Jan

Paris for perfume, Florence for gold and leather but has anyone had experience with diamonds in Antwerp. I have read that they are the diamond capital of Europe but I have never seem a posting. Any ideas?

DK

I'll let you know in a few days. I'll be <BR>in Antwerp Aug 12-15.

BTilke

Interesting question. There was a scandal in Antwerp last year about a group of Russian (I believe) diamond/jewelry merchants who got caught selling stuff marked at significantly higher ratings than they were really worth (they gave out false certificates and/or showed the customer a high quality diamond and managed to substitute a cheaper one while wrapping up the purchase). It was in the collection of shops right across from the train station in Antwerp and caught a lot of the tourist trade who went home only to find out what they thought were premium diamonds were just so-so at best. These guys were casting a shadow on the whole diamond market in Antwerp. Anyway, they were shut down, or so a long-time jeweler at a store farther in told me. Just one more sad example of organized crime from Eastern Europe and the FSU taking hold here. <BR>Truthfully, I haven't found the diamonds to be a huge bargain--you're not going to get top quality stuff cheap. And there's a lot of controversy about "blood diamonds", which is having an effect on the market. My cousin (who worked in the trade) bought some gold and diamond jewelry there and was pleased with both the quality and the price but she got nailed for some serious duty when she got to the states, making the price not all that remarkable. <BR>I have heard from a few people that the diamond museum offers good prices in their showroom and you can absolutely count on the quality. <BR>BTilke (Brussels)

xxx

Jan-if you pruchase,make sure you buy LOOSE stones--there is NO duty on loose stones--only set jewelry

lf

Yes, that's true, the merchants from Eastern Europe should better be avoided. <BR>Buying from them you are getting yourself screwd - no exceptions. <BR>Stick with old venerable houses that preserve their good names thru decades

Jan

Thanks for the replies. DK if you remember let us know about your experience.

Myriam

Antwerp is indeed the world diamond centre and near the Antwerp central station, in the Pelikaanstraat more particularly, you will see dozens of small diamond & gold shops. Not all of these shops have a good reputation and you better abstain if you're not an expert. There are a number of reputed companies that sell the finest quality and I think you can easily get their names/addresses at the Diamond Bourse in Antwerp - website: http://www.diamonds.be/professional/...uy/diamond.htm.

Chris

I was in Antwerp in June and we toured a place called Diamondland. It was a worthless tour and the showroom where you could purchase diamonds was in my opinion, questionable, as far a quality. My husband offered to buy me something for our 10th wedding anniversary, but I told him I would rather have something in a robins egg blue box (Tiffany & Co) where I knew the quality was good. We saw all the gold stores around the central station. If you are looking for gold that may be the place to go, but know your gold. None of these gold stores seemed to carry diamonds, really, other than Diamondland and a few nicer jewelry stores I didn't see store after store carrying diamonds in Antwerp. I think Antwerp may be the diamond place in Europe for brokers, but not regular customers.

dave

London's hatton garden is also a good place, and you can get them tax free if a non EU citizen. Its the same families etc as antwerp.

shari

I will be making a short visit to Antwerp from Paris at the end of November and was curious about buying diamond jewelry. In addition to the diamonds, are ther any good restaurants or cafes that anyo9ne can recommend for a fun, Antwerp experience? I am guessing that eating Mussells & french fries are a must. I will be arriving from a shor trip from Paris and have always been curious about Antwerp.

Myriam

Mussels & fries are a good option, if you like mussels. One of the best restaurants for mussels (and fish and other crustaceans) in Antwerp is Restaurant Maritime, Suikerrui 4, Antwerp. It is in the old city centre, one block away from Our Lady's Cathedral and close to the river Schelde. On the Belgian resto website it scores 8.7/10 for service, 8.9 for quality and 8.5 for atmosphere. <BR>They will only serve mussels in the mussel season (which goes from August to Feb/March).