Watches

If you are looking for a quality watch, we think that shopping on the internet (among authorized sellers) is the best bet. Many of the watches sold in the Caribbean are what is known as "Gray Market" merchandise which is not intended, by the manufacturer, to be sold in the Western Hemisphere. Accordingly, the manufacturer will often not honor their warranty. To compensate, some of the Caribbean stores will provide a warranty from some third party company which can involve lots of hassles.

If you do try to buy in the Caribbean, research the stateside price before you shop. And make sure you ask the merchant for the details of the warranty. There are some authorized retailers in the Caribbean that can provide manufacturers warranties....but their prices are generally not much different then you can find in the States. I should add that its the same situation with cameras and most electronics.

Hank

Macy's on sale

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DH got a watch on the flight home from the duty free shopping onboard

He knew the watch he wanted & the price was right

If you have to pull the trigger while cruising:rolleyes:, St. Thomas is the place.;)

If you have to pull the trigger while cruising:rolleyes:, St. Thomas is the place.;)

There was a time that we would have agreed. But in the past decade, St Thomas has become more of a shopping joke rather than its previous shopping paradise. St Thomas does have at least one decent jewelry store, H. Stern, but we would look there for very high quality....not bargains. I think the better port for bargain watches is St Maarten...but not sure they can beat online shopping. A couple of years ago I purchased DW a Movado watch (she wanted a specific model) which I found online for a better price then we saw anywhere in the Caribbean (including St Thomas). And unlike many of the watches sold in St Thomas, the one I got my wife came with a full manufacturers warranty. Many of the watches sold in St Thomas are Grey Market.....which means they were not intended for the North American market. In those cases, the watch is often not covered (in any way) by the manufacturer...but often comes with some kind of warranty from a third party company. These warranties may or may not be worth the cost of printing the certificate...depending on the company.

So here is my suggestion for anyone planning to buy a decent watch in the Caribbean. Once you find what you want, and are satisfied with the price...ask if it comes with a full manufacturers warranty (and ask to see the warranty certificate)? In some cases you might have trouble getting an answer (or an honest answer) and in other cases they will insist that their warranty is better than the manufactuer's.....NOT!

Hank