Jewellery Shopping on Hydra Island, Greece

My favorite souvenir to buy from a trip I want to remember is always jewelry. I tried fridge magnets in the past, but it frustrated me how diverse the quality is (and to think they are all made in China) as some don't stick as well as others, which cause them to fall and break if they are fragile, not to mention I no longer have my own fridge since we moved back to the Philippines. Hahaha.

But jewelry, especially if you buy gold, lasts forever, and you can enjoy it and remember the memories from your trip/s when you wear it.

While I have a planned post on Shopping in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul that I have yet to write, let me continue my series of posts on Hydra, picking up where I left off last week which you can read here, zooming into this topic.

My Favorite Jewelry Shops in Hydra

As with all tourist destinations, it's always a negotiation game when you attempt to buy something of value, because stores normally start with an astronomical figure, then it becomes your job to ascertain the real value of what your buying, what you are willing to pay for it, and what the seller is willing to sell it for. In other words, you need to define the negotiating arena.

You need to check out the competitive landscape as well, so you can figure out who is selling what, what is the going rate of things, and shortlist which store (or stores) have what you want, at a selling price that is a good starting place to start bargaining with.

I got thrown off my game a bit, because the gold rings (which I was interested in) were much more expensive in Hydra vs the Grand Bazaar in Turkey, but given that it is a purely tourist destination, it's a given that I just needed to adjust the negotiating scale in to a slightly more expensive level.

I was already eyeing an Infinity Ring (they have it everywhere, but the one I kept coming back to look at was the one in 21st Century - right in front of the harbor - photo above) that I wanted to wear stacked with my evil eye rings from Istanbul, but since it was more expensive, I took time to sleep on it.

However, on one of our dinners in the island, we stumbled on this jewelry store in one of the side streets that caught our attention because her designs were slightly different, and when we inquired about the price of something, Eleni gave us a price closer to what we are willing to pay (I should know, I probably stepped into all the jewelry stores in Hydra that we saw). So she doesn't do the whole song an dance of giving everyone an astronomical price to see if she can get away with it.

The Infinity Symbol is found in a lot of the Greek Jewelry, so it's the perfect
thing to remind you of the place.

Eleni explained that she designs and her husband makes the jewelry.
I couldn't leave without buying anything, so I left this pendant which I
converted into a charm together with the Evil Eye Charms I bought in Turkey.
Note to self: I totally forgot about that bracelet, I should look for it.

It was so nice to meet you Eleni. I remember I promised to come back,
and bring my daughter... and I will.

So if my memory serves me right, we had a cup of coffee
by the harbor front, from the winner €2 Souvlaki place
that you can read about here, I decided I wanted the ring too.

Jane and I are very happy 21st Century customers.
This nice mister is the owner so look at him if you want to seal the deal.

Exactly how I envisioned it to be...
Perfect Souvenir from Hydra and Istanbul.

Now, if I can only remember where my charm bracelet went... or I can always buy again when I go with Sofia, since I apparently promised a lot of people on Hydra that I would come back. just saying.

21st Century
Hydra Harbor

Right next to Alpha Bank

Kariatides

Hydra - Paralia, 18040, ATTICA

2298053963