Buying Diamonds in St. Thomas?

[clementine]

My DH and I are going on our first cruise in 10 days, and will be doing some shopping in St. Thomas. I have heard a lot of people buy diamonds there at great prices and am wondering if anyone has any experiences they can share.

Where did you go, what did you buy? Were the prices as good as those we find on the Internet?

Just curious.

Clem

 

[oldminer]

You will find wonderful shopping and a ton of varety BUT you will not be offered prices that compare with Internet pricing. Of course, you have the advantage of being able to see, touch and try on nice things. The people will be friendly, but they do need to pressure people a little (or a lot) to get them to buy before the ship pulls out or the plane takes off. Its understandable.

Be very careful with the sunlight being more bright than up North. Off color diamonds look a little brighter and whiter in bright, tropical sun. A couple of rum punches and the guy who coaches customers right on the cruise ship, will make buying a lot more fun until the bill gets home. The stores in the islands do a superb job of promotion and sales. They have inventory you can only dream of, but it is not necessarily the most wonderful place to make a substantial purtchase.

A reasonable trinket or two does no harm, but a major purchase should be reserved for a store that serves your own community at home or a well respected Internet vendor who offers security and best pricing options.

I have been to the islands many times, and my wife is a professional shopper. I carry the bags and only advise when asked. My opinions about things other than jewelry are really not up to her professional shopper standards. Anyway, needless to say, we do not buy jewelry there, but we sure have looked at the inventory of many a very nice store.

Have fun, enjoy the shopping, be a bit cautious and don't be afraid to buy a little something . Just don't get swept away without understanding the islands are not buying on your own turf.

 

[dobie]

If you''re into high-end stuff like Cartier, you can get things cheaper at St Thomas. Their store is at 29 Main Street in St Thomas.

 

[abbott]

I have had great experiences with Imperial Jewelers, 10 Main Street. I have been a customer and friend of the owner Charlie.. for 15 years. Most stores in the island do not carry GIA stones. I just returned from St. Thomas on Feb. 13th. I did notice an increase in the quality of diamonds.. but I have to admit that I would not buy my center stone on the Island unless it was GIA. They have very beautiful semi mounts, pave mounts, sapphires, tanzanite, diamond bracelets, etc. (This trip I bought a three stone tanzanite and my friend bought a three stone diamond necklace).. Imperial did have a wonder GIA yellow diamond, 4ct, radiant cut, fancy intense, very good stats, set in pave mount, for around $42K... They also had a 7ct yellow diamond (GIA)..The salesmen are very high pressure.. and you have to deal with them on prices (selling price is about 1/2 of the starting asking price)..Gold is a good buy in the island... always buy gold by the gram... around $12/gram... Watches are a good deal.. Rado, Movado, Tag, etc. Crystal is very reasonable... Have a wonderful time... St. Thomas is beautiful... ABBOTT

 

[RockDoc]

Shopping out of US.

Read the front and back of the sales slip thoroughly. Most of the ones I''ve seen say you have to more than one grade off of what they represent the stone.

They also deny refunds if you have buyer''s remorse, because you found out that you may not have gotten the "deal" you were promised.

In the US there are laws to protect consumers, if you buy out of the country, you lose this protection, unless the company has US offices.

There are people on the boats, who "push" buying at these places, they claim they "guarantee" the merchant is backed up by them. Many of the people I have checked things for, when things go wrong they get little help from these companies.

So be careful,

Rockdoc

 

[clementine]

THanks for all of the advice! I am not planning on buying anything substantial, but I thought it might be fun to check out the fancy colored diamonds that they have - I''ve never seen any in person.

And, Oldminer, I promise to lay off the rum punch before I go!

 

[Sagebrush]

Several years ago I was considering setting up a shop in the Virgin Islands. As part of my research I went to St. T. and did a little shopping. Now, as most know, my specialty is colored gems. I am a dealer and buy all over the world so my quality and pricing are not those of the average joe jeweler. I was interested in determining what "duty free" pricing was all about and whether I could be competitve and make a profit in this highly competivie market.

