The choices are endless and the service is professional and very personal. Cruise guests, time-share owners, hotel stay-over guests and even locals enjoy some of the best shopping offered in the Caribbean, if not the world.

"Shopping in St. Maarten is very good. The purchaser doesn't have to fill out forms or pay full price and get their refund when they leave the country," said Jean Legoubey, owner of Plaza Caraibes.

Items and selection vary widely. One can find exclusive clothing stores like Polo Jeans Co., Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Liz Claiborne, and Max Mara. Chanel, Lipstick, Givenchy and Christian Dior are just a few examples of popular and exclusive perfumes available. For the shopper that not only wants to keep track of time but also wants to also make a fashion statement, exclusive brands like Cartier, Bulgari, Chopard, Ebel, Hermes and Rolex are sold. A few jewelry options are lines offered by Passions, Soho and Tiffany & Company. Davidoff tobacco and Christofle china are some examples of specialty products. Electronics of all major brands imaginable are also fully available in the duty-free shops of the island.

Duty-free stores are mainly located on Front Street in Philipsburg, Dutch St. Maarten and in Marigot of French St. Martin. The Front Street location offers the stores great access to the cruise ship tourists that arrive at Captain Hodge Pier in central Philipsburg. Marigot relies more on hotel stay-over guests for its business.

Adesh Baharani of Joe's Jewelry described the two sides of the island as complementary. "We complement each other. On the French side there are boutiques like in France. The Dutch side is more like New York," he said. Nevertheless, both locations are more than happy to serve any potential client that walks through their door.

"Good service and good prices," said Haresh Boolchand of Boolchands, Ltd. when asked what is his motto for business. "We use word of mouth to market our products as well as through promotional services offered by cruise ships," he said. Boolchand came to the island in 1963 to start his electronics and jewelry store. He explained that St. Maarten is totally duty-free, meaning there are no import or export taxes on purchasing products from local stores.

"We focus on the best duty-free items like luxury watches and fine jewelry," said Jacques Rosell, owner and chief executive officer of Oro de Sol. "We work with 100 manufacturers in Europe. Our items are the kind one would find even on Madison Avenue." Rosell knows the duty-free business. He opened his first store in 1979 and now employs 60 people in his 15 stores throughout the Caribbean.

Rosell noted that St. Maarten is a very competitive market. "It is interesting for the competitive businessman. Here there are a lot of jewelry stores with products from all over the world." Since his first store opened 20 years ago, Rosell now has boutiques representing Cartier, Christofle and Chopard among a few others.

Joe's Jewelry purchases its watches from suppliers in Switzerland and the United States. Its jewelry comes from Israel and Italy. Because of the duty-free status of St. Maarten, "the consumer will pay 20 to 26 percent less" than back home, Baharani explained.

The same system applies to both sides of the island relating to the importing of the products. "This is the best system in the Caribbean. It is fast, easy and there is no red tape for clients or merchants," said Jean Legoubey. Legoubey has boutiques for Polo, Lipstick, Hermes, Liz Claiborne and Passion to name a few. He operates on both sides of the island and noted that business has changed in the 16 years since he opened his first Lipstick boutique.

"The only way to do business in St. Maarten now is to have a particular brand or product. This is the only way to maintain our business," he said. The competition is to the benefit of the consumer but local businessmen must always look for innovative ideas to keep themselves ahead of the business trends.

The two Baharani brothers, Ajay and Adesh, are optimistic about the growth potential of the duty-free business on the island. They plan to put their university education from Tuffs and the University of Pennsylvania to good use as they move into the management of Joe's Jewelry. Ajay said, "I see a lot of potential for growth. We are a family business."

The Philipsburg-based business was established in 1980 and now has six stores all located on Front Street. Joe's specializes in jewelry and watches.

Family ties run strong for the Boolchand operation as well. "My father is the managing director of the company and us four sons are spread among the islands," explained Harsh Boolchand. Boolchands, Ltd. has operations in Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Venezuela, St. Thomas and in St. Maarten. His son and daughter plan to continue the tradition of the business as they are currently studying business and finance in the United States.