Diamonds Inter/Tanzinite Inter

[Mikiejag]

So just got back from the Dawn and cannot believe how much they pushed the Diamonds international and the Tanzinite International thing.

 

What is the deal with these two places? Went to some of the shoppers presentations and these were pushed...Hard...

 

Is it really that good of a deal or total ripoff?

 

Looking at some reviews and prices I didn't see anything exceptional and in fact came back with a lot of Ripoff reports.

 

Did I miss a great opportunity?

[spanishguy1970]

So just got back from the Dawn and cannot believe how much they pushed the Diamonds international and the Tanzinite International thing.

 

What is the deal with these two places? Went to some of the shoppers presentations and these were pushed...Hard...

 

Is it really that good of a deal or total ripoff?

 

Looking at some reviews and prices I didn't see anything exceptional and in fact came back with a lot of Ripoff reports.

 

Did I miss a great opportunity?

 

naaa you did not miss a thing. I like to go to those seminars for the raffles and have to admit have won twice.:D.. You can get a "good deal" on Tanzanite which is a stone that according to them is about to disappear but that if you like to invest, other than that you buy what you want and that is it. I really don't think you get a better deal than any other place but that is just my opinion.

Edited May 11, 2016 by qtaromar1970

[casofilia]

I always walk past the jewellery/watch shops on board and smile to myself. If the prices they are offering are so good why do they: have to push them so hard; have to offer heavily discounted sales; not quote actual prices but quote "x% below onshore US prices"?

 

At one point they were offering silver and amber items at what I considered a very good price. I went to ask about them but they would NOT sell them without the silver chain and mount. Yes the silver chain was USD2 an inch; it made the chain the most expensive silver I have ever seen!!

 

Caveat emptor; do your homework in a reputable jeweller at home before you leave.

 

Mike

[Mikiejag]

It was just interesting how hard they tried to sell this stuff. And even pushed the 30 day guarantee, which I read and found it funny that it did not include Buyers remorse. lol

 

But throughout these presentations, everyone was just staring and then heading out and the stores were packed.

[Bocadude85]

My mother in law spent several thousand dollars at one of the tanzanite internationals in the Caribbean. They opened a bottle of champagne and kept it coming and kept bringing out different pieces of jewelry that they were giving her "amazing deals on". Well once back in the USA she took her new jewelry to a jeweler to have it appraised, well it turns out the jewelry is only worth a fraction of what she paid for it. All of these high end stones were set in sterling silver not white gold as she was led to believe.

[spanishguy1970]

My mother in law spent several thousand dollars at one of the tanzanite internationals in the Caribbean. They opened a bottle of champagne and kept it coming and kept bringing out different pieces of jewelry that they were giving her "amazing deals on". Well once back in the USA she took her new jewelry to a jeweler to have it appraised, well it turns out the jewelry is only worth a fraction of what she paid for it. All of these high end stones were set in sterling silver not white gold as she was led to believe.

 

there is a precious stone called AMMOLITE which only comes from a mine in CANADA. I did my research and finally went to the Diamonds international in Alaska. I saw two rings one in white gold and one in Silver the guy wanted to sell me the silver one ( pushy) for 1500 dollars because it had the special shade of blue which is the hardest color to find on that stone which makes it more precious. I SAID NO. I know a little about gold and i told him i did not pay 1500 dollars for silver no matter how much blue the ring had. I made an offer for the gold one. he kept going back and forth " allegedly" to check with his manager and he wanted me to pay 3000 for 14 kt gold. I SAID NO. I offered 700 and walked away. I gave him my #. Within the hour he called and i bought it. That ring was appraised recently for 1200 dollars. You only get ripped off if you don't do your homework and get excited by them telling you " you are getting a deal" :eek:

Edited May 11, 2016 by qtaromar1970

[Mikiejag]

That's at least good to hear someone got a deal. Without the internet or Google, hard to find out what the deals are. I did look on ebay as soon as I got back and found several of the most "valuable" pieces selling for $49.95...lol, the same necklace that was $599 on the cruise...

 

I could not do an research before hand, mainly because I had no idea what these stones were, their costs and what was a good deal, but I did see a lot of people with buyers remorse and just felt bad for them...Especially with the jewelry, but also with the watches.

[Pitzel]

Do your homework, be willing to aggressively negotiate, and only buy items that you would love to wear, regardless of the price.

 

I bought two rings at DI in St. Thomas, but only after low balling and being willing to walk away. I ended up paying about what I would in the States, so I didn't get a "deal", per se, but I also didn't get ripped off.

Edited May 11, 2016 by Pitzel

[Maddysdaddy]

Tanzanite reminds me of an episode of Newhart (the series where Bob owned the B&B, not the original where he was the psychiatrist).

 

Bob somehow ended up hosting the local home shopping channel, and the item for sale was some sort of faux diamond jewelry. He was struggling to say something nice about the piece, and eventually came up with, "Selendric Diamacron................. almost as rare as glass".

[SheehanDJ]

These both are the best stores on the islands, our grand daughters love the charms we get for free. Cheapest and most looked forward to souvenir we bring home.

[cruzeluver]

The cruise lines receive a kick-back from promoting those stores. Their employees by and large have no idea of what they are selling and their quality is hit or miss. My father, a now retired jeweler loves to go into both DI and TI and bust them for their lack of even basic knowledge of their product. He will act like an unknowledgeable tourist just to see what line of crap they feed him. I remember one at the DI in Cozumel could not even provide him with the clarity of a diamond solitaire. Very basic stuff. They have been saying for over 20 years now that Tanzanite is so, so rare and if you do not buy now it will soon be gone. Its all marketing and its all BS.