First thing to understand is that "duty free" is pretty meaningless when the fact is there is little or no duty on gemstones coming into the U.S. I import gems, a tiny duty on emerald and pearl but, effectivel none. So, my shop in Lenox, Mass., is also a "duty free shop".

What I found: Prices on gems in St. Thomas were retail prices. Big surprise, the rents in St. Thomas are about 8 times mine with that overhead how much can you discount? One exception, Tanzanite. This is the big gem in the Carribean. Don''t know why but there you are. Tanzanite prices tended to be about 25% off average retail in the U. S. I say, "average retail", because there is no standard retai, every jeweler uses a different formula but, you will save money on Tanzanite if you know what you are doing and comparison shop.

 

[gotstuck]

My fiance and I just returned from a 7 day cruise(we love cruising) Our cheery "shopping guides" assured us that "Diamonds International" was the BEST thing since sliced bread. I'd say the same thing if I was getting the kickback they are. Anyway, long story short, we traded in her engagement ring(which did appraise at what we paid) for what seemed to be a beautiful 2+ carat ring. Happy. We got home and took it to an independent appraiser(Cindy Conney) from CT. who was FANTASTIC. Anyway, turns out the "deal of the century" was evil. The ring was 1)underweight 2)wrong clarity. So, the true appraisel was just about 1/2 of what we paid. Boo hoo and shame on us, sounded too good to be true. So, we are in day 1 of trying to resolve this through this company, who so far have been rude and unhelpful. Wish us luck, we do have 6 days left on a supposed 30 day return. Any feedback would be appreciated. Dan

 

[bar01]

I actually Proposed in St. Thomas (while on Royal Caribbean Cruise) with an e-ring using a fine sapphire from www.cherrypicked.com and ACA diamonds from www.whiteflash.com

It was a great cruise and it was fun to browse in the shops - once she had the ring on her finger. Pricing and quality simply did not compare to what she got.

The cruise people were really pushing gems - and especially diamonds in the Caribbean. Quotes from Cruise Director on the ship TV system - “best prices/place to buy in the world!”....... "...there is no way to quantify diamond cut ... just look at it"...... "Even if you don't want anything now - don't pass up the chance to buy when we dock!"

They were really pushing HOF diamonds from Diamonds International - “most perfectly cut diamonds in the world” said the banner in the ship lobby. Well, I had a chance to hold a similar sized loose HOF diamond right next to my gals ACA’s. Close -but the ACA's were better – and the HOF cost twice as much!

But you will have fun in the gem shops – just get ready for some hard selling!

Enjoy!

 

[Sunni79]

I wouldn''t by a diamond ring on the islands. I heard that people are sold cz passed off as diamonds. I read about it in tips for buying diamonds. I would be very cautious if I were you. How would you return the ring?

 

[fire&ice]

I would be hestitant to buy anything substantial like a diamond. It''s great fun to shop though! Watches can be a decent buy. H. Stern is a shop right off the boat. They are all over the world & have wonderful stuff. Cayman''s have some nice shopping (don''t know if you are going there). They have high end jewelry stores. Hubby bought a Rolex there. Can''t remember the store''s name - but they were reputable. Funny, I bought a Swatch Watch.

I didn''t find diamonds to be as well priced as on-line. Inexpensive colored stones were fun and decent prices - stones like tourmalines & the like.

 

[twinkletoes]

Date: 2/17/2005 4:17:45 PM
Author: oldminer
my wife is a professional shopper. I carry the bags and only advise when asked. My opinions about things other than jewelry are really not up to her professional shopper standards.

hahaha!

my bf''s dad once told me while we were out shopping (me, bf, and his parents) that it is the man''s job to carry the bags and to take out the cc at the cash wrap.