Buying a Cartier Love Bracelet in the Caribbean

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#31
Onthego said:
Went to Bahamas, Nassau, 3 weeks ago. John Bull has an official Cartier Boutique in the center of town. Atlantis use to have the boutique, but now only sells the watches apparently. I bought a trinity rope bracelet and it was 5% cheaper than the US and no tax. I asked for a discount and they said that was all they could do. It seems from what they told me that overall Cartier is being stricter with their boutiques. They did seem to have several loves on display. For instance the Rolexs were 10% off but I just felt uncomfortable buying a big ticket item there. They also didnt have what I wanted and said they could change the dial. That made me even more uncomfortable. Good luck.
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Can I ask you why an offer to change a dial of a Rolex watch made you feel uncomfortable?
It's a regular practice at the Rolex stores in Europe. I've had my dial changed by the store during the initial purchase of all my Rolex watched in Switzerland, France and Spain.
 
#32
Love4H said:
Can I ask you why an offer to change a dial of a Rolex watch made you feel uncomfortable?
It's a regular practice at the Rolex stores in Europe. I've had my dial changed by the store during the initial purchase of all my Rolex watched in Switzerland, France and Spain.
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In the states when I have wanted a particular Rolex they have ordered the Rolex, I guess from the main AD. They have never mixed and matched any of the watches. No I dont own many but several people in my immediate family do. So this has been my experience. I wasnt aware it was common practice elsewhere. I know very little about watches, I only wear one everyday. Also just for me if I have any problem, maybe size wise or cleaning I have always been able to go to my AD and get it resolved. If I would have gotten it in the Bahamas this could not have been possible. And last but not least nothing against Bahamas, but I was able to get the watch interest free for like 2 years. I liked that a lot.
 
#33
baghagg said:
Good Intel, Onthego, thank you. I knew John Bull was licensed for Cartier and I also knew they closed the Cartier Boutique in the Atlantis, but I couldn't get the actual discount percentage ~ I very much appreciate this, thank you. Did you happen to notice if they had all the styles of Loves, ie, pink, white, diamonds, etc?
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You got me on that. I did see pink and gold, don't remember of the diamonds. But you can definitely call the boutique, they are very helpful when they warm up to you. 2 years ago I went with the idea of buying my love there. But they only had 16 and I wanted 17 in yellow gold. Also the 16 looked like it had been around awhile. The price at that time was more like 10% and I was sad they didn't have my size. Got it in the states a few months later and definitely paid more. But like I said they have gotten a little stricter and maybe inventory is better and more pristine. Also Grand Cayman has a Cartier boutique. I was there Jan 1st of this year and bought the trinity medium ring. I definitely think I got 10% off at that time. I was really looking for a love ring but they didn't have my size, so I wasn't exactly sure of the original price, that is why I say I think. Again I think you don't lose anything by actually calling. So what islands are you going to? I love the Caribbean the water is just beautiful. Happy Travels.
 
#34
Onthego said:
You got me on that. I did see pink and gold, don't remember of the diamonds. But you can definitely call the boutique, they are very helpful when they warm up to you. 2 years ago I went with the idea of buying my love there. But they only had 16 and I wanted 17 in yellow gold. Also the 16 looked like it had been around awhile. The price at that time was more like 10% and I was sad they didn't have my size. Got it in the states a few months later and definitely paid more. But like I said they have gotten a little stricter and maybe inventory is better and more pristine. Also Grand Cayman has a Cartier boutique. I was there Jan 1st of this year and bought the trinity medium ring. I definitely think I got 10% off at that time. I was really looking for a love ring but they didn't have my size, so I wasn't exactly sure of the original price, that is why I say I think. Again I think you don't lose anything by actually calling. So what islands are you going to? I love the Caribbean the water is just beautiful. Happy Travels.
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Thank you for this plethora of information, Onthego ~ haven't decided yet on exact location ~ maybe a cruise, or Aruba or Bahamas.. Love them all, so can't go wrong. Aruba has become very built up since I started going there in the 80's, so that's a bit of a deterrent, but the shopping is great; Bahamas is just so lovely, and less time on the plane for me, so that's a plus. Cruise has its own positives vs. negatives .. Must decide soon. Lol
 
#40
Onthego said:
In the states when I have wanted a particular Rolex they have ordered the Rolex, I guess from the main AD. They have never mixed and matched any of the watches. No I dont own many but several people in my immediate family do. So this has been my experience. I wasnt aware it was common practice elsewhere. I know very little about watches, I only wear one everyday. Also just for me if I have any problem, maybe size wise or cleaning I have always been able to go to my AD and get it resolved. If I would have gotten it in the Bahamas this could not have been possible. And last but not least nothing against Bahamas, but I was able to get the watch interest free for like 2 years. I liked that a lot.
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It is DEFINITELY not common practice to swap dials. The serial numbers are linked to watches with certain specifications. Any changing would be an aftermarket effect, and often times Rolex will not even service the watches without returning them to "original spec."
 
#41
Onthego said:
In the states when I have wanted a particular Rolex they have ordered the Rolex, I guess from the main AD. They have never mixed and matched any of the watches. No I dont own many but several people in my immediate family do. So this has been my experience. I wasnt aware it was common practice elsewhere. I know very little about watches, I only wear one everyday. Also just for me if I have any problem, maybe size wise or cleaning I have always been able to go to my AD and get it resolved. If I would have gotten it in the Bahamas this could not have been possible. And last but not least nothing against Bahamas, but I was able to get the watch interest free for like 2 years. I liked that a lot.
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Yes, that's a common practice to have changes made by the AD if it's possible within the model. For example I bought a Datejust lady in gold at the Bucherer in Geneve. I wanted one with a dark MOP with diamond marks. They didn't have one with dark MOP at the store but they had with a regular MOP no diamond marks, and that particular dark dial was available separately. They changed the dial, I had to pay the difference for the dial, and they also updated the watch info.
If I wanted for example to add a diamond Basel to that my watch it would be impossible within that particular model. It would require a change of the model which is impossible by the AD. But changing a dial is completely fine. ;)

However Bucherer being the main Rolex AD in Switzerland works directly with the Rolex factory and does custom one of a kind Rolex orders. Sometimes they show them at the Basel show with Rolex but sometimes those clients want privacy. :D

I'm not sure about the USA but in Europe any of the AD would do the cleaning or size adjusting. You don't have to show documents or anything.
 
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