The Gemstone Detective: Buying Gemstones and Jewellery in Thailand

by Kim Rix

Overview

This pocket travel guide is part of the ‘Gemstone Detective’ series, created for those planning a trip to the vibrant country of Thailand. Known as the ‘Land of Smiles’, Thailand is famous for its exquisite gemstones and jewellery.

Written by Kim Rix, a gemmologist (GIA) and professional photographer who has travelled to more than 50 countries, this book explains in simple terms how to make a smart purchase to treasure forever.

If you are considering buying a gemstone or piece of jewellery on your holiday, this invaluable handbook contains all the practical advice, tips and essential grassroots information you need to make your purchase – no matter how big or small. Whether you are shopping for a special occasion or simply for a souvenir, Buying Gemstones and Jewellery in Thailand will help you avoid the infamous gem scams all tourists need to be aware of.

Kim Rix is dedicated to visiting each country in the ‘Gemstone Detective’ series, to provide readers with up-todate and trusted information. Her aim is to help travellers avoid the cons, tricks and disappointments of a bad buying decision. Without this book, you could make a very expensive mistake!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781912635511
Publisher:	Filament Publishing
Publication date:	01/22/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	128
File size:	18 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Written by Kim Rix, a gemmologist (GIA) and professional photographer who has travelled to more than 50 countries, this book explains in simple terms how to make a smart purchase to treasure forever.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

BACKGROUND

Why you need this book

If you have bought this book, you're probably on holiday — or planning one — in Thailand. What an unforgettable place to be! I fell in love with Thailand when I first visited in 1995 as a backpacker. After a nine month work placement in Australia, I flew to Bangkok to spend the next three months travelling around South-east Asia. I remember vividly how extraordinary and prominent the offshore islands of Krabi look, and I can still picture the colourful fish of Ko Phi Phi swimming around my feet. I'll never forget the smell of the tea plantations in the Cameron Highlands. I had an unforgettable journey.

Thailand's heritage and people, its exotic produce and floating markets, and its deliciously aromatic curries are certainly alluring! However, it's my love of gemstones that draws me back again and again — Thailand is a major gem trading centre. In fact, Thailand has big plans to become the world's most important gem trading centre within the next few years. In 2017, I was part of a field gemmology team led by Vincent Pardieu, then head of field gemmology at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). I returned to Bangkok in 2018 to complete my research for this book.

Perhaps you are thinking about buying a holiday souvenir. Perhaps you're hunting for the perfect gem to have set as an engagement or anniversary ring, or perhaps you're keeping an eye out for a piece of jewellery to match your favourite outfit.

Whatever your reason, you'll almost certainly be looking for some reliable advice on what to buy ... and what to avoid. As a tourist, you are vulnerable to con men and fraudsters. Dishonest people can use your lack of local knowledge to get you to part with your hard-earned cash, and there are unfortunately a few well-worn gem-related scams in Thailand. That's where Buying Gemstones and Jewellery in Thailand comes in.

This book is primarily about buying rubies and sapphires because Thailand is one of the world's most important sources of corundum, the mineral from which these precious gems are formed. However, in these pages you will also find all the information you need to buy other gemstones in Thailand with confidence. Don't worry if you have little or no knowledge about gemstones — I have written this book with you in mind. Read it before you buy and you'll save a lot of time and heartache.

Much more than that, though, I want you to experience the fun and sheer romance of buying a beautiful gem abroad. Perhaps you are hoping to treat yourself or a loved one to an extra-special souvenir. Perhaps you are celebrating an anniversary or honeymoon. Perhaps you are even planning to pop the question. Whatever your reason, what could be more meaningful than buying your gemstone in the very country whose earth formed it? What an incredible way to remember a wonderful trip!

I want to share, in a simple and positive way, my experience and knowledge — inside knowledge that you won't easily find by yourself. I want you to feel confident about buying a gem in a foreign country, and I want you to have a good experience doing so.

The Internet is awash with conflicting information. It's very hard to find everything you really need to know — all the tips and tricks to help you avoid the scams. Checking out review sites like TripAdvisor can sometimes leave you more confused than ever. Of all the — often heatedly — positive and negative reviews, which should you trust? That's where this book comes in.

My book will give you the vital information you need before making your purchase. In it, I disclose what the travel guidebooks and websites don't tell you.

I'll reveal:

Who to trust

What to look for

When to walk away

Where to buy

Why you need to be smart

What makes me an expert?

It has taken hard work, a lot of travel and a few calculated risks to gain the knowledge I'm going to share with you. Everything in this book is based on personal experience and local expertise.

