I honestly don't know why this place is still in business. I should have gone with my gut instinct that something was off about this place. My husband bought me a ring for our anniversary on 10/9/24 from this place. They claimed it was 14k gold, again I should have gone with my gut instinct that it wasn't. My husband paid 750 US Dollars for what we were told was 14k gold. Fast forward to a week later the ring started to fade and come to find out it's GOLD PLATED! stay away from this place! read more

Artesanías Ópalo - The ring is now two different colors - Jewelry Near Me - Cancún, ROO

DEC 2022 My boyfriend and we're there last week. He proposed during our vacation (total surprise). So excited to celebrate we decided to go into the city of Cancun (Mercado 28) for souvenirs. Like other reviews, taxi dropped us at Opalo. Immediately we were greeted. Then an English speaking woman greets us. She was so kind and helpful. They gave us a mini map of the Mercado. She aimed to be married to a Mexican, but she was from Chicago. (Blonde and lighter skin-believable). I noticed she had a slight Mexican accent, but I assumed from living there a long time. She claimed she was the owner. She said she also owned the restaurant next door (building her professional reputation with us. We felt at ease. Since we were in a very nice jewelry store with A/C everyone seemed professional, engaging, and warm. Helpful! We shared that we had gotten engaged and that we wanted moissanite. Michelle led us immediately to the case. We were looking at platinum over sterling moissonite rings. I think because my fiancé and I were just so overjoyed to be engaged we had rosy color glasses in. I am 49 and a CEO. He is an accountant for the govt and retires next yr at age 52. We're no dummies (so I thought). I was thorough w my questions. I asked a number of times 'this isn't CZ? Not crystal, etc.' Michele ensured us this was moissanite. Assured us platinum over sterling. I know the haggle game in Mexico is real. They came down to our price after we walked out graciously. $1,000 (US) for an engagement ring, groom's ring, wedding band for me. We thought this was an excellent price since I had been shopping for moissonite rings in solid white gold. I know my prices. I asked multiple questions on getting paperwork for info. Size/karats of stones. Platinum over sterling, etc. Michele assured us Tom would be emailed documentation. I asked her how "the office" would know what to send since the info wasn't on the hand written receipt. She showed us the number at the top of the paperwork and that is was recorded. It all seemed to make sense. There was an assuring answer for everything. AND, since she seemed to be American, we trusted her. We had to return the next day to get my ring sized down again. I overheard a man saying that this was his father's business (the man looked to be in his mid-50s). I thought/ hey! Michele owns this place. Then I thought- could be her brother in law. Anyway it was all a lie. She said we'd have emailed paperwork by Monday. She called Tom's phone when we made our purchase. She said- (again to gain our trust) "If you have ANY problems, call me and I'll answer personally." I said 'what is the stone breaks or something happens'. She told us it was a lifetime guarantee and that she'd send a COD package for us to send back for free. All so assuring!! So tonight, Tom tried to contact her. Nothing! I think she got his number to block us. Anyway, we now have to start the procedure of refusing the charges and we start off our soon to be marriage with fake junk. I mean- I feel like we should've known and I feel so stupid. They were just so trustworthy. DO NOT PURCHASE anything from these scam artists. If anyone has a contact in Mexico to help shut them down, or file an official report I'd be thankful. read more

Artesanías Ópalo - Our fake engagement rings (well, his wedding band). We were told Tom's band was also moissonite and platinum over sterling. - Jewelry Near Me - Cancún, ROO

I purchased a ring for $3000 on August 14, 2023. The paperwork was supposed to be emailed to me. AS of today I have not received any emails as of today and I feel very deceived. I am taking the ring to be appraised and the situation could get worse if it is not worth what they charged me. Would not recommend anyone to go to your jewelry store in Cancun!! Felice L. read more

Run away from this store! Selling fake jewelry that they claim has genuine gemstones and platinum. We took the ring we purchased to a jeweler in our hometown when we returned from vacation. He told us the band was a cheap metal covered with a thin layer of poor quality silver, definitely not platinum as the salesman said in the store. The "gemstones" are glass chips. 3 of the stones fell out of the ring just before we left Mexico, and we didn't have time to return to the store. Our local jeweler says it's not worth paying any money to have the glass chips replaced. I have now started a dispute claim with our credit card company, wish me luck. read more

