Gems

[SidJames 4]

Gents,

 

Which gems does Thailand excel at producing & where is a good place to buy some in either Thailand or Pattaya?

[jacko 8,762]

Gents,

 

Which gems does Thailand excel at producing & where is a good place to buy some in either Thailand or Pattaya?

Rubies and blue or pink saphires.

I wouldn't get involved myself as I don't have the knowledge and have been burned before.

Google it.....

[joekicker 53]

jacko has it, except I'd add jade as a third one, and also small diamonds, which almost all the world's supply is finished in Thailand.

 

I'll add a bit extra here because of what I read into your post, SidJames.

 

Do NOT buy gems on speculation or investment or whatever unless either you know gems superbly or you know your jeweller very well -- and preferably both. Even a one-off purchase, be REALLY careful.

 

The MAIN thing that Thais do for gems is recolour and rebrand them. They taught the world, I am not kidding.

 

.

[packhike 13]

Have always bought gems for the wife and my daughter at World Thai Gems Gallery. World Thai Gems Gallery

They have 4 locations from Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, and Phuket. Call to have them pick you up from your hotel for free and when you are done they

will take you where you want to go. They do OFFER DISCOUNTS but you must ask and be PERSISTENT. Nothing major wife gets 10% off. They have great customer service

have even brought in Jewelry purchased in America and they have fixed for free. Although we did purchase items at the time....

 

Have bought Sapphires, Rubies, Jade, Pearls, Topaz, and Emeralds from them (all done in rings, necklaces, earrings,)

Have had it appraised in America and all the jewelry has received high marks and been appraised for much more then what I paid..

 

Even brought back some garnets from Thailand and had one jeweler in the states actually want to buy a bunch from me. He said it was the best

quality he had ever seen...

 

As to Diamonds my advice would be do not buy in Thailand. Most Diamonds are imported into that country. This has been backed by several

different sales staff at different stores who advised my wife not to buy as they were very expensive. Pretty much I have found the price to be

a bit more for Diamonds in Thailand.....Stick with Rubies, Emeralds, and Sapphires...

 

There is another Gem store in Pattaya that has a name very close to World Thai Gem Gallery Its called World Gems Collection both WTGG and WGC are on the main

road that has the roundabout on it in Pattaya. AVOID WORLD GEMS COLLECTION AT ALL COST.. IMHO...Basically to figure out if you have the right location make sure they have locations in Bangkok, Phuket, and Chiang Mai then that is the right one. WTGG is actually past WGG on the right side of said road if you were on your way back to bangkok....

 

Prices range from 800 baht on up to 10,000,000 baht.. Depends upon what you buy, pearls seem to be the cheapest..They have a huge selection of everything and the place is HUGE think Tesco Lotus size (maybe a bit smaller but still frigging big..) whoever owns this chain makes a crap load of money....

 

I know crap all about jewelry. I don't buy it for an investment or anything like that. If I like the piece I buy it....(or more likely if the wife likes it ) I don't plan on reselling any of it and am not about to try to figure out the clarity, cut, carat.. I go into those stores with a certain amount I will spend and thats it. Like I said supposedly I have done good for what all thats worth..If you really want to learn about buying gems and such visit here....How to buy gemstones from the GIA Some will disagree with the way I purchase jewelry but it works for me....

[joekicker 53]

Have always bought gems for the wife and my daughter at World Thai Gems Gallery.

 

packhike with all due respect (quite a bit) this means that YOU know your jeweller. And good for you, just as I said before. But again with respect, recommending a dealer because YOU have had good treatment could be dangerous. They may see so-and-so the next customer coming, and fleece him. Not CHEAT him, but fleece him. I understand your post, but be very careful praising jewellery shops to others.

 

Yes, all diamonds are imported into Thailand, as they are imported into pretty well all countries in the world -- and like pretty well all gems in Thailand, since Thailand has almost no gems in the wild and has to, ahem, "import" (read smuggle) even jade, sapphires and rubies, never mind emeralds (!) which come from a long way away.

 

But when I mentioned small diamonds, I meant really small ones, usually used as inlay. They are a bit of a bargain here because they are imported in the raw and worked and faceted and polished here and (mostly) sent back out. A 1-carat (say) diamond is never a bargain in Thailand, you are right about that. If you want to get, say, a wedding band with a bunch of tiny diamonds, or if you are buying a ruby and want it to be surrounded with 15 little diamonds -- it is not a bad buy IF your jeweller is helpful.

 

.

[Regyai 414]

+1 for all the "dont buy if you know" comments

 

but if you want to go (& see) where the Rubies Sapphs Etc are traded then take a day out to Chantaburi

 

 

.

[packhike 13]

packhike with all due respect (quite a bit) this means that YOU know your jeweller. And good for you, just as I said before. But again with respect, recommending a dealer because YOU have had good treatment could be dangerous. They may see so-and-so the next customer coming, and fleece him. Not CHEAT him, but fleece him. I understand your post, but be very careful praising jewellery shops to others.

