The Gem Market In Chanthaburi, Thailand: Never Miss The Chance Of Visiting This Place | Arts and Crafts

By Guest
Total views: 159
Word Count: 627

The Gem Market In Chanthaburi, Thailand: Never Miss The Chance Of Visiting This Place

The city of Chanthaburi has its major attractions, but what attracts people to this small town is the market of gems spread all over with enormous unique, elegant, exotic, colorful and ever lasting sapphires and rubies. The gemstones industry in Chanthaburi is considered world’s best cottage industry in this segment. Exclusive collection of precious and semi precious stones like azurite, malachite, bloodstone, zircon, chrysoberyl and others make this place Mecca of rubies and sapphires.

Thailand has been a major gem trading and gem processing county. The city of Chanthaburi serves as the hub of all types of sapphires and gems. A majority of tourists to Thailand buy sapphires and rubies from Bangkok, because they are not aware that just 250 kilometer south east of Bangkok lays the Mecca of rubies and sapphires, Chanthaburi. Besides rubies and sapphires the gem market in Chanthaburi, Thailand is a place to hunt for several notable gemstones which are exclusively mined in Thailand provinces like Chanthaburi province, Trat province, Kanchanaburi province and the Phrae province. The high quality rubies and sapphires from Trat and Chanthaburi provinces are in great demand all over.

The city of Chanthaburi has its major attractions, but what attracts people to this small town is the market of gems spread all over with enormous unique, elegant, exotic, colorful and ever lasting sapphires and rubies. Besides native gems, you find in the weekend market gems from all over the world which are heat-treated in some of the finest gem polishing factories in Chanthaburi. This small city is a major processing and trading center for all sorts of colored gemstones in the South East Asia. It is not known to many but nearly 80% of the world’s supply of ruby and sapphire passes through Chanthaburi.

Cutting, grading and polishing gemstones is something like a family tradition of many small families who trade in gemstones. Their expertise has developed over the years of doing the work and today the gemstones industry in Chanthaburi is considered world’s best cottage industry in this segment. If you plan to have a holiday in Thailand, keep a day of your weekend to visit this wonderful market which becomes more colorful and glowing during Friday, Saturday and Sunday. You will remember the experience of your day all around colorful gems, rubies and sapphires throughout your life. One of the interesting parts of this market of gemstones in Chanthaburi is that you won’t find sellers sitting with their gems. Rather they search for traders who sit with tables and chairs. If you want to buy gems, you need to take help from any of the trading offices in the market. They are there to help you in trading of rubies and gems. Such a trading office usually earns a commission from the seller. You must post a sign what you want to buy and this is done on the window or in front desk of the trading office by those guys in the office. For instance you will find signs like Spinel and Tourmaline meaning the buyer is looking for these stones.

While you buy sapphires or rubies in Chanthaburi, you need good negotiating skills. You can reduce the asked price by 20-30% if you can negotiate well with the sellers. The gem market in Chantaburi, Thailand is indeed a place to walk down for all those exclusive blue sapphires and rubies which you get in your country at a price four times of what you get in this market. They have all variants of precious and semi precious stones on display like pigeons blood, jade gem, turquoise, lapis-lazuli, aquamarine, topaz, moonstone, opal, tourmaline, alexandrite, chrysoprase, azurite, malachite, bloodstone, zircon, chrysoberyl, coral, carnelian and so many of them.

About the Author

Copyright 2008 Asia Products LLC. Christopher Snyder is the Managing Director of Asia Products LLC. Living in Bangkok, Thailand, Christopher sells interesting products from the art and artisans of Thailand on his website: www.asiaproductsllc.com/ and sells gems from the gem market in Chanthaburi, Thailand at: www.asiaproductsllc.com/gems.html .

You are here Articles > Hobbies > Arts and Crafts