Jewelry Purchased Aboard

[scalan]

Has anyone had a bad experience purchasing fine jewelry from the on board fine jewelers?

My husband purchased a lovely necklace for me on the Island P last December that was set with varied colored sapphires. The gold chain was so fine that I had a local jeweler replace it with a thicker chain and with a more secure clasp. He asked my husband about it and when he was told that they were sapphires the jeweler said he doubted that. When my husband told him that we had a written guarantee from the ships jeweler he said, "Oh well, I suppose it is authentic then".

I am interested in knowing if anyone else has had a similar experience.

Real or not, I'm not giving it up! I stopped to admire it almost daily and one day it was gone. I was told by the salesman that, unfortunatly for me, it had been sold to some gentleman. Later that night it appeared on my pillow..an early Christmas gift. Of course the salesman was in on it and we all had a chuckle over it the next day..my chuckles being through happy tears.

[Toto2Kansas]

Originally Posted by scalan

Has anyone had a bad experience purchasing fine jewelry from the on board fine jewelers?

My husband purchased a lovely necklace for me on the Island P last December that was set with varied colored sapphires. The gold chain was so fine that I had a local jeweler replace it with a thicker chain and with a more secure clasp. He asked my husband about it and when he was told that they were sapphires the jeweler said he doubted that. When my husband told him that we had a written guarantee from the ships jeweler he said, "Oh well, I suppose it is authentic then".

I am interested in knowing if anyone else has had a similar experience.

Real or not, I'm not giving it up! I stopped to admire it almost daily and one day it was gone. I was told by the salesman that, unfortunatly for me, it had been sold to some gentleman. Later that night it appeared on my pillow..an early Christmas gift. Of course the salesman was in on it and we all had a chuckle over it the next day..my chuckles being through happy tears.

Interesting. The only way to know for sure is to get it appraised. That would be the only sure way to tell if the stones are authentic or not. But then again, are you sure you want to know?
Whether they are real or not, what a wonderful surprise your husband gave you.

[cb at sea]

Did you pay a "fine jewelry" price for it? If not, then it's probably not as "authentic" as you think.
You do get what you pay for, in most cases!

[arizonaperson]

I bought a small Mexican Fire opal on a Princess cruise, of course different story than yours, I bought it my self, no I never had a jewler on land look at it or appraise it,but I love it.
I would have yours appraised and give the appraisal to your husbsand so he can see if it is indeed what he paid for it, unless you know the answer and go from there. If it was guaranteed a certain price or authencitty, have your husband deal with it, unless you really like it or it would spoil the way it was given to you, then just love it the way it is and assume it is all real stones.

[Colo Cruiser]

I believe Princess has a 5 year GTY on their products.

[Miss Tracey Lacey]

I bought myself a five diamond, white gold ring on my cruise, and showed it to my jeweler here, and told her original price and the sale price (which I paid) She said it was a good buy for the 50% off that it was, but that it wouldn't be a good deal/worth the original ticket price.

[Crown Prince]

Sapphires can be more costly than diamonds, depending on the quality.

Have it appraised; however, if it will make your husband feel bad, don't let him know of the appraisal.

Of course, you know the price he paid on the ship. You looked at it every day.

[Hamburg Avon Lady]

Oops --- see next reply.

[Hamburg Avon Lady]

I think I would have the necklace appraised. What the answer is would
depend on whether you pass that info along to DH. You will have to find
some similiar pieces - in your area - for comparison and then determine
whether your DH did get a good buy or not.

Personally, as other posters have suggested --- "as you love the necklace
sooooo much and the loving thought that preceeded it" - what difference
would an apprasial make anyway ??? I would hate to see your DH's feelings hurt --- men can be very sensitive about this type of thing.

In the future, though, I would do some window shopping to get prices/info
on whatever jewelry you may be considering for purchase on vacation. Then, you will know whether you are getting your "money's worth". JMO

[m steve]

the tag price on any jewelery on a ship or Caribbean island. They are joke prices. Mark up is at least 300% on watches and jewelery.

[StLouisCruisers]

We purchased a gorgeous dark purple Tanzanite and diamond pendant (slider) on the Dawn, and were given a discounted price. An appraisal upon return from the cruise showed it was worth a good deal more than we paid. Very happy with our purchase!

[Hamburg Avon Lady]

Like I said before: "You need to do your homework about buying jewelry,
beforehand, to know the quality of the jewelry and if the prices are
worth it to you.

Always get specific written info about the jewelry, too. For
ex. a description of the piece, caret weight, clarity, etc. I believe that if you purchase from the island stores that the cruise line recommends ---
that bears some weight about returns/repairs. JMO

[ssbeagle]

Originally Posted by scalan

Has anyone had a bad experience purchasing fine jewelry from the on board fine jewelers?

My husband purchased a lovely necklace for me on the Island P last December that was set with varied colored sapphires. The gold chain was so fine that I had a local jeweler replace it with a thicker chain and with a more secure clasp. He asked my husband about it and when he was told that they were sapphires the jeweler said he doubted that. When my husband told him that we had a written guarantee from the ships jeweler he said, "Oh well, I suppose it is authentic then".

I am interested in knowing if anyone else has had a similar experience.

Real or not, I'm not giving it up! I stopped to admire it almost daily and one day it was gone. I was told by the salesman that, unfortunatly for me, it had been sold to some gentleman. Later that night it appeared on my pillow..an early Christmas gift. Of course the salesman was in on it and we all had a chuckle over it the next day..my chuckles being through happy tears.

What a wonderful surprise and such a thoughtful thing your husband did. I have bought a few pieces of jewelery from the shop on board and I have always gotten nice stones. I've also bought some of the loose stones and had my jeweler look at them enviously. Princess stands behind what they sell so enjoy your necklace and don't worry about it. As long as you love it, nothing else matters.

[iancal]

We have never purchased fine jewelry on a cruise-or on the islands, because we are not knowledgeable to distinguish between stones, carats, clarity, etc. We have however compared prices of higher end watches and found the prices on board ship to be high. You also need to understand what an appraisal at home means. If it is 'for insurance' purposes', you can count on the appraisal value being anywhere upwards of 40 percent higher than the retail value of the piece so it can sometimes be difficult to understand if you got a fair deal.

[Tina G]

No one can tell whether stones are authentic or not just by looking at them. You need special tests and equipment. Also, many stones are "enhanced" to make their color appear darker than nature did. This does not make them fake. Your jeweler was out of line. However, your husband is the real gem!

[Times Prince]

Originally Posted by Tina G

No one can tell whether stones are authentic or not just by looking at them. You need special tests and equipment. Also, many stones are "enhanced" to make their color appear darker than nature did. This does not make them fake. Your jeweler was out of line. However, your husband is the real gem!

Keep the husband.

Lose the jeweler.

I once delighted my wife with a beautiful ring from a jewelery store in Colorado that she wore regularly and proudly for seveal years until she got it appraised. Turns out it had a "manufactured" stone, and not a natural one with real diamonds around it. She never wore it again. Some things are just not worth knowing.

[Sam n Janet Evening]

My husband purchased a Saphire Necklace for me while we were on the Grand Princess. When we got home I took it to our jeweler to get it appraised for insurance purposes and it came back with a much higher value than what he paid for it. I would not hesitate to make another jewelry purchace while on board ship.