Best place to buy Jewelry?

[miraclemet]

My wife has already hinted (none to subtley) that Im buying her a nice rememberance of our upcoming trip to Alaska. Where are the best places to shop for jewelery? We are porting in Ketchikan, Juneau and Sitka... plus I think there is also a Jeweler onboard the ship, Infinity. Anyone have favorite places? Best deals? One of a kind pieces?

 

Any help from those of you who have recieved jewelery or bought jewelery is appreciated... no nesting dolls for her! (My wife has very fine taste........ she married me!)

[vettechick]

Our ship was praising Diamonds International as the best place for jeweley at any port. Also recommended was Royal Jewelers in Juneau, where I purchased a 3/4 carat pink sapphire ring set in 14K rose gold with mother-of-pearl and diamonds inlaid in the band. I love it and everyone at the store was wonderful! They even gave me a free loose sapphire.

 

I would beware of the Tanzanite rush. It looks beautiful and they were really pushing it at all the stores but it is not a gem, it's a stone. One jeweler told me they were "hoping" it would be moved into gem status in the near future which is expected to raise the price/value, but for now ??

 

Collect all the coupons on board that you can -- there are some good deals out there for cruisers!

[natesfirewife]

Ketchikan has a ton of Jewelry stores right at the dock, I saw a bunch of pink saphires. I plan to get a nice bracelet to go with the beautiful two carat earings & one carat pendant my husband got me for my 30th b-day on Monday. Make sure you talk them down in pricing though, they do start a little high and will lower the prices towards the end of the day when they know the ship is leaving.

 

Misty

[churee]

Hi,

 

I bought a beautiful necklace/earring set of out kiln formed glass (it is very unique and I have gotten lots of compliments on it) (it is mostly red with other colors fused into it--hard to describe) at "Trinkets Fine Jewelry and Art Glass" in Ketchikan. (217 Main St). I wasn't even going to hit the jewelry stores, but this place had some unique glass artwork in the window which beckoned me in.

 

Joyce

[natesfirewife]

I'll have to check that out, sounds really neat. :)

 

Misty

[cpayne]

I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, but I would be very cautious about buying jewelry from these places. I have heard many horror stories of people getting home and finding their item was not what they thought it was, they actually found cheaper prices at home, or if there is damage to your item trying to get any repairs.

 

I LOVE my jewelry unfortunately. Ask my husband! If you do your shopping and establish a relationship with a local jeweler I think in the long run you may come out further ahead over time.

 

Just my two cents worth....not that anyone asked!

[bonsai1]

My mother wants us to bring her a gold (real) charm from Alaksa. Any recommendations or would they be the same as the places mentioned above?

 

Thanks

Wendy

[SNOWEY]

Just got back from AK and the ports are loaded with jewelry stores. I ended up buying a loose tanzanite marquis for my diamond ring. I bought it in Skagway & they set it in Ketchacan. I bought the loose stone from Diamonds International. The ship has a policy that if you buy from one of their recommended stores, it is guaranteed. I ended up in Diamonds International & picked that store because of the selection & price. I bargained w/the salesman. I got a 2.23 ct. tanzanite for a little less than $500 a ct. (including tax) and they set it for me. It was not a wimpy color either, it was a dark color. It is gorgeous. I think the ship gets something for the recommendations, however, it is better to be safe than sorry. BTW---I noticed that the setting looked to be a little off so I went to the Purser (I think that is what she was called) and she told me no problem, I can send it back and they will reset it. My ring was a custom made ring & it is hard to tell if it is off center or not because of the design. She also added that she has never heard of them having any trouble w/that store. Of course, I don't know this for a fact. Happy shopping!

[Wolfpup]

On our recent Infinity cruise to AK, I wanted to purchase a piece of jewlery that would be unique to Alaska. So many of the port shops are the same ones we see on Caribbean cruises, and the merchandise looks the same. After searching through shops in Ketchikan and Juneau, I gave up. However, in Sitka, we stopped at Goldsmith Gallery. There, I found a free-form gold in white quartz ring, with diamond accents. This is an Alaskan stone. My husband decided he wanted a ring, too, and found one that he liked.

The shop has a website from which I can order complimentary ear rings, etc.

 

Darcy

[ajpack]

Whoever told you that tanzanite is not a gem should not be selling jewelry! It is a "gem", but not classified as a "semi precious" gem like ruby, sapphire, or emerald. Good tanzanites are expensive, because of their rarity. They are a one location gem---only found in Tanzania, Africa and the mines have almost stopped producing. Diamonds, on the other hand, are expensive, not because of their rarity (because they aren't), but because of the DeBeers company that controls the market and the price.

 

Anne

[clopaw]

Here's a write up about tanzanite: http://www.gemstone.org/gem-by-gem/english/tanzanite.html

[ajpack]

Exactly!!! It really irritates me when these jewelry store chains employ people to sell merchandise that they know nothing about!!

 

Anne

[Paulmj]

If it is absolutely essential that the jewelry be brought back from Alaska and what you paid for the piece is of little concern, there are plenty of stores selling all kinds of things there.

