#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Thailand and Asia News >  >  > Business, Finance & Economics in Thailand >  >  gem cutters

## paulspad2002

well im looking at doing business in thailand thru the gem trade.... now before any one you say...f... that..... my friend has contacts._ his family- in pakistan and they have a chance to secure some gems on a regular basis that are legit and real...not sure which kind at this stage but i do know they will be worth some money...

wat im looking for in thailand ( bangkok) is a serious , good friendly honest gem cutter....is such a man or woman available in bangkok......ive heard many bad stories about rip offs but my guys know their gems....and will want to be present at the gem cutting time to over see the work being done....we would be looking at maybe contracting this out to an individual wanting to make some serious money, 
i may be looking for a guy who is able to cut the way we need and is possible either foreign or thai with foreign contacts linking us to him...

any one interested in giving me any more information

only serious replies please, this isnt a fun and game thread for pisstakers

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## Bobcock

Go to the Plaza on Silom with the gem shops.

Walk around til you gfind one of the Western owners.

Talk to them, someone in the trade, not us, we know fuck all about anything.

I know a couple of the guys in there, they'd steer you for sure.

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## Ghandi

Or hit Chantaburi as it is a major cutting and sorting area in Thailand , you can work directly with a cutter there

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## paulspad2002

yeah thats what i want , i want to be able to work directly with a cutter...im actually wanting to find out what stones have the highest value in thailand whether its amongst thais or foreigners....we have a set amount and styke of gem we can supply and would also be looking for good quality buyers of cut gems

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## Mr Pot

I know someone on my soi in this business, I'll probably see him tonight if hes drinking at our local tonight.  He's always looking for business and should help that he's American, been here over 15 years and speaks fluent Thai.

Untill then, nothing but feel free to bump this over the weekend to remind me

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## panama hat

Chanthaburi is your go.  Saturday is the busy gems market there

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## Johnny Longprong

This a minefield, not a gemfield.

I would recommend that you talk to one of the reputable dealers.
Give Elsbeth Zimmermann a call at Lambert Industries Ltd.
807-809 Silom Shanghai Building, 4th Floor, Soi 17
Silom Road, Bangkok 10500
ph: 66 2-236-4343/49

Better still make an appointment, call at their premises and make your own assessment.

I found them to be totally straight traders. Send them your stones, back they come cut. No bullshit, substitution or shoddy work. If it is not cutable, they will put it aside. Anyway, you make your own assessment from a face to face if you can do it.

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## friscofrankie

A not uncommon occurrence:  You give high quality gems to be cut,  You are provided with gems of a lesser quality cut to your order.  To get involved in the gem trade in any capacity I would recommend you study with one of the schools and learn to identify stones and quantify their value.




> I would recommend that you talk to one of the reputable dealers. 
> Give Elsbeth Zimmermann a call at Lambert Industries Ltd. 
> 807-809 Silom Shanghai Building, 4th Floor, Soi 17 
> Silom Road, Bangkok 10500 
> ph: 66 2-236-4343/49  
> 
> Better still make an appointment, call at their premises and make your own assessment.  
> 
> I found them to be totally straight traders. Send them your stones, back they come cut. No bullshit, substitution or shoddy work. If it is not cutable, they will put it aside. Anyway, you make your own assessment from a face to face if you can do it.


Look for recommendations like this one, be knowledgeable enough to identify your stones after cutting and what to expect.  What kind of stones will you be getting?  Will they be raw or heated before you get them? (will they need heat treatment?)

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## tayto

> yeah thats what i want , i want to be able to work directly with a cutter...im actually wanting to find out what stones have the highest value in thailand whether its amongst thais or foreigners....we have a set amount and styke of gem we can supply and would also be looking for good quality buyers of cut gems



Whats a good quality buyer? ..........someone thick with lots of money.

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## paulspad2002

well thats a clever comment isnt it.....didnt i say i didnt want stupid answers....

thanks to the guys with great replies...info like that is so helpful....im not the one with the knowledge, im the deal maker as im the one in business...so i make the deals and arrange the financial side of thnigs...

dont worry we will have a guy that knows about the gems to do the inspections but we need th cutter to do the cutting and preperation..

im not in thailamd right now but will be back i april with some stones...any ideas as to which stones are the most money in the thai markets

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## Rattanaburi

Chantaburi is probably the largest colored-stone market in the world. You'll find everything there. The markets open Thurs through Sat. Thaigem.com is also located there. They used to have a local cable channel devoted to gems a few years back. It's worth a trip for educational purposes in the least.