 

Yes, all diamonds are imported into Thailand, as they are imported into pretty well all countries in the world -- and like pretty well all gems in Thailand, since Thailand has almost no gems in the wild and has to, ahem, "import" (read smuggle) even jade, sapphires and rubies, never mind emeralds (!) which come from a long way away.

 

But when I mentioned small diamonds, I meant really small ones, usually used as inlay. They are a bit of a bargain here because they are imported in the raw and worked and faceted and polished here and (mostly) sent back out. A 1-carat (say) diamond is never a bargain in Thailand, you are right about that. If you want to get, say, a wedding band with a bunch of tiny diamonds, or if you are buying a ruby and want it to be surrounded with 15 little diamonds -- it is not a bad buy IF your jeweller is helpful.

 

.

I agree and disagree. First I don't know my jeweller. As in if you had ever been to this place you would understand...Have always had a different salesperson. So I have no "personal" relationship with them. They are ISO 9002 and ISO 9001:2000 certified which I am told is a good thing. ALL JEWELRY IS CLEARLY MARKED WITH THE PRICE ON THE PRICE TAG. Hence the only "haggling" you can do is asking for a discount off the price that is marked. Do not go in there and ask for half the price or anything like that YOU WILL NOT GET IT just ask for a discount and you should get 10%...They have been in business for a long time...And like I posted early I buy my jewelry not as an investment, not to make money, but just for what my wife likes and thinks looks good...If your buying jewelry to invest in or to "save" money in your going to get burned except for the possibility of gold.....I have also sent other people there, as well as taken other people there and they have had the same experience as I have had...There are probably more then 50 salespersons working here. There is no "sales pressure" to buy anything. If anything it is worth a trip even if you don't buy anything. When you arrive you are greeted by a few ladies dressed in traditional clothes, you are handed a drink, then you are given a tour of where some of the jewelry is made. You actually watch them making it, then you are led into the sales room which is huge and has massive fish tanks everywhere. I have seen many people walk around (with your salesperson/tour guide) and just look at what is in the cases and then say thank you and leave. Again I have never felt ANY pressure to buy while there....nor have I ever seen anyone pressured to buy while there....There is also a small cafe where you can get any type of drink for free. Now don't expect a full size glass of beer but you will get a small glass. I have sat there for 2 hours while wife shopped and just kept drinking beer after beer at no cost. I have also seen people who walked thru the sales floor with out buying anything still sit down and get a beer and such for no charge....This place gets tour busses and such going to it....There probably are cheaper smaller shops but since I don't know shit about gems I stick with this place as again I have been happy with the price and what I have purchased there. This why I recommend World Thai Gems Gallery due to the NO PRESSURE environment and I say stay the hell away from World Gems Collection because they are the exact opposite with a huge sales pressure tactic...Also we have spent 3,000 baht one time and spent shall I say alot more and always been treated with the same respect know matter what spending...This is a company that actually does it right. Hence my recommendation for them....You can go see some stuff and then leave or buy UP to YOU...Also my wife (thai) has been extremely pleased with the way they have treated her and such (but then again she is buying jewelry and what women doesn't have orgasms doing that).

 

There are plenty of other companies in Thailand and this is the only one I recommend...but then again remember you are taking advice from a stranger on a message board.....It's up to you..

 

As to the small diamonds you are correct. Looking for a stand alone diamond look elsewhere but when it comes to diamond "chips" and such like that used in inlays then they are a great deal. The majority of the items my wife has bought has had diamond chips used as an inlay.....

 

By the way this company makes their own jewelry and can custom make any type of jewelry you want. Everytime we head down to bangkok we stop in there to get our jewelry cleaned and it is always taken care of quickly and efficently at no charge......

 

 

 

Ok enough of my sales pitch.....

Edited September 29, 2010 by packhike

[joekicker 53]

By the way this company makes their own jewelry and can custom make any type of jewelry you want. Everytime we head down to bangkok we stop in there to get our jewelry cleaned and it is always taken care of quickly and efficently at no charge......

 

Nobody made this point until you, that (like gold) Thailand has EXCELLENT and super-cheap jewellery designers and makers, finishers and more. Once you get a dealer you're comfortable with, and some stones you like, it's a terrific place to get custom jewellery made -- not just a price bargain but a truly excellent design centre.

 

Regyai, you are absolutely right AND Chanthaburi is the first and arguably best place in the whole world to get rudely, spectacularly over-charged beyond your worst nightmares on gems unless you know gems or the dealer or both. "Wholesale market" sounds so great, and it's so dangerous -- worse than "duty free" on your pocketbook. But interesting it definitely is, and the world's best Isan gai-yang barbecued chicken is right there in the Chanthaburi main market to boot.

 

.

[jacko 8,762]

I bought a really nice ruby in Sri Lanka once and had it mounted.

The twa$£s at the jewelers swapped the stone on me!

