I think I was taken in Mazatlan buying jewelry

[calliecat]

Ok, I know I should have know better, but I am on the Sapphire Princess as I type I am pretty sure that I was "taken" today buying tanzanite. I don't need a lecture from those of you that want to tell me that I should have know better, because I know I should have but what I want to know is if anyone else has had this problem and how have you taken care of it?

1) this was not an approved Princess shopping store

2) I plan on calling my Visa CC tomorrow telling them that I suspect this store lied when I bought the tanzanite (yes I know his word against mine)

3) as soon as I get home I am going to get this appraised.

4) I have the card from the store in Old Mazatlan and I will call the manager after I get confirmation that this sale was bogus and let him know that I have contacted the 1-800 number for the cruise ships and let them know to never put this store on the list (providing the card isn't a hoax either) and

5) finally, I will let every board on Cruise Critic know who the jewelry store is.

 

I really do like what I purchased. We're not going to go broke because we bought it but I don't want others to fall prey to this store if I indeed find out that the purchase was fake. We won't be able to get it to the appraiser until Monday but when I find out (good or bad) I will let you know.

If it is a fake then can you suggest other places that I can post this so that others won't be a gullible as we were?

Thanks in advance.

[melika091900]

im sorry i dont understand why you now think its fake ? didnt you look at it and inspect it when you bought it ? did you show it to someone onboard and they told you it wasnt real ? or whats going on with that,,

 

 

i know you dont want a lecture but i would never buy jewlrey there ..

[Bob7]

There are sure lots of jewelry stories from Mexico. An acquaintance bought a large diamond for a great price, got it home and her jeweler found that part of the diamond was filled with clear resin, making it next to worthless. And a while ago on the boards there were lots of reports that the silver authenticity stamp, something like .92 or whatever, had now been counterfeited and was on jewelry that was not silver. We were looking at 2 silver pieces, one with the mark and one without, and when we asked the salesman about it, he said oh they are the same, both should have the mark. Yeah sure.

 

But we found lots of interesting costume jewelry, and stuck to that. If we found something we liked that was supposed to be real silver or gold we would only pay a “costume” price and they often accepted that.

[CowPrincess]

Until you know for certain that what you purchased is indeed fake, relax, please. You are on vacation. If indeed your item is fake, you have LOTS of time once home to deal with it. Don't wreck your cruise over it. Seriously.

 

I've only ever purchased silver jewelry (and some "yeah, it is silver" jewelry that never tarnished :) ) so can't give you advice on how to deal with it. But certainly dispute the charge with your credit card company if in fact it is a fake that you purchased. That's your best route to recovery.

[Jsme]

I bought a gorgeous tanzanite and diamond ring a couple of years ago on a cruise. It is excellent color and a Ct and hald with gorgeous bagette diamonds. We paid an arm and a leg for the ring. Once back on the ship I had buyers remorse. Once home we took it to our jeweler. We are fortunate enough that we broke even. However tanzanite is not a easy ring to wear. The stone is fragile. I have to be very careful when I wear it and make sure it is never worn in a hot situation such as a hot tub or sauna.

 

The lesson I learned was never buy anything out of the country without some serious research before leaving.

[wendyc78]

What was the verdict?

[calliecat]

I was right. The ring and earrings were fakes. I now am the proud owner of costume jewelry. The jewelry stored didn't even want to fill out an appraisal because they were so cheap. We tried to call the numbers on the card that Carlos Velazquez Ortiz, Pia Gioielli AV Camaron Sabalo NO448, Joy Plaza Machado in Old Mazatlan gave us and of course they were all bogus numbers. Since I have this address(from the CC receipt), I will personally write him a letter calling him several names and suggesting that he need to spend time at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, since that his where he walked with us after we left.

On a good note though, our credit card has put the transaction on hold and we will only be out the $60 cash unless Carlos contests the charges

Once again, we don't need a lecture. We learned our lesson. Several years ago Princess did not have a rug store on their preferred list in Cozumel. We knew they were reputable since we had purchased a rug from them on a past cruise when they WERE on the list. This clouded our thinking process this time.

 

Bottom line....if I can stop one person on Cruise Critic from making the same mistake I did, then this note is worth it. Evidently Princess has some tours in Old Mazatlan and they come past this store, making it very tempting to walk in, even if this store isn't on the preferred list.

[Blissed Out]

Thank you Callie. My husband and I will be sailing the Mexican Riviera in April and he keeps saying he'd like to buy me a new nice ring. I'll tell him the cruise is enough of a present for our 20 year anniversary, thank you very much.