Artesanías Ópalo - 2 of the blue sapphires (actually glass chips) fell out of the setting. - Jewelry Near Me - Cancún, ROO

Sold me fake jewelry!! Said it was Zultanite. Well come to find out that Zultanite is from only ONE PLACE IN THE WORLD, and it's NOT MEXICO., it's Turkey! What a joke, should've trusted my instincts. Same with most of the other jewelry sales in that 28 market. DO NOT SHOP THERE!! read more

Artesanías Ópalo - Necklace, earings, and ring! Ring and necklace I bought from a different vendor in the same market. All fake. - Jewelry Near Me - Cancún, ROO

Yep same story for me as well. Should have reviewed this place before our cab driver took us there. Took me for 900 dollars :( Zero Stars!!! read more

See my web site http://www.opalojewelrycancunisfraud.com. What a complete sham! Fake gemstones and fake refund! Thank goodness we had used our AmEx and had some recovery. read more

scammers 100%!! i do agreed with all the bad reviews !! i was at this store on may 11, 2024, purchased two rings for $ 680 .20 they claim it was silver with platinum and small diamond . after that i when to my resort and talked to the jewelry inside the resort he shows me similar rings for a price of $ 60 maximum to $ 180.00 and appraisal my two rings for maximum of $ 250.00, made of silver and fake stones. theirs tactics is asking for theirs jewelry over $ 1600.00 them they applied a 40% discount so they said its a good price. after my purchase they even asked me for a tip and i was stupid that i give the man $ 20 they walk me out without a receipt now i will download the picture of the two rings!! do not purchase anything from this store!! do not drink any tequila they offer tequila to make you happy and be friendly. i was not able to comeback on sunday , the taxi charges was $130.00 and i call they never answer. i check out of the resort at 6:30 am on monday may 13, 2024. read more

Artesanías Ópalo - Jewelry Near Me - Cancún, ROO

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I didn't buy anything but my friend did. So you're in Mexico at a craft market. Why in the world would you buy 'fancy' jewelry without any paperwork? At a Mexican craft market? *cough tourist trap* Anyway minus one star because most of the workers are creepy. They kept asking my friend if they could have a hug. She obliged & they grabbed her all over. But again. Don't give people permission to touch you here unless you trust them. Sergio & Roberto helped us this past Saturday. In addition to helping my friend buy a pair of earrings for $150, they walked her to a place where she could get her iphone screen fixed. So they get 3 stars for that. We wouldn't have found it without them. Ask for Sergio. His english is great & he's not creepy. Roberto (also goes by Larry) is the one that 'hugged' my friend. read more

Artesanías Ópalo - $150 for 2 carat tanzanite earrings. Are they real? Who knows? Who cares? - Jewelry Near Me - Cancún, ROO

I am sorry I can only give them one star, and more sorry I didn't read this first. It is very much a tourist trap. They admitted that their salesman cheated me by adding a surcharge to the transaction and the amount shown in USD was before the surcharge. I was not only charge 4x what the crap was worth, but I was overcharged $100 USD. The manager smiled and said that the second the charge went through, the money was in their bank and there was nothing I could do to get my money back. I did go all Karen on them so at least I got $100 USD back, but they admitted they do it all of the time. And NEVER shop where they offer free tequila samples if you hesitate. read more

