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Beware purchasing jewelry from on-board ship stores!

Threesun

By Threesun,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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graphicguy "Live from...." Rare

graphicguy

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, LauraAnneC said:

Does the same apply for some of the stores on a lot of the Caribbean islands and Mexico? Thinking of Diamonds International and the like. 

Diamonds International suffers from the same issues as buying from the ship’s jewelry stores….once you get home, where do you go if something goes wrong?  DI is in the Caribbean.  You’re 2,000 miles away!

 

That said, I’ve spent some time grinding on some DI managers to get a good price on a Swiss watch.  Bargain?  Not really.  But, I did get a very good price.  On top of that, no taxes or duties!  Wasted about 45 minutes asking over and over, “is that the best you’re boss can do?”

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LibertyBella

LibertyBella

Posted
Posted

Oh well, I am a jewelry lover and I have to look in every store on the ships.  Since I know a lot about diamond quality, precious stones, and settings, prices, and designers, I am probably not the best customer for the stores.  

 

I have a great Effy collection, bought many years ago from diverse locations, including the Nassau store.  I bought a few fantastic  pieces when Lord & Taylor went out of business, and sold everything 85% off.

 

Nowadays Effy jewelry uses a LOT of single cut diamonds, and the gold weight has decreased significantly.  They also treat a lot of their precious stones.  I would not even bother getting most of that jewelry appraised--buy it because you like it and you want to wear it, not because you think it is any kind of investment.

 

The Cunard QM2 has a Roberto Coin store! But I can buy Roberto Coin at Saks, or Bloomies, or NM, and get a discount (sales a few times a year), and get award points on my store credit card.

 

I have never bought anything from DI (overpriced, but pretty).  I bought a small Colombian emerald necklace from Emeralds International when they used to exist (great green stone)!

 

I also think Tiffany's is overpriced, especially the silver (just paying for the name).  The best bargains used to be in the diamond districts here in Philly or NYC. 

 

Finally,  I have also lost stones set in channel settings--perhaps they were not shaped and placed well, or you bumped the ring and loosened the  diamonds. I usually prefer thick, strong multiple prongs or bezels for security. 

 

Nowadays I mainly window shop, but I will always be a jewelry lover (and every once in a while, shopper.)

 

I am so sorry your special purchase was disappointing!

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MsTabbyKats

MsTabbyKats

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, BohJang said:

I just buy T shirts on a cruise ship.  I wish people would not buy jewelry on the ship or in the port.  Stay away from Diamonds International and the other jewelry stores in the port.  It's just not worth it.

My husband's favorite day on a cruise.....the $10 etc T-Shirt sale day; and in port, he has to have one from every port!

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PTC DAWG Holiday Sharing Rare

PTC DAWG

Posted
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On 8/2/2023 at 3:40 PM, RocketMan275 said:

To avoid any hassles with Jewelry purchases, don't buy Jewelry.  

All jewelry is a rip off.

Anything totally unnecessary could be called a rip off…I’m sure you have things at your casa that are rip offs to others. 

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RocketMan275

RocketMan275

Posted
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15 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

Anything totally unnecessary could be called a rip off…I’m sure you have things at your casa that are rip offs to others. 

Try selling diamond jewelry to the store where you bought it.  If they offer anything, it's likely only as a downpayment on a more expensive item

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RedwingHockeyFan

RedwingHockeyFan

Posted
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16 hours ago, steveokla said:

Question.  Does anyone know if they sell men’s bracelets on board?   Going on NCl Epic this Sunday

They have the gold on a roll but I would advise against buying that.  On my first cruise I bought a necklace that was supposed to be solid gold but after some wear you could see it was actually gold-plated copper.

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MoCruiseFan

MoCruiseFan

Posted
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If you are worried about the value of teh ring go get ot appraised.  I would suspect that it will approase at most at 50% if what you paid.  I do not know about the jewelry, but the 'art' on the ships is sold in an extremely deceptve manner.  They toss around the term 'original' very iberally and most of the print art hey sell is nothing but computer printed giclee.  Mention that word when in the ;art; galery and see how fast you are swept out!

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complawyer

complawyer

Posted
Posted

hey magnolia blossum, if the t-shirt is a maybe, simply bring along an extra tube of toothpaste, and then you need not buy anything. and mocruisefan, most cruise sites advise "NOT" to but any art. biggest ripoff imaginable

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disneydave

disneydave

Posted
Posted
On 8/2/2023 at 12:03 PM, schmoopie17 said:

Our one and only jewelry purchase on a cruise was at a highly rated and reputable jewelry store in St. Thomas. We decided to upgrade Mrs. Schmoopie's wedding set. This was in 2011, and to this day the set looks fantastic and shimmers beautifully. We had it appraised when we got back from the cruise and it actually appraised for more than we paid for it. The store was recommended by fellow cruisers and they were right. I remember walking in and the guy in the store said, "Would you like a free beer?" Two hours later we walked out with a new piece of jewelry. That was the most expensive "free beer" I've ever had.

 

We're going back to St. Thomas on a December cruise and Mrs. Schmoopie is already looking to upgrade her upgrade while we're there. I'm sure they'll offer me another "free beer".

Gotta love those "free" beers.  I've enjoyed a few myself 🙂

 

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CptJLMcCrea

CptJLMcCrea

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Grandmafreddie said:

I get up in the morning stretch  out my arms and if I do not feel wood book a cruise . Love cruising and byer bear and enjoy.

 

Well, ok then. Not sure what you said (other than not feeling wood in the morning), but you be you.

 

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expectthebest Great Review Rare

expectthebest

Posted
Posted

I feel terrible what you have been through..something similar happened to me years back:

 

On a Princess cruise ship years ago my wife fell in love with gold chain that the cruise line was selling “by the inch” mid ship. She couldn’t make up her mind if she wanted the white or yellow gold so after a few days of lamenting I surprised her. She was playing Bingo one afternoon (didn’t win) by herself and I decided to go buy some gold for her. I know she always complained that our Christmas tree never really shined enough bc we had old ornaments on the tree..

That was about to change.. I purchased enough to wrap the Christmas tree (39 feet to be exact) in the white gold chain!!! I know it’s crazy but I figured every investment pundit tells you to invest in gold.. so I did!!!

Fast forward 4 months to Dec 1st… my wife had absolutely no idea that I had made such a sound financial decision for our family… we set the tree up and strung the lights… she was pulling out the old ornaments and I grabbed her arm and proclaimed.. honey, I have a big surprise for you this year.. she loves surprises so I had her close her eyes while I grabbed the bin under the bed and presented it to her..she looked confused and then said thank you? I told her it is 18 carrot plated white gold that we will string around the tree like garland. She started to cry.. asked me how much I spent on it.. I told her almost a mortgage payment.. she then asked “in what part of town” lol after about 30 mins of stringing every inch of the gold chain around our tree it looked absolutely stunning..she even said let’s not put those old ornaments on the tree this year!! That Christmas even though we didn’t have money left to buy each other any gifts to put under that shimmering gold masterpiece it was still a Christmas to remember. Not to mention anytime we get tired of the gold garland I can always sell it and make some good money on it.

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zqvol

zqvol

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Grandmafreddie said:

Fyi  jewelry says 14k then it is the chains selling on the reels outside of jewelry store r not. They never say 

They r. Watches come with guarentee. 

Haven’t seen those since before the pandemic. 

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