Edited September 30, 2010 by jacko

[englishinsiam 15]

The MAIN thing that Thais do for gems is recolour and rebrand them. They taught the world, I am not kidding.

 

.

 

It's not just Gems they recolour either. In February I bought my wife a White/yellow gold mix ring with 7 diamonds in it. The white gold was the section that held the diamonds after 3-4 months the white Gold miraculously changed colour to Yellow Gold.

 

We too kthe ring back and I was demanding they do a proper white/yellow solid Gold ring mix. My wife being too polite and Thai and accepting shit service for a quiet life said she was happy if they just scraped off the rest of the white gold spray and the ring was Yellow all over.

 

A month later she is regretting it because she doesn't have the ring I paid a lot of money for.

 

This was a big Jeweller on Second road 100 metres on the left after Pattaya Tai. But i think they all play the same tricks designed for ripping off Rich stupid Russians. Well they got this Poor Stupid English guy for sure.

 

[SidJames 4]

Many thanks for the great replies & especially to Packhike for taking that much time to share.

My brother's making a short trip over & what's to buy a something for his farang wife. He knows as much as me (nothing) but she was a jewellery designer before family life. It's a good quality local stone or piece that she wants but she will not be here to advise.

I'm a great believer in staying away from stuff that you don't understand.

[drdod 0]

quote........but if you want to go (& see) where the Rubies Sapphs Etc are traded then take a day out to Chantaburi

 

well this is by far the best advice ive heard with regards to buying / looking.

 

i was picked up by a family friend from bkk(hes a taxi driver)he was driving us to ko chang ,well he stopped to introduce us to his brother...(some high ranking official),who wasnt there ............not a problem.the manager showed us around his 4 story loooooobie factory.

 

god they must of been hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of stones on the tables.

 

it was explained to us that most of the stones were asian.but........they also import them from africa !.

 

if your interested in buying be very carefull but chataburi is sure the place to veiw . taxi driver called it SHIT IN THE ROAD.dont know why !

 

drdod shaun

[packhike 13]

Many thanks for the great replies & especially to Packhike for taking that much time to share.

My brother's making a short trip over & what's to buy a something for his farang wife. He knows as much as me (nothing) but she was a jewellery designer before family life. It's a good quality local stone or piece that she wants but she will not be here to advise.

I'm a great believer in staying away from stuff that you don't understand.

Then all 3 of us are in the same boat don't know crap when it comes to gems

If he's in BKK or Pattaya he can't go wrong with the place I mentioned. And by that I mean he can hae them pick him up and take a look around.

NO high pressure sales (which is an instant I ain't buying shit from you for me) and they have price ranges from cheap to fuck me how much is that?

Plus all the prices are on the pieces.....and local will be sapphire, emerald, or ruby.

In the states there is a big jewelry company called the Shane Company and in one of his advertisments he is always saying

how he goes to Bangkok and buys direct there passing on the savings to the customer in the states although I am sure he jacks prices

up to cover his nitetime shopping duties....

 

Give me a day or 2 and I will post some pictures of the stuff we bought from there....

Edited September 30, 2010 by packhike

[hwells 6]

I have brought diamonds in Pattaya from Dave Pittman who now owns the Diamond Shop. He also sometimes has some nice gems in stock. He was previuosly the owner of American Diamond which was 1 of the largest diamond cutting factorys in Thailand. He is a very nice bloke & having known him well for 20 years can say he is very well respected within the industry. If you want to contact him send me a PM & I will forward his phone number.

As for the price of diamonds in Thailand they are set on the world market but due to the lower rents & salarys here a jeweller does not need the same mark up to turn a profit. The same goes for buying set pieces. Goldsmiths & settings are much cheaper here compared to say the UK so again mark up not as great. I fully agree with the advice given that it is a case of buyer beware but this is really the same for buying jewellery anyway in the world.

Edited September 30, 2010 by hwells

[crowsnest 0]

i have bought a number of loose stones Rubies and Saphirre's ranging from 1Carat upto 4 Carat price from 500-7500 baht i sent the expensive one's back home but nobody really knows how to value loose stone it is i believe a specialist subject!

 

I guess i would have to travel to London or Manchester to a top class store where you can pick the stone and design the ring yourself!

 

Bottom line is get them mounted or buy one's already in the mount!

 

Thailand's mine's are almost depleted of Rubies now. The best ones Pigeons Blood comes from Burma or if you don't want to go into Burma you can but them at the market in Mai sai near the border.

 

A lot of Rubies are coming now from Africa these are genuine Rubies but some may require heat treatment or other treatments and some will have slight inclusions in them. They are brought over here because African people do not have the required skills to cut them etc so they bring it in raw form.

 

I have 11 lovely stones from Africa from 1-4 carats in the shape of hearts and various other cuts, i guess i will get 3 of the stones mounted into 1 ring maybe a 4 carat stone in the middle and 2 one carat stones either side then send it back home to be valued, then see if you can make money doing it!