[jamminlion]

I have never read, heard of, or seen a person who was thrilled with their jewelry purchase at either of those stores. I'd say everyone has buyers remorse when they get home, lose a stone, stone is loose, or the finish starts to tarnish.

 

it's some price to pay to brag to your friends that you got this beautiful piece of trash for a steal while on your cruise. your friends gush with envy. Until you admit that you over paid and got totally ripped off.

 

Save your money and your time.

[spanishguy1970]

I have never read, heard of, or seen a person who was thrilled with their jewelry purchase at either of those stores. I'd say everyone has buyers remorse when they get home, lose a stone, stone is loose, or the finish starts to tarnish.

 

it's some price to pay to brag to your friends that you got this beautiful piece of trash for a steal while on your cruise. your friends gush with envy. Until you admit that you over paid and got totally ripped off.

 

Save your money and your time.

 

that is why the rule of thumb when it comes to buying jewelry is buy what you like and what you will wear, if you buy for others to gush on then most likely you will end up being disappointed. :eek::D

[cb at sea]

As much Tanzanite as is in local jewelry stores, they won't be "running out" any time soon!

[treasure4two]

So just got back from the Dawn and cannot believe how much they pushed the Diamonds international and the Tanzinite International thing.

 

What is the deal with these two places? Went to some of the shoppers presentations and these were pushed...Hard...

 

Is it really that good of a deal or total ripoff?

 

Looking at some reviews and prices I didn't see anything exceptional and in fact came back with a lot of Ripoff reports.

 

Did I miss a great opportunity?

 

No, you did not miss anything but getting ripped off. My husband bought me a tanzanite pendant and they tossed in some other junk for $2500. Got home, had an appraised and he said it was worth $1650. Turns out the stone was cracked, so worth less! The necklace they gave me with it-the closure broke first time I touched it. The guarantee the cruise lines gives you is not worth the paper it is written on. They refused to accept my appraisal because my appraiser sold jewelry out of his home. The appraiser had to be someone that did not buy or sell jewelry. They gave me one name in Charlotte(19th largest city in US), but I did not trust him. The others were 3 hours away( one was dealing with a brain tumor) or I could go to New York, to their person there. Admittedly, I am not an educated buyer, but many people who buy on cruises, I believe, are impulse buyers, like we were. Carnival and their guarantee people plus TI people were worthless. I may not be an educated buyer, but I am a person who takes her problems to the top. I contacted the CEO of my credit card and his rep contacted me within 2 days. Long story short(finally!), after about one month of complaining and send 40 pages of e-mails, I got my $2500 back from the credit card people! So, moral of the story, I would not trust DI or TI as far as I could pick up and through their store, unless you have money to throw away and don't mind possibly end up looking a like fool.

[Arzeena]

So just got back from the Dawn and cannot believe how much they pushed the Diamonds international and the Tanzinite International thing.

 

What is the deal with these two places? Went to some of the shoppers presentations and these were pushed...Hard...

 

Is it really that good of a deal or total ripoff?

 

Looking at some reviews and prices I didn't see anything exceptional and in fact came back with a lot of Ripoff reports.

 

Did I miss a great opportunity?

 

 

Per the owner of one "on the list" store in the Caribbean, anything from 11% to 16% from what you paid for a purchase, is the port and shopping consultant's commission from all the "guaranteed" stores.

[Tricialy]

Are the "shopping consultants" employees of Diamonds International and Cariloha? They have the same presentation on every ship.

[roxette]

I would never, ever, buy anything from a store without price tags and where the employees carries calculators.

[roboclam]

Unless you are looking to get ripped off and over pay for "stuff", stay away from DI as well as any other "store" that sells watches or jewelry on board whatever ship you're sailing on...We learned the hard way after buying some watches, both at DI as well as on the ship, both were over priced (found out later) sorry to say, something we found out as soon as we got back home and checked...There are NO DEALS on board the ships, they are there to make as much money as they can, not give us a deal...Last cruise my watch died so we bought something that was listed at 30% off list..???Got home checked on Amazon and found the same watch for 50 bucks less so there are no deals...Ripoffs; plenty of them just awaiting the innocent cruiser...We do not cruise to sit and listen to endless sales pitches nor to buy jewelry...Lies and more lies...Kinda like "free at sea"...NOT...

[deladypilot]

Are the "shopping consultants" employees of Diamonds International and Cariloha? They have the same presentation on every ship.

 

The shopping consultants are with an independent company.

[FreestyleNovice]

Only good for a deal on the sunglasses!

[Mikiejag]

Well at least it is not just me... lol

[casofilia]

I would never, ever, buy anything from a store without price tags and where the employees carries calculators.

 

Right on. While on this type of comment; I hate buying in certain countries where the price you see in the store is NOT the price you have to pay!! Why can thy not show the price in the store that includes the added tax in that Province/State!!

 

Mike

[Shawnino]

Right on. While on this type of comment; I hate buying in certain countries where the price you see in the store is NOT the price you have to pay!! Why can thy not show the price in the store that includes the added tax in that Province/State!!

 

Mike

 

Give me the other side of this.

If the tax is in-your-face, very very occasionally a politician might be able to make hay by lowering it. And I'm all for lower taxes.

I like to see all taxes listed.

[casofilia]

Give me the other side of this.

If the tax is in-your-face, very very occasionally a politician might be able to make hay by lowering it. And I'm all for lower taxes.

I like to see all taxes listed.

 

Lets go for three lines on all item cost advertising on the shelves:

Price

Tax

Price to pay.

 

I know it won't work for newspaper (etc) advertising that is countrywide but it should be stated on the store shelves.

 

You Canadians know what taxes you have to pay in your province but what about when you travel!! And what about us foreigners who pay (for example) $2 + 6% for a product one day and then have to pay $2 + 11% for the same item next day 50km away in the next province

 

Mike