Buying Tanzanite jewerly

Is it better to by Tanzanite on the ship or while in port? How does the price and quality compare? :)

Is it better to by Tanzanite on the ship or while in port? How does the price and quality compare? :)

Either or. We have done both. Depending on the amount of the purchase though on ship they are required to give information to Customs Duty regulations. On shore no. we found both to be really good quality esp. if you were to buy from Diamonds International or another large retailer in Port.

I would not buy from a little sleazy looking shop or dealer on the beach. Always if the price is to good to be true it probably isn't a bargin.

If you are into bargaining you can probably do much better on the islands. But you should do a bit of research first. Go to the ports of call boards and ask for people's experiences buying on the islands. Many people will be happy to tell you their good an bad experiences with certain jewelers.

One day I found Tanzanite in a jewellery store at home for about half the price on board or the Caribbean.

Is it better to by Tanzanite on the ship or while in port? How does the price and quality compare? :)

Best tanzanite jewelry is on JTV.

One day I found Tanzanite in a jewellery store at home for about half the price on board or the Caribbean.

A friend of mine purchased a lovely ring from a well-known big box store that far surpassed anything she could find on a cruise. She did her research before hand and drove her hubby nuts while on their vacation going from store to store in port.

There are no deals in the islands, Sam's club or Costco are cheaper on most things in jewelry. NOW if you find something that you absolutely know you cannot find at home in a good, honest, local jewelry store and you must have it, well that is up to you. Most all jewelry sold in all the stores like DI or TI are made in a factory, I do believe in Tampa?????, that is why they all are about the same. Now in Italy that is another story.

There are no deals in the islands, Sam's club or Costco are cheaper on most things in jewelry.

We'd have to disagree based on firsthand experience.

There are plenty of deals in various ports - but most shoppers we've observed simply don't know enough about Tanzanite (quality and pricing) themselves and rely on sales people guiding them. That's not a good approach in most cases.

Jewelry with Tanzanite is often inflated in retail pricing, so promoted "60% off sales" are actually misleading.

But to the original post - few deals are found on ships in comparison to what you can find in port. Even then...you have to know (ahead of time) what is a good price and what is good quality when it comes to Tanzanite.

Buy direct from the mine:

http://www.tanzaniteoneonline.com/

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Forums mobile app

Buy direct from the mine:

http://www.tanzaniteoneonline.com/

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Forums mobile app

good site thank you.

There are no deals in the islands. .

What an ignorant statement..........:rolleyes:

We'd have to disagree based on firsthand experience.

 

There are plenty of deals in various ports - but most shoppers we've observed simply don't know enough about Tanzanite (quality and pricing) themselves and rely on sales people guiding them. That's not a good approach in most cases.

 

Jewelry with Tanzanite is often inflated in retail pricing, so promoted "60% off sales" are actually misleading.

 

But to the original post - few deals are found on ships in comparison to what you can find in port. Even then...you have to know (ahead of time) what is a good price and what is good quality when it comes to Tanzanite.

Thanks for the advice! :D

Thanks for the advice! :D

You are most welcome.

One other tip....this site has some good insights into Tanzanite - quality, things to look for, and how they affect price:

http://www.lapigems.com/tanzanite_buying_guide.asp

Your welcome.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Forums mobile app

Someone posted above that if you buy from the ship, they report the purchase directly to customs, but not if you buy from a port shop. While I don't have personal experience with this, there was a thread on this main board not too long ago reporting exactly the opposite. So, if you make a big purchase (particularly from a cruise-sponsored shop, like DI), be aware that your purchase info may be reported without your knowledge.

Again -- no personal experience here, so YMMV!

If you buy Tanzanite I suggest you buy it from a recommended store thy the ship suggests. They will guarantee the qualityof what you buy

Most of all. Tanzanite is a SOFT stone. You need to ck it out with the stores eye Monical that they will let you use.

This is the only way that you can ck the quality. You can not see it with the naked eye If you see any scratches negotiate. The quality Is not as good. Do that with any stones that you want to but. Trust me I have seen this

Someone posted above that if you buy from the ship, they report the purchase directly to customs, but not if you buy from a port shop. While I don't have personal experience with this, there was a thread on this main board not too long ago reporting exactly the opposite. So, if you make a big purchase (particularly from a cruise-sponsored shop, like DI), be aware that your purchase info may be reported without your knowledge.

 

Again -- no personal experience here, so YMMV!

There are many duty-free shops on the islands as well.

In general....any single passenger can get $800 in duty-free purchases ($1600 for couples), and $1600 per passenger is duty-exempt if purchased in the US Virgin Islands or other US territory. Purchases in duty-free shops have no duty obviously.

If you buy Tanzanite I suggest you buy it from a recommended store thy the ship suggests. They will guarantee the quality of what you buy

Most of all. Tanzanite is a SOFT stone. You need to ck it out with the stores eye Monical that they will let you use.

This is the only way that you can ck the quality. You can not see it with the naked eye If you see any scratches negotiate. The quality Is not as good. Do that with any stones that you want to but. Trust me I have seen this

That's all pretty good advice. Typically the ship will guide you on locations in the various ports that are reputable. We've found prices ON the ships themselves to be higher for most jewelry.

For years I've been hearing about how tanzanite comes from one mine and it's running out so you had better buy it now! Please God, run out so the cruise lines stop pushing it.

Neither

Unless you are an expert at buying this. The ship and island stores can spot a tourist a mile away

That's all pretty good advice. Typically the ship will guide you on locations in the various ports that are reputable. We've found prices ON the ships themselves to be higher for most jewelry.

Typically, the ships will guide you various locations in port from which they get a kickback.

Typically, the ships will guide you various locations in port from which they get a kickback.

That hasn't been our experience at all, nor anyone we have cruised with.

Yes...there are the Diamonds International and other such "chains" with stores in almost every port It is possible to negotiate good prices even there if you're well educated on the specific jewelry ahead of time)....but if you ask the concierge...they'll point you in the right direction.

My wife loves Tanzanite and we usually purchase one piece while on vacation. But because we don't spend a lot of money on a piece, we purchase what she likes the best. Sometimes its onshore, sometime it is on the ship.

I have a friend who purchase a piece of jewelry on a cruise and was concerned that she paid too much (I think it was called hearts of fire, it was an absolute beautiful piece). When she got home she had it appraised and was very happy with the result.

Doesn't everyone get tired of the cruise lines pushing this stuff?? It feels like such a scam!

For years I've been hearing about how tanzanite comes from one mine and it's running out so you had better buy it now! Please God, run out so the cruise lines stop pushing it.

You really don't hear that like you used to. Prices have also dropped. I just picked up at 2.75 emerald cut with diamond halo tanzanite ring in Falmouth. It's beautiful. DH and I bargained with the salesman. We went back and forth and DH gave him the number we wanted. He went on about how it was made when gold was cheaper, yada yada. I walked out. DH was following me. He called us back and bargained some more. We got a good price. I really was walking out and not playing his game. I have a tanzanite ring I bought on a cruise a few years ago that has a tanzanite 1/3 the size of the one I bought a couple of weeks ago, with less diamonds that cost 1/2 what we paid for this one. I plan to have it appraised so we'll see, but we were happy with the price. It wasn't from DI or TI, but from another jeweler in the port and not pushed by RCI.