block north of the main pedestrianized street.

[kestrel]

Many people (including myself) shopped for amber in Tallinn. The reason I didn't purchase in St. Petersburg was because I was too busy sightseeing :D

[Koshlong]

I agree with kestrel and prish that Tallinn has better prices, and from what I saw, better style as well. My cousin bought an amber necklace in Copenhagen that I liked as much as anything I saw else where on the cruise. The pieces in Russia seemed clunky and lacking in style. The ship (Eurodam) has a huge selection on amber on board. Unless you get to visit some "non-tourist" jewelry shops, I wouldn't bother about it in St. P.

[Harriet1910]

We were looking at amber in St. Petersburg and in Tallinn. In St. Petersburg we experienced that there were just a few amber pieces that could be considered real jewelry if you look at the setting. We could only find a couple pieces in gold settings and they were not what we would buy. By the time we reached Tallinn we stopped being so accurate and just bought a cute set each to have as a souvenir from our trip.

[amyellabella]

I live in Tallinn, if you want to buy Baltic Amber there are absolutely loads of shops here that sell it. I've seen more here and at better prices than I've seen elsewhere in the region, but that being said, locals are quick to point out that most Baltic Amber actually comes from further south in the Baltic, more like Latvia and Lithuania rather than Estonia. Also, there is a lot of complete rubbish for sale so look (and price items) in several shops, get the sales people to talk to you about their product, and if you see a deal that is too good to be true it probably is. The real stuff is expensive, but lovely. Most friends and family who come to visit us end up going home with some and they're always very happy with it! Good luck shopping!

[kazu]

I live in Tallinn, if you want to buy Baltic Amber there are absolutely loads of shops here that sell it. I've seen more here and at better prices than I've seen elsewhere in the region, but that being said, locals are quick to point out that most Baltic Amber actually comes from further south in the Baltic, more like Latvia and Lithuania rather than Estonia. Also, there is a lot of complete rubbish for sale so look (and price items) in several shops, get the sales people to talk to you about their product, and if you see a deal that is too good to be true it probably is. The real stuff is expensive, but lovely. Most friends and family who come to visit us end up going home with some and they're always very happy with it! Good luck shopping!

 

We'll be in Tallin next year - concerned about knowing if the Amber is real or not:confused: Are there some stores you could recommend? thanks!