My girlfriend and I went to Maracdo 28 (the market) and did some shopping. We bought T-shirts, hats, etc. The experience of being in the market is like having people interested in getting into your wallet, any way they can. We mean -- any way they can! So if you don't mind this constant haggling and enjoy the game, then go to the Market. Otherwise, buy your stuff at the hotel gift shop. The area around the market is very poor which we found uncomfortable. While there was an occassional police patrol at the main roads around the market, we didn't see ANY security presence while shopping there for 2 hours. You may feel uncomfortable going to the back of a shop "just to see" what else they have. We did. Market shop keepers selling jewelery told us they made everything here -- pointing to a small work table. We didn't believe that at all. It's just part of the game. Specific to Opalo (there is also a sister location which the shop staff told us is larger and is in a different Cancun location, etc). The prices are marked with computer labels so this shop LOOKS more official and familiar to you if you are from other places. But it's all a game. This label price on jewelery is their starting price and they work down and down and down from there. Typically, a silver looking ring with a computer tag that say something in pesos that translates to US$220. The first price they want is going to be about US$180. Then US$165. Then US$155. Then US$150. Then US$135. Then US$120. Then US$100. Then US$80. Then US$65. Then US$55. Another piece had a computer tag that says something in pesos that translates to about US$120. We thought this one would be worth 1/2 the price of the other one at about $30. NOPE. They said that the price on the label was actually per gram of silver and not total price. They want us$165 for that one. They said it has a larger stone than the other (but it's a different stone and all that is factored into the label). To them, the game just starts all over again. That one came down to $65. Here we go again with the same bs game. In summary, we had NO confidence in the value of any of these items and have no idea if they are from China or if they even are what they said they are. Quite possibly synthetic stones. We think you will have a similar experience with any jewelry that you buy. It's a game. We don't recommend this game, because these items may only be worth $10-$20 or who knows. They may be made in China as well. Walking around, they flatter you with Lacoste (your shorts) are no nice. How much did you pay for that hat? I can match the price if you want another. What are you looking for? I have another shop over this way (a friend's shop probably related to commissions), etc. This is kind of the experience you will have. At the airport, the prices for trinkets seemed higher than at the gift shop in the hotel, at least ours was. But in terms of jewelry, we would not buy anything in Cancun unless it were very cheap. Example, on the beach we bought a bracelet for us$7. Another day, someone was selling them for 3 for us$10. Who knows what they are made of. read more

I went and there with a friend, I fell in love with a necklace but I noticed that prices were a bit odd. So the more a question about the price the more they would lower it but it made me feel uncomfortable about buying it. I told the guy I would think about it. Seconds later I saw his sell the same necklace to another lady but for 3 times the amount he had originally told me, that's when I knew it was fake and decided not even bother. read more

Do not buy jewelry from this place. They said they could give us the certificate for a neckless and never did. Didn't realize until later I didn't get it. They tend to distract you and now I understand why. Supposedly this neckless was exclusive to Cancun but when I looked closer it says Italy. Lesson learned. read more

Second time there second time stones fell out last day of our trip. I would think twice before going there it shines and is pretty but the smaller places are more appropriate to impulse buy. read more

BEWARE! I went to this place after being recommended to go for souvenir shopping. First off- you are FORCED into the Opala Jewelry Store where they sell you fake gems and claim for it to be real. While I was being hustled into buying a FAKE ring for $500, they separated me and my sister and took her into the tequila store and gave her about 8 shots of tequila in a quick span..trying to get her to "taste" their tequila.... We speak Spanish- so we noticed the movements...my sister heard the men speaking amongst each other and quickly picked up the vibes and danger. They were about 4 men cornering her in a small area of the tequila shop, calling her "belleza" and eyeing some guy in a blue shirt (looked like the owner or some cartel man"... It gave kidnapping vibes 100% (my sister is under 5 feet, petite) Me and my mother were able to interject and get the hell out of there...... We left after spending $1000+ ...we were definitely hustled and victims of lies and deceit....and ALMOST victims of kidnapping.....it all happened very fast and we are very upset....but we left relieved that we got back to our hotel safe..... Side note: the cab drivers are in on it too! we were dead silent on the way back to hotel and got charged $40USD for the ride...when hotel staff told u it would be around $10-12...... We didn't want to be bias or judge the locals....But- Trust your instincts! Do not go there! Just shop on the strip, hotel or airport. STAY SAFE! read more

I wish I could give this a higher review, but this place is a huge ripoff. I saw something I liked, and saw the price in pesos. But the US conversion rate in google and the price quoted were very far apart--and when I asked for a better price, two workers started speaking Spanish to one another--before murmuring that I spoke Spanish too and walked out of ear shot. The pieces are pretty but I can't help feeling like I got screwed. read more

Stay away this store is a scam, all the workers are in on the scam. They lie on the value and use every tactic to get you to buy from them, a simple Google search and common sense can save you hundreds of dollars. read more

