Price of Jewelry in St Thom

[Gigi1220]

Going to St. Martin and trying to find out about how much discount will you receive if you buy something in St. Thomas as opposed to the US... Like a diamond ring in gold setting?

[beachchick]

I'm a tiny bit confused. Are you asking whether prices might be better on St. Thomas than on St. Martin?

 

If so, I can't tell you specifically about jewelry (somehow I missed getting the "jewelry girl" shopping gene; something for which my DH is infinitely grateful). However, my BIL wanted to get a new watch (a pretty expensive brand, not Rolex, but still out of his usual price range; I think retail in the US they run about $1200+). So before our Mariner cruise, he researched both islands and determined that St. Martin would probably have the better deals. While there, he checked on St. Thomas, but decided against buying there. On St. Martin, he had gotten several recommendations from friends and pax on the ship. Ultimately, he found exactly what he wanted for a really good price (about $500 as I recall); he did a bit of bargaining and was really pleased with the purchase, the store, and the service.

 

I know that doesn't necessarily relate to jewelry, but he found watch prices on St. Martin to be better than on St. Thomas. This may not be the same for gems and jewelry, and the slightly higher prices on St. Thomas may be because it's one of the USVI (that's just a WAG).

 

Hope you find exactly what you are looking for and have a wonderful memento of your cruise.

 

beachchick

[Ju1es]

We found the jewlery prices to be quite good and they are willing to bargain with you! Just keep working them down and pretend that you aren't that interested. If they think you will walk out of the store without buying then they will haggle lower. Also, Visa charges them less than Mastercard and Discover does so ask them if they will lower the price if you pay with Visa. Then see if they will go lower if you pay cash.

 

I got a pair of 14k white gold tanzanite earrings there for $115! We just kept working them down! The original price was around $800 so don't be afraid to go really low! We just kept saying that we would keep looking and we didn't act like we loved the earrings!

[Gigi1220]

Yes, my brain seems to think that interchanging St Thomas and St Martin is ok.. lol

 

To clear the question...Going to buy some diamonds on St THOMAS...what have been other experiences in pricing when comparing to the States...