Buying jewerly in St. Thomas/St. Marteen...

[DMickey28]

Who has done it?

I am looking for a 1ctw or 1.25ctw max five diamond wedding band. Chanel set or prong setting..... any ideas if that is something I could find there.... I would have to get it after the wedding because the wedding is at noon on the first day of the cruise but we are going to st. Marteen the next day and back to St. Thomas the next week...

Any thoughts!

Thanks...
C

 

[Denine]

Both DH and I have bought jewelry in St. Maarten. We felt we got better deals than St. Thomas. They just didn't seem willing to negotiate.

 

[KathyTX]

Hmmm... I had the opposite experience, and found St. Thomas a really fun place to shop, with slightly better pricing than St. Martin.

In actuality, they're probably about the same.

I did buy a little diamond tennis bracelet (2c.) and a diamond ring in St. Thomas at Diamonds International last week. I *felt* like I got good deals, but I'm not a jewelry expert...

In any case, the type of ring you've described would definitely be something you would find in either St. Thomas or St. Martin.

In dealing with the jewelers, I would recommend sticking with the stores that are recommended on board (you'll be inundated with lists of favored vendors ), as these tend to be the more reputable stores that have a vested interest in maintaining a good relationship with the cruise line and passengers. The shopping in port ambassador (or whatever this person's title is on DCL) can be a GREAT resource for you- ask him or her for recommendations! They visit the stores frequently. He may have actually seen exactly what you're looking for.

(Also, you'd probably get lots of good advice about shopping in these ports on the Cruise Board!)

 

[jkovick]

We found the best prices in St. Martin (on the Dutch side) I have bought several peices there and had no trouble what so ever. Like someone else mentioned, try to go to the stores recommended but the ship just in case you need any help after the fact. Hope you have a wonderful trip!!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

My best friend just got back from her wedding / honeymoon there. She got some nice jewelry when she was there, a pearl and diamond necklace her DH got her and a nice gold bracelet she got him.

She said there are jewelry marts all over the place that sell everything from costume to high end jewelry.

I think she really wants to go back!

 

[ClarabelleCow]

try caribbean gems in St. Maarten, Caribbean Gems - St. Maarten

you can see some stuff on the web, but they have tons in the store, I have dealt with Manu and Pooja over the years, and they are great. Manu just sent me up a necklace I described to him in an e-mail, if I wanted it, I called with a CC, if I didn't I would have just brought it back on my next visit!!! I loved it!

 

[WeirdEyes]

I just returned from St. Marteen and St. Thomas. I have shopped in both places for jewelry and you can get good deals at either location. However, St. Marteen has tons of jewelry stores downtown Phillipsburg so they are competing like crazy. I just bought a sapphire & diamond bracelet and got a good deal on it in St. Marteen.

 

[m&m's mom]

Now I am surprised. We went to St. Marten and St. Thomas last Dec and I did not see any bargains at either place.
Shopping Shelby on our cruise (Royal Caribbean, Adventure of the Seas) completely cracked us up w/ her shopping tips. I expected to find bargains but I really didn't.
I go to a diamond broker when I buy jewelry so I guess maybe why I was not impressed.
They did seem to want to haggle at the jewelry shops so I might have been able to do better than here but never tried.

 

[TheWog]

Try Oro Diamante in St. Martin, when you get off the water taxi go straight through to Main Street and turn left. They are on the opposite side of the street a little ways down. We found them to be great and if you say someone you know referred you to them they will start to really work with you. Be careful of them trying to show and sell you other things while there, but stick to what you want and you will be happy. They had very good quality and pretty good prices. Know your 4 C's and do a little pricing research here and you will do very well.

 

[figment52]

I went with 3 others and we all bought jewelry ($$$$) from Dean at Joe's Jewelry in St. Martin. Not at all like it sounds, it is on DCL's approved list and they had 4-5 stores on the island and he took us to each one until we found exactly what we wanted. Dean is the owner's son and he worked with us for quite a long time finding us exactly what we wanted. I think I still have his email at home and I know I have the picture of all of us together. I'm sure if you had a copy of that he wold remember us. I'll try and remember to bring it to work so I can post it for you. If I forget and you want it, pm me a reminder.

 

[Jeafl]

I think you will be fine if you stick with the ship approved stores. Some cruise lines (like Carnival) actually guarantee the merchandise.

I've had good luck at Diamonds International and Tanzanite International.

 

[shortbun]

Well, as a travel agent, I had several clients buy inferior quality
stones in the islands as they did not know their gems.
Beware the "good deal." If you don't care about quality and
just want the appearance of bling bling, you can find lots of
cool looking stuff there. My sister, who does know her jewelry,
says she gets better deals in Mexico due to Nafta than she
did in STT and SXM. That's all I know.