TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Engagment Ring

Need some advice, I will be in St. Martin in June, will it be better to buy an engagement ring in St. Martin, or should I buy in the US. One problem is a there a way that it can fitted here in the United States because I will be engage here. My girlfriend will not be with me in St. Martin.

Buy in st maarten. You can get sizing in the u.s.

Regardless of where you buy, do your homework ahead of time and know what approximate costs should be for what your are looking for. If you buy on the island, I would only do so from a store that has a relationship with a US based repair facility. I personally know Caribbean Gems and Ora Diamante do as they are sister stores and we have purchased from them and when needed had repairs done through their US based affiliates. I am sure there are other store that have the same arrangement and that is something I would want.

You will for sure save on tax and often jewelry is a much better deal on the island but I would do come comparison shopping at home also.

Why do you want to buy it in SXM? If the reason is to save money, my understanding is that the prices are not that much different than in the U.S. If you buy it in the U.S. presumably where you buy it will size it for free and ultimately if there are any issues, it would be easier to have it handled in the states, although several of the SXM jewelers have US service centers. So if the only reason to buy in SXM is to save money, I wouldn't bother. However, if you both have a big connection to SXM and it will be a sweet memory for you for years to come, that you bought it in SXM, then by all means, buy in SXM. You'll have to pay for the sizing in the US, but you should have no problem getting it done. I somehow managed to lose the diamond out of my engagement ring a few years ago, so we replaced it in SXM. I have a lot of jewelry, including costume jewelry, that I love even more because they were bought in SXM or on a cruise.

Carol makes very valid points and should be considered in your decision. With gold being a worldwide commodity, the pricing of that is not going to be much different. You will likely see a variance in pricing and markup of diamonds, cost of doing business, tax and duty, etc. It is all a mute point though if both of you are not happy with your purchase, regardless of where you make it.

Again, do your homework well before looking at anything on the island.

I am of a different opinion here. I would definitely buy it in SXM and would prefer DK Gems on Front Street. I have purchased several pieces of jewellery on the island and all were appraised much higher both in the USA and Canada. One ring purchased for $1300 in SXM was appraised at $5000 at home . That is a significant difference! If you know the ring size you need, the ring can be resized at no cost from your SXM jeweller. They also have a repair place in New York if you encounter any problems in the future. Contact Jeff at DK Gems and he will be happy to satisfy your jewellery requests. Congratulations on the upcoming engagement!

The key component is do your research so you can be very comfortable with your KNOWLEDGEABLE purchase. Makes sure they offer a repair facility close. I would hate to see a ring resided twice, once in SXM and again where you live, so make sure to buy one close to the size you need and IF it needs to be resized it is only cut once.

What if she doesn't care for the ring you choose...it might be more difficult to exchange for something she prefers if the ring was purchased in SXM.

Buy a bigger stone

If she truly loves the person, she will love the ring he chose for her. Remember the ring is only a symbol, true love resides in the heart!❤

I agree with both of your posts. Our jewellery in Canada & U.S. have high markups & duty & taxes. I wondered if she knows he's purchasing & could get her ring size?
Congratulations to them on the engagement!

So true! He may want to just but the diamond in SXM and have a ring made for the stone in USA. I bought diamond earrings for my daughter for $400.00. They were appraised at home, USA, for $1500.00. Can't beat that.

If she says she doesn't care for the ring you chose, don't marry her. She's not the right girl. 😎
As for the purchase , I bought in St Maarten and had no issues. Diamonds International but there are many to choose from in Phillipsburgh of good repute. Good luck!

Thanks for all the good advice, I will use it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Doing my comparison shopping on line. I did meet my fiancée in Saint Martin.

If you have any local jewelry stores, I would do some in-person shopping as there might be some room to negotiate there also. Online shopping is a valid tool but I would not rely on it alone.

We also highly recommend DK Gems! When you find a ring you like look at the price tag and then ask "what is the price after the TTOL discount?"

The salesperson will whip out a calculater, punch in some numbers, and you will be amazed when they show you the rock bottom no-haggle price. No negotiations, just a bottom line price.

They also have a New York City operation which can handle repairs, exchanges, etc.

Another nice thing about DK Gems is that they record every piece of jewelry you purchase and if you decide to "upgrade" any item to to a more expensive piece they will buy back that early purchase for what you paid and subtract that amount from the bottom line price of the new item. You probably would not do that with an engagement ring, but it applies to everything they sell.