 

It is very hard to compare apples-to-apples on jewelry prices because nothing is exactly the same. However I did some inquiries on name-brand fine watches, and their prices are outrageous when compared to buying the same thing at home, especially if you are able to buy online from a reputable seller like Ashford. I have to assume all their stuff carries a similar markup.

 

This is certainly true of other so-called buyer's paradises like St. Thomas.

 

If you want something "Alaskan" like a gold whale's tail or a bear or something like that, any neighborhood jeweler has thick books of all these items that they can order for you at far less cost.

 

Most experienced cruisers know that the so-called "recommended" retailers that shore excursion people discuss have paid the cruise line for that exalted position. It really doesn't mean anything.

[clopaw]

Anne, I read the comment and thought to myself, how can that be? So I did a quick internet search and came up with that site. Modestly speaking, I am the queen of the internet. Obviously, you just have to be careful of the site you use for information.

[ElaineB2]

First of all, I only read a couple of these posts, so if I repeat something that someone else said, I apologize. I concur with ajpack - tanzanite is a gem - the darker the color, the more the value is. It's also relatively soft. After having mine for approx. 2 years, I looked at it under a microscope recently, and there were actually minute chips along the edge of the stone where it had been probably hit on something. We purchased ours at Diamonds International in Key West. This is just my feeling - I would probably stick with a large, reputable company that has stores in other parts of the world that may offer similar trade-up policies. Like for instance, the tanzanite and diamond ring I bought at DI in Key West, can be taken to any other DI in the world and traded in for full value. Catch is, I have to purchase something that is at least twice the cost of the orginal item. While that thought crossed my mind recently, that maybe I should do that on the next cruise, DH would probably not be pleased with me since this was my 40th birthday, 10th anniversary present. It's a beautiful ring - cushion cut, very deep purple/blue tanzanite (1.87 carats) with 6 princess cut diamonds arranged - 3 on each side.

 

Why not buy a pink diamond??? There were lots of those in Ketchikan -- one I tried on was on sale for approx. $190,000 - and it was only somewhere around 2 - 3 carats maybe. I didn't realize how rare they actually are - they were incredibly beautiful - and I'm not even crazy about the color pink! I found all the jewelry stores in Ketchikan to be EXTREMELY pushy to the point of being excessive. I walked out of a couple of stores after I asked them if it really presented a problem that I wanted to browse and I would let them know if I was interested in something. Good luck. I hope you find her the gift that she will always treasure from this trip. I do treasure mine - it was a quick 4 day cruise that we decided to do last minute to celebrate as I said birthday and anniversary. Thanks for letting me rattle on.

[Mezzaluna]

Someone wrote a while back that they felt they were cheated by Diamonds International. YOu might try to search for that thread.

 

We were on the Coral Princess in July after our land tour and stopped at the three usual ports. DI were everywhere. I went into the store just to see what the deal was. I looked at a pair of diamond stud earrings (basket set yellow gold) which were a little smaller than my studs at home. Although I admit I did not ask what the quality of the stones was, they were nearly three times as much as we paid in Chicago for my slightly larger stones.

 

Another overpricing story: At Denali Princess Lodge my husband bought a mink-lined leather parka for me at the fur store on the resort grounds. I had no idea what a fair price was, but he was content with the price so we bought it. Holding my breath, I went into a fur store in Skagway and found an almost identical coat (wolf fur rather than fox fur on the edge of the hood); it was 50% more than we'd paid in Denali.

 

You should make up your own mind about whether to buy precious gems, semi-precious stones, gold, furs, etc. in a tourist town, but caveat emptor: let the buyer beware!

[ElaineB2]

I guess everyone has a different experience depending on their purchase. That person may have felt like they were cheated at DI, I on the other hand was not. We definitely got a deal on the tanzanite. Now, we compared the price of the Tag Heuer watch my husband bought on the ship (believe it or not) and DI's price was much higher. After searching the Bahamas, and on another trip St. Marteen and St. Thomas - we found the best deal to be the ship. I do believe in my post I did state in so many words that the large reputable store (DI) worked for us for the tanzanite - it may not work for everyone and it may not work the next time I go back and want to buy a diamond - who knows.

[ocean.queen]

I was one that was cheated by DI. They sold me a broken tanzanite. The keel (the pointed end) inside the setting was broken off and it was discovered by the appraiser when I got home. The rest of my dealings with them were a nightmare. I did get the stone recut & reset by a local gemologist and it is beautiful now but be warned! Personally..I wouldn't go near the place.

 

I am very happy with Celebrity Jewelry in Juneau. I have purchased from them on two previous visits. I again visited them on August 14 with 3 friends and we ALL bought a nice little piece. It is a family, I like their jewelry and they are not pushy.

 

JMO

[ElaineB2]

Oceanqueen - I'm sorry to hear about your ring - I can understand why you wouldn't go back. I had no problems with my tanzanite ring. I took it into a local fine jewelry store and they were very impressed with the quality and the appraisal also.

[SNOWEY]

ElaineB2:

 

Glad your ring appaised ok. When I came home form Alaska, I found the negative postings about DI and began to worry. I have put off getting it appraised because I am happy with the ring and don't want to feel bad! Head in the Sand!! Now I have this little niggling feeling about it.