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## paulspad2002

do they buy gems from other countries

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## jim1176

> wat im looking for in thailand ( bangkok) is a serious , good friendly honest gem cutter....is such a man or woman available in bangkok..


That is some funny shit .....The short answer to the above is a resounding NO .... but I know a guy who knows a guy who can introduce you to a guy who has a brother in the business if that will help get you started

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## nevets

I would have thought that this industry was controlled by the mafia in this country ,and to get in you would have to be well connected ,and  i would be very wary of being ripped off.

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## Rattanaburi

Chantaburi has gems coming in from all over the world. You'll find foreigners there dealing during the three-day period. Other days of the week you'll still find shops open but not all of them. There used to be a lot of Africans with gems there. I would guess there still are now. Thais from Kanchanabur, Bangkok and other parts of Thailand show up with gems selling them from tables and to people walking by. Some Thais walk around with small money belts with gems and sell. They'll catch you on the street and open their hand to reveal a plastic sleeve with some stones in it.

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## mrsquirrel

Chantaburi is mainly African gems now and lots more scams.

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## panama hat

Madagascar, Myanmar, Sri Lanka . . . not sure about the scams you speak of

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## jarne

I ve been buying from Chantaburi afew times and have my contacts. But its not worth it. You want to by from the "factories" and not from the streets. Most of the quality at Chantaburys dealers tables is shit and as a farang the prices is far to expencive. Even when you get big discounts. They have no respect for your hard eared money. Even if you are a good customer.
Stay away from chantabury, I never go there anymore. And the rubies sold at the tables are terrible, the worst of qualities, baked and shit, stay away.
The "factories have their big customers and have the good styff, the stuff on the strees is good for adays visit to look at the gemsmarked in Chantaburi, not for buying.
I ve been buying a few times i Silom from the wholesale dealer ex blue gems and svd and with an agreed discount you can get ok prices. But you must be able to identify good quality and related price. But even here as a repet customer a shitty small rubi sold as a good quality gems for my safe deposit box appeared
I STILl DONT UNDERSTAND HOW this could happen.???:;;; I was in a crazy hurry bla bla bla, and I have uses this dealer quite a few times, and he knows i resale ??? but the tokyo lab in their rapport told me it was modified, witch is no good quality, but still I missed it:::`??? I must have been in a coma .

You can also get good buys from the international gems fair ( but you must have some skills so you know that the quality of the stone your buing is well connected to the price. Ex Don Muang area in Bangkok, Hong kong, emirates, well quite nice fair,..huge with jewelry and all kinds of gems.
You seldom get sold fake, but there are so many gradings of quality and the lesser ones are worth next to nothing. A 2ct blue sapphire can be worth 500 bath or 400000 bath or even more. A 2ct ruby can be worth 200 bath or 1 mill bath. 
can you tell a green field
from a cold steel rail
a smile from a veil
do you think you can tell
Who are you to tell ? Some raw material can have a lot of potensial and some not ? who are you to tell ? 
The sad thing is that in the rubi trade most of the gems are really shitty stones repaired and modified, baked and so on. The same goes fore alot of the yellow sapphire stones asf.
Even your best dealer will sell you shit and they will after ten seconds know if you 
know your trade. If you dont, well, then you are amongst 3.world sharks,
you will seldom get what you hope for.
I also use the labs for gem identification, but apart from diamonds witch has  a goodidentification system (GIA developed) (also a top gem school in Bangkok),
labs do not estimate prices, only identification.
And knowing the quality of the raw material, pooooff, and then just wander of to
some cutter. Yeah right.
Getting a stone cut or getting a fancy cut is not that expencive, but getting back what you delivered, if it turns out to be top quality............
My best buys comes from a ceylon (sri lanka dealer) , good quality and ok prices.
They never sell good quality to give away prices,(its only in a farangs head that will happen). 
But I dont trust him, the gems are tested and the prices considered by others.
Anyway, the financial crisis fucked me now, but I will be back in a few months|,,,
older but not stronger
Maybe you can use the adress given to you on another tread, but the key words are no trust. 

