I just returned from a 7 day cruise and the Eastern Caribbean. It was really fun. Part of it was shopping some of the various Watch dealers. I visited several Little Switzerland shops and they could not have been nicer and accommodating. While I did not purchase a watch I promise to stay in touch when I made the final choice on the next one. One of the IWC dealers in St Thomas was the same. On the opposite end I had a terrible experience with John bull in Nassau. I was dress properly and was polite in asking about certain Rolexes. Salesman was the rudest I have ever encountered.I left him and went to the Omega section. The woman there wouldn't get out her chair but was nice.That was my one and only store I entered in Nassau .....back to the ship for coctails. Any experiences out there? Maybe just a Rolex and or Nassau thing.
One should always have price points well established ... the attraction of duty free is a dangerous lens through which to contemplate a big purchase.
The best thing about watch shops in the Caribbean is that most of the nice ones offer free drinks. Usually they pour champagne or the like for you, but several just put it out on a table and you serve yourself(and in the am they have orange juice for Mimosas). In St Thomas I even recall a couple competing shops(across the street from each other) that had vintage scotch bottles out and glasses with a sign that said help yourself. If your dressed nice enough, or more importantly, wear a top end watch, they'll direct you right over to it. I'm not old enough to recall the glory days of 60s-80s with cheap duty free gold, but I found in general NONE of the prices were good enough for me to buy, even with the savings. Some were close, say 10% higher from what I could get in the USA. So convenience and 'bird in hand' buying might be worth it if you like something. But I'm sure they count on impulse buying for virtually all their sales. 99% of sales people are ridiculously nice...IMHO its rare to find a surly shopkeep.