 

Thank you for posting this, and his name and whereabouts and LOL to you suggesting he spend some time at the Immaculate Cathedral. *kee*

[calliecat]

Blissed Out,

Buy a ring but use the preferred stores that the cruiseline suggests. If there is a problem after you purchase it, they will help take care of the problem...if it was one of the stores that pays a premium to the cruise line to be advertised (like Diamonds International). I have several nice pieces of jewelry that were purchased in the past from preferred stores and on board.

 

I just hope that my only son has a daughter someday. I will give her this beautiful piece of junk ring that I now own (I can't even look at it) and let her play dress-up.

 

calliecat

[oysterfiend]

My husband bought me a ruby and diamond ring (multiple stones in a band) in a Laps ?? store at Mayan Palace in Player Del Carmen- in June 2006

it cost us about $1200 NZ-maybe more

It is beautiful and a sheer indulgence as we bought it on the the credit card- they gave us a certification etc with it.It was an early birthday present from MEXICO

Everyone comments on it

I have never had it appraised-

Do I really want to know if its not what I think it is - No way

 

I also bought my mother a heavy stirling silver band/bracelet with Mayan/aztec engravings- she absolutely treasures it and never takes it off? I also got a heavy one thrown in with the ring purchase

I believe both the ring and Band are authentic - but what if I find out different?

If you are convinced something is real buy it

But if you have to have it appraised to be sure then you weren't sure in the first place.

Maybe one day I'll have the jewellery appraised but what if I find out they are not what I think they?

Does that negate the years of enjoyment we have had wearing them believing they were real?

[MommyCruisers]

I have been to mexico millions of times and it is really hit and miss with precious stones and metals. A huge percentage is called real and is fake as it can be. There are reputable stores but they do not ask the bargaiin basement prices and I have often found that there is little noticable savings compared to the USA.

[kathylynnt]

Sorry, Calliecat-what a bummer! Hope that it gets resolved with the credit card company. I bought diamond earrings in St. Maarten and didn't use a "preferred" store, but one that somone had recommended here on the boards. Then I was nervous for the rest of the cruise. Luckily, I had them looked at when we got home and they were fine. I guess that you never know...

[calliecat]

Thanks....I still feel like an idiot. My husband doesn't want us to tell anyone here at home how stupid we were. Today, I mailed the dispute form back to Visa. I had to write a paragraph telling how I didn't have a written appraisal from the local jewelry store because they said it was costume jewelry and didn't want to charge me for an appraisal. Also, I sent the reciepts from the store and ole' Carlos's bogus business card with 3 bogus phone numbers and a bogus fax number. It's a good looking card though...very professionally done with the money he scammed from idiots like me. I also enclosed a nice letter that I mailed to Carlos (fortunately the address was on the credit card receipt). I even offered to mail the jewelry back to him if we could resolve this issue because I wanted the credit card company to know that I was willing to work with Carlos.

I honestly never want to go back to the Mexican Riviera again....and I will be ever so hesitant about purchasing anything of value again. You just get so caught up in the moment sometimes. I also guess we're just too trusting (an yes, stupid too)

[Maddle]

Please don't beat yourself up. You were smart enough to put the greatest amount of the price on a credit card. The cash portion, $60, isn't so bad for costume jewelry. Is it pretty? I mean, aside from the fact that it is fake.

 

Now if good old Carlos comes back for the rest, stand your ground, but other than that, it isn't the end of the world.

[quincytoo]

Thanks....I still feel like an idiot. My husband doesn't want us to tell anyone here at home how stupid we were. Today, I mailed the dispute form back to Visa. I had to write a paragraph telling how I didn't have a written appraisal from the local jewelry store because they said it was costume jewelry and didn't want to charge me for an appraisal. Also, I sent the reciepts from the store and ole' Carlos's bogus business card with 3 bogus phone numbers and a bogus fax number. It's a good looking card though...very professionally done with the money he scammed from idiots like me. I also enclosed a nice letter that I mailed to Carlos (fortunately the address was on the credit card receipt). I even offered to mail the jewelry back to him if we could resolve this issue because I wanted the credit card company to know that I was willing to work with Carlos.

I honestly never want to go back to the Mexican Riviera again....and I will be ever so hesitant about purchasing anything of value again. You just get so caught up in the moment sometimes. I also guess we're just too trusting (an yes, stupid too)

Not everyone living on the Mex Riv is corrupt. I feel bad for you but most of the people living there are honest, hard-working decent people.

 

I hope you give it one more try :)

 

You get slime balls everywhere :(