best place to shop for gems/semi-precious stones

[dani305 0]

hi

i would like to buy semi-precious stones like sapphires and rubies in thailand ,i know they are very cheap comparing to the west . i heard about scams and ripping off.

anyone knows a honest dealer in pattaya or bangkok?

till now what i saw in this site is that there are two World Gems in pattaya the giant one on Pattaya Central is a rip off. The one on the corner of Beach Road and Pattaya South- some say the owner is honest and some disagree.

also saw a recommendation on Venus Jewelry in BKK on Wireless Road near US Embassy

if anyone else Any thoughts or suggestions i'll be glad to hear....

dani

[doorman 0]

check out the pattaya expat club. They can direct you on the right direction on anything including lawyers. Meet on sundays. later doorman

[mrbill2 6]

g'day playmate

if i were you i'd try AA jewellers . crn soi 13 & beach rd

the owner is called CANDY , she is a great girl , i'm possitive she would help you out , she always gives my mates a good deal when shopping there. mrbill2

[hwells 6]

Hi Dani,

Some friends & myself recently purchased some diamonds from

The Diamond Shop in Soi Regent Marina in North Pattaya, it is the first soi as you come onto beach road from the Dusit Hotel end. Can also be accessed from 2nd road by turning left at Pattaya Bowl, just past big C.

While we were there we got talking to the owner & asked him about semi precious stones he said that no problem he could get them from Bangkok for us, he also had some in the store that a friend brought a couple from him. The owners name is Dave he is am american with a long history in the diamond business in thailand, a friend of mine that has been here 25 years introduced us to him. Hope this is of some help.

 

Harve

 

PS on a pleasant note got the diamonds & jewrly back home & had it valued, cost about half the price we would have [paid for it at home. Cheers.

[wombat 5]

a bit ott ...but for that "special stone"..have a look at this link......................

 

http://www.lifegem.com/

[kenshi 0]

Hi Dani,

            Some friends & myself recently purchased some diamonds from

The Diamond Shop in Soi Regent Marina in North Pattaya, it is the first soi as you come onto beach road from the Dusit Hotel end. Can also be accessed from 2nd road by turning left at Pattaya Bowl, just past big C.

          While we were there we got talking to the owner & asked him about semi precious stones he said that no problem he could get them from Bangkok for us, he also had some in the store that a friend brought a couple from him. The owners name is Dave he is am american with a long history in the diamond business in thailand, a friend of mine that has been here 25 years introduced us to him. Hope this is of some help.

 

Harve

 

PS on a pleasant note got the diamonds & jewrly back home & had it valued, cost about half the price we would have [paid for it at home. Cheers.

Will have to pop in there.Did you have any problems bringing them back to the West?.

Im looking to buy some gems,but have no idea what would happen at customs back in the UK if they were found?.I want to buy loose gems if thats the correct term?.

[cowboy 0]

Maybe I am wrong on this but it was my understanding that the diamonds you typically buy in LOS are not from local sources. Australia, India, are sources and there is not particular reason why diamonds would be cheaper in LOS.

 

This leads into my undertsanding of buying gems there. Unlike some place in the west LOS is strickly CAVEAT EMPTOR. Small differences in diamonds can result in Big differences inthe prices. I shopped for diamonds in pattaya but could not find anything even close to the prices of my sources in the US. Pattaya was much higher in price and that is assuming the quality of the stones was as they described them.

 

I am sure that if you are a dealor and know what you are doing you will be fine and if you are shopping for rubies, or any of the pecious stones found in asia can get a great deal.

 

We must have at least 1 gem dealor on this board that could post some tips and warnings.

[sinbinjack 251]

HI why would you want to buy stones in thailand like cowboysasys its cheaper in USA and even cheaper in amsterdam(and there you can get quality guarantee's

so it must be somthing other than price might it be lack of import taxes and vat so you can make some money back in farang land well i do hope you are successful

but unless you know a whole lot about precious and semi-precious stones you will get shafted so as they said in ancient rome caveat emptor(buyer beware)

good luck SINBINJACK

[hwells 6]

Kenshi,

We had no problems carrying the stones back, although all countries have differnt laws on importing of stones. Some of the stones where made up into jewelry & some were loose. All the stones where brought with a GIA certificate & the grading was confirmed by jewelrys at home.

In answer to Cowboy & Sinbinjack you are certainly correct in most of what you say & I agree with you both. The diamonds in Thailand are from outside the region. There are different reasons why stones here can be a bargain.If the diamonds are originally brought into the country in " rough" & cut & polished in Thailand the cost to the producer is so much less than doing in Europe or the states. Thailand has a large industry in the cutting of diamonds & from what I am lead to believe have some of the best cutters around. The cost of gold smiths, staff & rents here are so much less than Europe that the jewelers can offer a much better deal on stones. Take a jewelers in London paying the same for a cut stone as a jeweler in Pattaya obviously the Pattaya business has way less overheads so can pass some of that onto the customer.

As always when buying anything in Thailand do your home work & if a deal is to good to be true then it probably is. I would have no hesitation buying from this outlet again, but remember buyer beware. Hope this is of some help.

Harve

[kenshi 0]

Thanks Harve,

Good advice there cheers.I just want to buy low & sell high.Thats all.& keep some as an investment.