The staff lied and said that they were selling me a gold necklace when it turned out to be sterling silver!!! DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM HERE!!! They are a bunch of lying scum bags.... read more

Do not buy here!!! They are liars!! They sold me a ring that they said was 14k white gold and when I got it home I saw it had 925 silver stamp inside. I should have known better. First none of their display cabinets are locked. Second why would they be selling real gold at the flea market. They are super pushy. I wish I would've read the reviews first before stepping a foot in the store. I would have avoided it all together. read more

Fake gemstones FAKE Jewlery!! Beware of scammers!!! Don't buy anything from these people!!

The most highest pressure sales I have ever encountered. A woman, who said her name was Michele, and also had a restaurant next door, talked my husband and friends into multiple glasses of Tequila and beer. They sold us some sort of "unique Mexican color changing gemstone" for $420., which turned out to cost $460 because she used an arbitrary higher conversion of 22 pesos to $1. We found out later that the same earrings cost $115 at our hotel and these were authentic zultanite gems from Turkey. I am not sure what it is we bought but we paid FOUR times as much for the fake stuff. Your cab driver will take you straight there even if you originally wanted to go somewhere else. read more

DO NOT BUY from this store. They have a "system" for the unsuspecting buyer. They greet you as if they are helping you. Next, it doesn't matter what you are looking at, they steer you towards the green stone jewelry section. To make the stone look green, there is special lighting in the store (look up when you're there). They take the piece of jewelry outside where the stone changes color because it is no longer under the special lights. They tell you that depending on different lighting, the stone will keep changing color. We'll, it doesn't. My stone is a constant yellowish-brown, very ugly. I paid with a credit card, which on the contract that they make you sign, it states, "Payment by bank card is not made any change or return." Not perfect grammar, but it's good enough for the credit card company to say the customer is liable. I tried to take the ring back, the only thing they said was to dispute it with the credit card company. Please don't fall for their dishonesty, unscrupulous practices and save your money for something else. read more

I went here on yesterday and bought a lot of jewelry for me, my daughter and my husband. The salesman noted the same story line......I checked you in at the hotel and I will give you a good price. They haggled me for an hour. I bought 4 rings, pendant/necklace, and a pair of earrings. Based on the reviews (I should have visited Yelp first) I paid the same amount for my color changing jewelry too. If these folks are ripping people off that's unfortunate. They could have had a life long customer instead of a couple of hundred from us. Now the word is out. Too bad! read more

WARNING! STAY AWAY! My wife and I purchased jewelry from this place. They are nothing but a bunch of lying little crooks. The salesman, Hector, lied in telling us that he works at our hotel and helped us when we checked-in. He doesnt work there, that's part of the scam. To make you feel even more comfortable, they load you up with shots of tequila, all to loosen you up and gain your trust. While shopping, he stated numerous times that the jewelry that we were about to purchase was made of pure white gold. 3 days later we decided to admire the jewelry and decipher the receipt because neither of us are very fluent in Spanish. This is when we discovered that the jewelry was not white gold, but in fact was made of "plata" or silver in English. We spoke to several people at our resort about our situation and the employees recommended that we need to go to the "Perfeco" who police the local merchants from performing fraudulent business practices. The following day, on December 4th, we went to the offices of the Perfeco with the jewelry to inform them of what happened. They told us that they have had problems with this business in the past, and that they had their license suspended previously for this same thing. Unfortunately, by their rules, a consumer only has 5 days to open a case. This was day 4. They don't work on weekends. And, the offices close somewhat early, at 2:00 and so they wouldn't be able to ride over with me as our muscle. As you can imagine, my wife and I were amazed that something this simple would prevent this official office from helping us. So we decided to give the merchant a chance to rectify the situation on their own. We went directly to the merchant from the Perfeco's offices where we met with the manager. We explained to him what had happened and showed him the jewelry. He was very apologetic and proceeded to tell us that this wasn't the first time that Hector has done this. I asked him why he works for them if he tends to lie to people and he said that Hector's family own the store so he's not able to fire him. He immediately offered to give us a full refund because he doesn't want the store to get a bad name. My wife's refund was done immediately because they had initially charged her card electronically. Unfortunately, at the initial sale, they weren't able to swipe my card (I had problems using that card with the chip everywhere down there). So they had to manually key it in. He said that he wasn't able to issue a refund electronically due to this and that all that I would need to do is contact my bank and dispute the sale. He said that once he received the paperwork from the bank that he would sign off on it. He accepted the jewelry from me and gave me a return slip as proof of my return. LIES! Once I returned home I filed a dispute with Visa. After almost a month, I received my reply from Bank of America that there is nothing that they can do. WHAT!! I don't even have the shit jewelry anymore because they accepted the return, AND I have to still pay for it! They are a bunch of crooks who should be thrown in jail after I beat their asses! read more