and i almost forgot.
Most raw material, 90/95 % is heat treated, in most cases "family secrets". That is a prosess before the selection? and cutting take place. Old heat,,,, new heat.
The more i think of it ,,, minefield.
I am quite sure if what you delivered was outstanding quality, top noch, stuff for kings and queens,... you wouldnt know of course,
If it is ust ordinary stuff you deliver you will probably get a fair amount in return.
Some will probably disappear.
Or if you go to GIA lab/ AIGS and talk it over with them they can probably help you.

luck

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## robuzo

> and i almost forgot.
> Most raw material, 90/95 % is heat treated, in most cases "family secrets". That is a prosess before the selection? and cutting take place. Old heat,,,, new heat.


If sapphires and rubies, pretty much all of it, correct?  




> I am quite sure if what you delivered was outstanding quality, top noch, stuff for kings and queens,... you wouldnt know of course,


I don't know how one can really be sure about a ruby or sapphire without equipment. I know people who say they can, and I believe some of them, but it is hard to figure.




> Or if you go to GIA lab/ AIGS and talk it over with them they can probably help you.


How good are they at GIA?  They charge a lot for their course, but I expect it is pretty involved.  Fascinating subject.  There is no good reason for gems, like coins, stamps, watches, and a lot of other things, to bring the prices they do, other than rarity (and some like diamonds are nowhere near as rare as DeBeers would have us believe), but there is something magical about them.

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## jarne

GIA is offering a degree as a gemologist and they are top noch. USA and world wide.
Just do some reading online about GIA
Great ed and great labs ,but yes a bit pricy.
The university in Chantabury are of good quality and might give you a few hints? i dont know?
AIGS is a good ed, used to be better i am told but good at the buisiness approach to gem trading i am toild.
I talked to one of the bosses there once and he sad its no place for unskilled players. Different courses and also a good selection of stones.
Regarding identification for your one protection use a lab, tokio lab is good ang ok priced.
250 bath for a normal certificat.
re unheat/heated i guess regarding sapp/rubies 95 % heated .

but anyway, very difficult to make money out of it. So as a sourse of income for me its a no go. Tried and will just keep it as a hobby.

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## robuzo

> but anyway, very difficult to make money out of it. So as a sourse of income for me its a no go. Tried and will just keep it as a hobby.


A fun hobby that might make you some dough, like numismatics or philately.  I looked into the GIA course because I thought gem collecting and buying might be good hobby or avocation to take up in Thailand, but the course is pricey for my needs.  A friend of mine once told me that the way to make money at it is to know your shit and find a stone that is better than the dealer realizes.  In other words, know your shit and be lucky.

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## DaffyDuck

We all know how this is going to end, don't we?

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## robuzo

jarne provided some good advice, so it doesn't necessarily have to end in the usual way.  There are people, even farangs, who do make money in the gemstone trade here, but it isn't easy.

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## Rattanaburi

Whatever people may think about Chantaburi, if you don't go there you will never know the truth. A lot of people will tell you things as they have vested interests in getting people to their location. I have never worked in the gem trade but did live in Chantaburi for almost four years and during that time met quite a few sellers and spend quite a bit of time in the markets. It's worth a look to see what is going on there.

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## paulspad2002

yeah this is good info guys....im going to be selling the gems not buying them though
....i may be in touch with some of u at a later date for some info closer to the time that im back in thailand....

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## Dannythegem

hay Paul
i have a business colegue in London who uses a very good cutter here in Bangkok! He has been in the trade for over 30 years and you will find him very accomadating! if you want more details i can pass them onto you via e-mail

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## MAG

Well Threatment is not a new thing. The heat threated corundum (sapp & Rubi) is accepted over the word. What one need to be affraid of is beryllium threated, coated and glass fixed cracks.

I would not give so much for GIA, Better FGA, ISG. AIGS I do not know but be were of AGTA I beleve they were involved in the andesin fiasco (red oregon sunstone from Cina). I can be wrong, but I do not beleve I am.

Good luck
MAG ISG-registered Gemmologist

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