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Presents for special people
WHAT-TO-DO - NASSAU, CABLE BEACH & PARADISE ISLAND - JULY 2007
Presents for special people
Buying for your significant other
Perhaps it's a bag of seashells to remind your significant other of your weekend getaway in The Bahamas. Or maybe it's a bank-account-bruising bauble to celebrate your 40th wedding anniversary.
No matter what your budget, great gifts are easy to find in the shops, large and small, that line historic Bay Street. Designer-name storefronts vie with quaint local shops featuring original art pieces, handmade craft goods and one-of-a-kind souvenirs.
Whether you choose a $20 aromatic candle, a $3,000 Fendi handbag or a $35,000 Jaeger-LeCoultre watch, you'll find what you are looking for along this famous avenue.
It's the thought that counts so it's worthwhile putting a little thought into your gifts. Deirdree Andrews, promotions representative for Little Switzerland, says its important to consider the recipient's tastes.
Sought-after items at Little Switzerland include those that carry a designer name, such as Breitling watches, Swarovski crystal and Lladró porcelain.
"Breitling watches are known by watch aficionados ? and they make excellent gifts for persons who know the brand," Andrews says. Indeed, the demand for Breitling timepieces led to the opening of an independent boutique on Bay Street.
Watches range from $1,700 to $3,000 for the Breitling Cockpit lineup to prices starting at $6,000 for the ultra-exclusive Breitling for Bentley line.
For significant others who love crystal, the store?s Swarovski collection offers a wide range of gifts. One suggestion: crystal stemmed wine glasses?a set of two sells for $320.
Island style
Local artisans are filling Bay Street stores with beautiful artwork and handmade craft items. You?ll find unique table settings, wall art and original paintings at some of the smaller galleries, such as Third Eye Artwork & Collectibles and Josephine?s Treasures.
Coral vases and candle holders crafted by local artists range between $400 and $1,500 at Third Eye, on East Street just off Bay Street. Very popular are historic photographs of Nassau, says co-owner Paulette Mortimer.
If you are looking for something truly unique, ?you?ll find just that here at Third Eye,? says Mortimer. ?We offer products made from natural materials, including framed native flowers, paintings and jewellery boxes made out of coconuts [for] between $90 and $150.?
Carvers use mahogany, wild tamarind and horseflesh wood to fashion the remarkable carvings offered at Josephine?s Treasures. Owner Gerone Clark says sculptures of Bahamian grouper fish and parrots, as well as a variety of masks, are among the items attracting attention at his store, located in Colony Place Arcade off Bay Street. Buyers can choose from a wide selection of crafts and artwork priced between $150 and $1,200.
Island Blue, a shop in the Prince George Arcade off Bay Street, introduces the Fresh Produce line of colourful beachwear to The Bahamas. Know your lady?s size and you can shop for dresses, pants, swimsuits, tops, sandals and accessories.
For hostesses
For women who love to entertain, Bahama Hand Prints, Da Culture Place and Festival Place can help your significant other transform a dining room back home into an island-style party palace.
At Bahama Hand Prints, located on Ernest Street off East Bay Street (near the exit bridge from Paradise Island), find inexpensive place settings that make a thoughtful gift for the hostess in your life. Sets of four hand-printed table napkins in tangerine and blue, for example, start at $48.
Or a gentleman can visit the online store (www.bahamahandprints.com) and order unique fabrics and clothing for his lady fair. Choices range from simple tops priced from $48 to an ankle-length printed ruffle skirt listed at $199.
Junkanoo themed dinnerware and matching embroidered table cloth and napkin sets at Da Culture Place make an attractive and affordable present. Settings are priced at only $25 and can be shipped by the vendor anywhere in the world.
Meanwhile, Festival Place at Prince George Wharf is headquarters for top-of-the-line Bahamian crafts. More than 40 artisans offer memorable souvenirs, ranging from carvings and shell work to plaited straw items and handmade soaps?gifts designed to add a Bahamian flare to any party?and all are available at reasonable prices.
Going for gold
Gold and silver jewellery come into play for shoppers with a more liberal budget. If you?re thinking of a special present for a girl who has reached a milestone in her young life, for example, check out the island-themed jewellery at Diamonds Forever.
This Bay Street store, east of Rawson Square, carries sand dollar and mermaid 14kt gold pendants for between $216 to $350. Conch shell necklaces and sailboat charms range from $390 to $640.
?Our lighthouse pendant, filled with sand is also a popular souvenir,? says Sylvina Thompson, assistant store manager.
For the gentleman looking for something unusual for his enamorata, Effy, with three stores on Bay Street, offers an interchangeable collection of jewellery featuring diamonds, rubies and other precious stones. With this collection,?You can convert an Effy pendant to a necklace and a stud earring into a dangling one,? says manager Roger Asrani. Prices range from $595 to $1,495.
With more than 70 lines of jewellery, and gifts ranging from $5 to $50,000, John Bull is a Mecca for gift givers, no matter what their budget.
