Western Caribbean Shopping - Gold

[clsee1515]

Any suggestions for best place to buy gold jewelry? Our ports will be Grand Caynan, Cozumel, Costa Maya and Beliz.

[IBEEMOM]

There are plenty of jewelry stores in GC, however, the prices are very high. The same is true for Cozumel, but the prices are more reasonable. In some of the stores, you can negotiate the price. The other two ports are still new. The only shopping in Belize is near the port. Most of the tourists do not go into the town.

[hstrybuf]

Your best bet is Cozumel. Grand Cayman is too expensive IMO. The ship will have several recommended stores and you can look around as well.

[clsee1515]

Thanks! That'll narrow down my search time a little.:o

[4nzic1]

I shopped for gold in Cozumel this past April while in port on Explorer of the Seas. I'm an August born girl and it's hard for me to find Peridot jewelry (or at least attractive pieces) in the jewelry stores here. No matter what jewerly store I go into they always have one or two rings, maybe a pair of earrings, and they're always jammed in a corner somewhere like cinderalla's ugly stepsister gems. Anyway, while in Cozumel I saw some GORGEOUS pieces that I just couldn't resist and was quite surprised what the value were on my pieces when I returned home. I was afraid to shop anywhere other than the cruiseline's recommended shops which they'll have printed on your daily activities schedule or leaflets before you go into port. I liked the fact that shopping with one of their recommended stores you have some sort of recourse if you buy defective, bad, etc jewelry. Hey some recourse is better than none. I shopped at two of their recommended stores: Goodmark (which was a short taxi ride down to the center of Cozumel) where my husband purchased me a 5.92 carat Peridot pendant for $283 (he negotiated a chain into the price) the price tag when we walked in was $595 (which I thought probably like at all jewelry stores is a big mark up, but the appraiser here said he would have listed it at $800 or more because of the many stones, size of stones, etc). I also shopped at Diamonds International which is right in the little shopping area right when you walk up the pier from the ship. There I purchased a 14.4carat 18k gold Peridot bracelet for $250 (list price was $510) and a 2.5carat 14k peridot ring for $225 (I talked him down from $450). All were willing to knock off prices if you paid in cash or bought multiple pieces. I was very satisfied with my purchases. Didn't buy any diamonds as buying diamonds anywhere scares me because I'm not a diamond expert to know if I'm getting a good deal or not or buying cubic zirconia. : ) But with my peridot if i find a peridot piece that i especially like i have my limits as to how much I'd pay and what I paid was my limit on each piece. as i've said i've seen a few pieces over the yrs here that are nowhere near as nice as what i bought in cozumel and they want significantly more money . : ) Oh, what I also liked about diamonds international is that their headquarters is in NY and they also have stores in NY, Las Vegas, and a few others I cant recall. their website is http://www.welcometoourworld.com. I visited it and saw nice pieces but they were a LOT more than what I paid at their store in cozumel. I guess that's because you can negotiate/bargain in the stores and not online. : ) Well,hope this helps a bit and good luck in your search for gold. :)

[NinaCO]

I know you probably will anyway, but just want to suggest that you price gold here before you go. With the exception of St. Maartin (Dutch side) & St. Thomas, I haven't found great gold prices in the Caribbean. Gold prices in Cozumel were about the same as I can find on the Web. But, I'm not the best when it comes to bargaining. :o I always check the per gram price on gold & silver at home before the cruise so that I can compare. Of course, if a piece of jewlery has a lot of detailed hand-work, that increases the cost. You can't go strictly by gram weight.

[4nzic1]

ninaco, great suggestion on how to shop for gold and silver. you really have it down when it comes to the per gram price. : ) That i'm not an expert at gold pricing and i'm not particular about whether it's 10, 14, or 18 kt gold. I guess i'm easy to please. : )like you say one must do ones research before going on the cruise. i've peridot shopped for years so i somewhat knew which pieces were extremely overpriced and which were a great deal......I'm also a great when it comes to bargaining. i don't ever think i've paid full price for anything in my life. : ) my husband jokes that i probably have somewhere in my will that my casket must come from the finest 'discount casket outlet' in the area. : )