The letters after my name are testament to my knowledge. I'm a skilled gemmologist with qualifications from the GIA (Gemological Institute of America) — the world's leading authority on gemstones. However, it's my extensive global travel and research that will make this book so useful to you.

I've acquired gemstones from all over the world and take every opportunity to expand my local knowledge, along with my collection. I don't simply buy for myself — I also source gemstones on behalf of private customers. In the past ten years alone, I have visited over 30 countries.

My list of colleagues, friends, and genuinely reliable contacts around the world is now large enough to enable me to get in amongst the hustle and bustle of the global gem trading community, to bring you the best local tips for buying in many different countries.

I also hope that writing this book will ultimately benefit the people of Thailand. I am a great believer in giving back! A famous Chinese proverb advises: 'if you want happiness for a lifetime, help someone else.' I want my book to help you find your perfect gem at the right price. I also sincerely hope that it helps to boost Thailand's small gem-trading businesses: the exceptionally hard-working miners, dealers and jewellers who, like all of us, are trying to make a living in challenging times.

Don't learn the hard way!

My extensive experience as a buyer abroad made me realise just how much this series of books needed writing. Over the years, I've certainly encountered a scam or two and any internet travel forum is full of tourist horror stories. Because Thailand is a country at the centre of the gem trade, it suffers from its fair share of fraudsters. Don't let this put you off! With a bit of local knowledge, you can avoid the scammers. See pages 37 to 40.

If you are a tourist with little or no knowledge of gemstones, or have never been particularly interested in jewellery, I advise you not to trust anyone — especially not your tour-guide driver, tout or local shop keeper, however friendly and open they may seem. The 4 or 5 stars on your hotel's sign are not a guarantee of authenticity. You are vulnerable and an easy target. Even as a gemmologist I've been caught out. What I've never done, though, is pay more than I could afford to lose. You shouldn't either.

Let me be totally honest with you. As a tourist, you are never going to pay the prices a local will pay. This book is not about buying discount gems. However, it will help you to make an informed decision about what and where to buy. It will give you the knowledge needed to feel comfortable that your purchase is genuine and therefore make the whole experience fun and memorable for the right reasons.

About Rubies and Sapphires

Ruby and sapphire are expensive gemstones. Along with emerald and diamond, they make up a group known as the 'Big Four'. These four are the gemstones we mean when we refer to 'precious stones'. All other gems, however beautiful and unusual, are considered semi-precious.

Even though ruby and sapphire are classed as two different gemstones, they are structurally the same. Both are varieties of the mineral corundum — the different colours are due to the types of metal present in the corundum. The red colour of a ruby is caused by the presence of chromium, whereas the intense blue of some sapphires is down to the addition of iron and titanium. Simply put, if the corundum is red, we call it a ruby and if it's any other colour, we call it a sapphire.

Think of a sapphire and you'll probably have in your mind a rich, blue gemstone. It's true that blue sapphires are the most prized, but sapphires aren't always blue. They occur in other colours, including grey and black, and they can also be colourless. There is also a pinkish-orange variety called padparadscha — a colour most strongly associated with Sri Lanka.

A word of caution here: some sellers may try to sell you a pink or orange fancy sapphire, calling it a padparadscha. The original variety of padparadscha sapphire is a highly rare blend of pink and orange, and so is exceptionally expensive. A genuine padparadscha may sell for over US$50,000 per carat!

Rubies, though, are always red. The hue will vary depending on the individual ruby, but it will invariably be at the red end of the spectrum. Thailand's mines are now exhausted of ruby and so most of the ruby you find for sale in Thailand will have come from elsewhere.

The most famous rubies are mined in increasingly small quantities in neighbouring Myanmar (Burma), whose stones are prized for their colour — a bright, true red, referred to as 'pigeon blood'.

You may also come across a star ruby or sapphire on your trip. Star gems are so called because their structure gives rise to a beautiful optical effect: asterism. When viewing a star ruby or sapphire, a six-rayed star will appear to float across the surface of the stone. Such stones are extremely rare and subsequently very, very costly. Beware the seller who shows you a low-priced gem exhibiting asterism — it will be a fake!

Thailand is famous for black star sapphires, which are mined in the Chanthaburi region. Their black body is due to inclusions of hematite. Although black star sapphires can also be found in Cambodia and India, Thailand is unique for having a black star sapphire with a golden (rather than white) star. The golden colour occurs because these sapphires come from mines yielding yellow and golden sapphires – the gold star is a trace of the original sapphire colour.