Jewellery buyer Tarek Vanderpool says many present buyers favour gold bangles and baubles. ?Yellow gold has made a huge comeback,? says Vanderpool.
David Yurman has incorporated a new 18kt gold and bead collection, made with semi-precious stones. Earrings start at $1,000 but similar jewellery in sterling silver is available at half the cost.
Vanderpool also points to a new line of jewellery from Gucci that includes sterling silver cufflinks for men at $250 and bracelets for men and women starting at $350.
Diamonds may be a girl?s best friend but a pink conch pearl makes a very special gift, especially if you?re looking for something to remind her of your holiday together in the land of perpetual June.
Natural conch pearls are the only native stone in The Bahamas, says Andrew Parker, store manager at Coin of the Realm, which has a large selection of jewellery featuring the pink pearl.
?These stones are rare. Only one pearl is found in every 10,000 conchs. And an even smaller percentage of those are of good enough quality to
be used in our jewellery,? says Parker. A conch pearl charm or bracelet, runs from about $300 all the way up to $5,000.
For him, a set of silver and gold Bahamian coins starts at $45, says Parker. ?These are great souvenirs [but] for serious collectors, we have Bahamian gold coins mounted from 1967 to the present day.?
Spanish treasure and ancient Greek and Roman coins are good gifts for history buffs. ?Spanish treasure coins can run from $500 and up,? says Parker.
Digging deeper
An expanded budget of up to $1,500 offers lots more options. Designer handbags are attractive gifts for women, starting at $600 and climbing to $5,000 for top-of-the-line Fendi and Gucci bags.
?There are many affordable options in our store for men and women,? says Fendi store manager June Hall. The highly anticipated ?B.Mix? collection, released in the spring of 2007, combines the Zucca and Zucchino signature Fendi prints?must-haves for collectors.
Meanwhile, men like Fendi?s Zucca print messenger bags from $400. Three-piece luggage sets, streamlined to fit into overhead compartments, range from $1,299 to $1,799.
If your partner is a frequent flyer, her luggage will never blend in again if you give her luggage from Kipling. Their travel bags and accessories, exclusive at The Brass & Leather Shops, come in very attractive colour schemes.
For gadget-loving adventurists who spend more time in wet suits than silk ties, stainless steel divers? watches are reasonable and useful gifts at about $675. They?re available in many downtown stores including John Bull, Colombian and Colombian Emeralds International (CEI).
If a designer watch is on your mind, all the top names are available including Rolex, Baume & Mercier, Breitling, Chopard, Corum, Fendi, Gucci, Hublot, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Longines, Rado, Tag Heuer, Tissot, Vacheron Constantin and many, many others.
Most women agree that jewellery is a gift that?s always welcome, whatever the occasion. This season?s hottest coloured stone jewellery sets from Chopard, Versace and other brands are all available at Colombian. ?Chocolate is big right now. Brown diamonds in particular,? says store manager Ophelia Williams.
The TechnoMarine chocolate ceramique band with diamonds on the bezel is available for men and women at $3,350.
Milano?s delicious chocolate swirl ring, brown diamonds set in 18kt white gold, is available at Colombian for just under $6,000.
Men and women will appreciate the new line of Gucci jewellery in white gold and diamonds with rings starting at $2,000. ?The design of the jewellery mirrors what you see being done in Gucci handbags, shoes, belts and sunglasses,? says Vanderpool.
Canary yellow, pink and turquoise stones are favoured by working women looking to add pop to their business clothing. Suites are available at CEI, Effy Jewelers, Crown Jewellers and Colombian.
The draw for most customers shopping on Bay Street is that jewellery prices are usually 10 to 15 per cent lower than they are in the United States.
Budget? What budget?
Once in a lifetime occasions call for out-of-the-ordinary gifts, limited only by the giver?s imagination and, of course, pocketbook.From Coin of the Realm, a one-of-a-kind Crest of the King coin from the 1620s costs $10,500. For her, a platinum and diamond earring and pendant set for $8,000 makes a truly memorable gift.
Kwiat, a jewellery line new to The Bahamas, available at John Bull stores, includes a large selection of diamonds and 18kt white gold and platinum jewellery at the Bay Street store.
?The brand is very high end. A pair of 4ct diamond stud earrings sell for $50,000,? says Vanderpool.
For him and her, there are watches that go for a prince?s ransom. A special edition double chronometer in gold by Jaeger-LeCoultre, for example, is a collector?s item, says buyer Dilip Wadhwani at Quantum Duty Free. It?s a steal at $35,000.
?Jewellery in The Bahamas is so unique. What you see here differs from what you would see in the US market,? says Georgia Russell, manager at Crown Jewellers.
?People shop for gifts here not only because of the price but because of the selection and quality of jewellery.
?Our diamonds range from the affordable to the fantastic,? adds Russell with a smile.
For the man who wants to buy a gift in the ?fantastic? range Crown Jewellers offers a stunning canary yellow diamond ring?a bargain at $150,000?no tax, no duty.
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