Totally agree as we have experienced the same issues - assessment in the states was very much higher than what we paid at DK Gems whose service is wonderful. We have had repairs done through their New York outlet with no problems.

Do understand though that insurance appraisals on jewelry are generally MUCH higher than what the article can actually be purchased for.

I agree with every word of Elizabeth's post, including Jeff at DK Gems. You might want to contact him ahead of your visit to let him know you heard about him on TTOL; he will definitely give you the best price possible. I also have purchased jewelry throughout the Caribbean. When I show it to my Oregon jeweler, she almost always says she couldn't touch the price I paid.

She (Carmen) is going to give me her ring size, she prefers gold to silver for the ring, and I will shop at DK gems, Ora Diamente and Caribbean Gems while on vacation in June Thanks again for all the help.

Look at Ballerina on Front Street. We have used them through out the many years. They also have an office in New York to take care of any issues that might come up.

Speeds

To add to the suggestions and recommendations you’ve already received, we have been dealing with Caribbean Gems since they first opened their doors on SXM in 1983 and to date, through more purchases than I want to think about, we’ve never been disappointed.

It’s interesting to me we’ve seen three generations running CG and they have been selling quality items to three generations of our family. Kind of neat......

I agree with Island Gem, we have purchased quite a few pieces in SXM and I love them all. Prices were MUCH better in SXM than in the US.
We have used Sam Karani , wife Debbie, at the cruise terminal store, at Kay's for years.
We also have heard nothing but high praise for DK Gems and Jeff is definitely the go to person there.
If you have her ring size, definitely get in SXM. Buy up a half size, easy to take down a size..
I have purchased many pieces for friends and the appraisal value in US is ALWAYS higher

Speebs...Elizabeth and Linda are of the same mind as I have been for 25+ years of buying jewelry on island. I have some very significant pieces, and certified stones. MUCH better deals than in the US. I was even able to get my (2nd marriage) engagement ring created in SXM. Stone from one jeweler I've dealt with for years, and the setting I preferred was from another jeweler. My pieces have always been serviceable either when on island twice a year, or sent to NYC. Sometimes I don't like to go without my piece, so I suck it up and pay my Maryland jeweler for a repair or resizing. No biggie.

As has been mentioned, get your Diamond Education. Know the 5 C's. LOOK at stones in person through a loop. Also shop around on-line. Knowing clarity and color is HUGE.

Congratz, and good luck!

Speeds, unless you really have a good knowledge of diamonds, I would hesitate buying in St Maarten. My opinion may not be very popular but in my experience, St Maarten has some beautiful jewelry but not always the best quality. Do you know the differences between the various certificates, diamond grading, table numbers, crown and pavilion angles, depth numbers etc? Diamond cutting is a science and art. It is easy to be taken advantage of and yes, I know you all have your favourite stores. I have been to many of them and saw the garbage they were trying to sell as high quality diamonds and was very disappointed. Get on pricescope.com and get some diamond knowledge. Check with their online vendors and see what diamond of the quality and size you are happy with are currently prices at. I ended up picking a diamond from a store call Good Old Good from New York. The diamonds available in SXM could not compete with what they had in NY.

I have purchased many pieces of jewerly in Phillipsburg on our trips including an engagment ring, the wedding ring , diamond tennis bracket , etc. We aleays buy from Micky at Grand Jewelers. Each piece I have brought back to a jeweler in the US. Each time it was appraised for thousands more than I,paid. The key they all said is the entire town is basically owned by south African diamond mines. They can sell gems at much lower prices because they sell such a large amount of pieces. I was told US jewelers can not compete. Just make sure you don't pay what the sticker says. For instance, I bought a,diamond tennis bracket for $2600. It was originally marked at $11,500. My jeweler in the US estimated its true value about $6000.

Ah yes, Mickey at Grand. Max at Caribbean Gems. Jeff at DK Gems.

You will find many good options.

Having had family in the business (retired) I'd say buy in states. Very little savings in SXM.

Two points I'd recommend. Buy 6 prongs because if one prong breaks still holds diamond whereas a 4 prong would not. Also try for F8 or above rating for clarity. It's Clarity, Cut, Carot for best.

IMHO something like an engagement ring should be purchased in the U.S.