The scam continues. They make money on giving you the wrong exchange rate. We were told it was 20 pesos to 1 U.S dollar. It didn't even get to 19 pesos on Oct 17. They made an extra $30.57 US. read more

If there was less than one star that is how I would rate this store. Very nice store and pleasant salespeople with no morals. They lie about what they are selling (sold me a silver necklace saying it was gold when it was gold plated and wrote on the receipt in Spanish that it was silver so that AMEX would not honor my charge dispute.) When I got back to the United States I found out the truth about the necklace being silver and that they charged me TEN TIMES the necklace's value. (Kohl's sells the same necklace. LOL) They were selling other items like decorative turtles for TEN TIMES what every other store was asking elsewhere in Cancun, including in the Hotel Zone. The salespeople are very slick - their "guarantee" that I could be sure they were telling me the truth that the necklace was solid gold was if they were not telling the truth AMEX would protect me. [AMEX is now investigating the store for other examples of fraud and may pull them as a merchant. Until then, buyer beware. They also try to convince you that another salesperson in the store is helping them out and remembers you from your hotel. Do NOT tell them where you are staying and protect yourself from this rouse. Really sad because they have some beautiful things. read more

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY! This store is a complete ripoff. Taxi drivers are paid commission by the store for suggesting and taking tourists there, which is how we ended up at Market 28. We told our taxi driver the name of a different jewelry store we wanted to visit, but he insisted that Opalos had great quality products at great prices. TOTAL LIE. We purchased some pieces and realized how poor quality they were. We mentioned to our travel advisor at the hotel that we had purchased jewelry from there and he flipped (saying many previous guests have had poor experiences and they do NOT recommend it at all). After reading the ample negative reviews on yelp & tripadvisor, we went back and demanded a refund. We argued with Opalos employees for almost an hour, as they came up with every excuse possible (a "3 day refund policy" which was not stated anywhere in the paperwork, Mexican tax rules, etc.) With much persistence and calling them out on their B.S., we were able to get our money refunded. Save yourself the aggravation and go somewhere else!! read more

i agree, if there was less than one star that is how i would also rate this store. i wish i would have read Jackie's review before ever entering this store. we bought several bracelets, were told that they were sterling silver and the stones were authentic (sapphires). when we returned to the states and had them appraised - all of the stones were glass. when we contacted the store about a refund, they refused. when we entered the store the sales clerk told us he remembered us from our hotel, that he also worked there and saw us check in. he knew which hotel we were staying at because we took the hotel shuttle to the store. he told us that we got an additional discount because of where we were staying. definitely a lesson learned, unfortunately you cannot trust anyone these days. read more

Crooks, don't visit this store at all - my wife and I visited Cancun the first week of July 2017 and went to the Mercado 28. As soon as we exited the cab an American lady named Michele prodded us into her store (Venta De Artesanias). She told us that most stores will rip us off for jewelry but because she is an American she will give us good jewelry and good price. We ended up pressured into buying a supposed two Carat Emerald ring which was reduced from 26000 pesos to 20000 pesos for us only. I put it on my American express card. When we got home to the USA I had it appraised and found out it is only a piece of colored glass and a cheap plated setting. Value set at +/- $25 US. This store is the biggest rip off imaginable Stay away!!!! (The sales guy collects ball caps and he talked me out of mine for such a good deal on the ring; My hat was probably worth more than the ring). This lady is a disgrace to everything fair and just. read more