Corundum is the second-hardest mineral after diamond and has a remarkable ability to withstand scratching. This makes ruby and sapphire practical as well as aesthetic choices in jewellery pieces for everyday use, especially rings and bracelets. Both gems are beloved by royalty and the jet set. Queen Elizabeth II has many incredible pieces in her enormous inherited collection of jewels, Wallis Simpson's stunning ruby jewellery is almost as famous as her marriage to Edward VII, and Sarah Ferguson's engagement ring features a particularly fine Burmese ruby. In 2011, a ruby necklace and earrings designed by Cartier and given to Elizabeth Taylor by her third husband, Richard Todd, sold for a record-breaking $115,932,000 at auction. Kate, The Duchess of Cambridge, wears a 12-carat, cornflower blue sapphire engagement ring that famously once belonged to Diana, Princess of Wales. Princess Eugenie's engagement ring, too, is a sapphire — a delicately beautiful, peach-coloured padparadscha.

Many people choose sapphire or ruby for their symbolism and traditional uses as well as their beauty:

Ruby

• Ruby is the birthstone for July.

• In an engagement ring, ruby symbolises passionate and enduring love.

• Ruby is associated with wisdom, royalty, power and protection.

• The traditional gift for a 40th wedding anniversary is a ruby.

• A 40th jubilee is called the Ruby Jubilee. Queen Elizabeth II celebrated hers in 1992.

• Some alternative therapists maintain that rubies stimulate energy, positivity and sensuality.

Sapphire

• Sapphire is the birthstone for September.

• In an engagement ring, sapphire symbolises fidelity and sincerity.

• Sapphire is associated with wisdom, royalty, good fortune and the heavens.

• The traditional gift for a 45th wedding anniversary is a sapphire.

• A 65th jubilee is called the Sapphire Jubilee. Queen Elizabeth II celebrated hers in 2017.

• Reiki healers believe that sapphire channels healing powers.

CHAPTER 2

BUYING A RUBY OR SAPPHIRE

Knowing what you're looking at

Taste is a very personal thing. You may fall in love with a gem that is not particularly valuable, and that's just fine. What you want to avoid is paying more than the gem is worth, and that's when a little knowledge comes in very handy.

A good rule of thumb when buying a gem is to remember the Four Cs: colour, clarity, cut and carat. When it comes to buying rubies and sapphires, however, you also need to factor in origin and treatment. Let's take these one by one.

Colour

Colour is the most important factor in the price of a ruby or sapphire. It's not as simple as a gemstone being 'blue' or 'red', though. A gemstone's colour actually incorporates three separate aspects: the saturation, the hue, and the tone.

Saturation

Saturation refers to the amount of colour in the stone. A stone's saturation is the most important factor in its valuation. Stones with low saturation may appear washed out, whereas stones with high saturation may appear too dark. The most valuable stones have medium saturation.

Hue

Hue is a more specific term for colour and refers to the particular shade of the stone's colour. Rubies are described by their primary (dominant) and secondary hue. To be classed as a ruby, the primary hue must be red; if it's any other colour, the stone is deemed a sapphire. In a written description of any gemstone, the primary hue will have a capital letter and the secondary hue will have a lower-case letter. For example, you might see a ruby described as 'Red' or 'Red-orange' and a sapphire described as 'greenish Blue', 'Orange-pink', or simply 'Blue'. The best quality sapphires have only one hue, and blue is the most prized. The most expensive rubies are a pure red to red with a hint of blue, whereas rubies at the Red-orange end of the spectrum are generally less expensive. Remember the term 'pigeon blood' from the last chapter? The cool red colour of pigeon-blood rubies is supposed to resemble the first drops of blood from a freshly-killed pigeon.

Tone

The tone refers to the depth of colour in a stone — how light or dark it appears. A stone that is too light won't show the colour to its best effect, whereas a stone that is too dark will lack brilliance. Make sure that you look at your stone in both artificial and natural light. Cup your hand over it. The stone should appear lively and brilliant, even in shade.

Clarity

Rubies and sapphires usually have inclusions (flaws) when seen under a microscope, so if you are shown a stone that looks flawless under magnification, ask yourself, "Is it too good to be true?". However, the inclusions in a high-quality stone shouldn't be visible to the naked eye. The position of the inclusion also affects the price. A stone with inclusions in the centre will generally be cheaper than an equivalent stone with an inclusion nearer the edge, for obvious aesthetic reasons.

Cut

The quality and type of cut affects the value. When cutting a gemstone, the aim is to retain as much of the weight as possible while achieving the most beautiful effect. It's a fine balancing act! The round and oval cuts are common for rubies, whereas sapphire is often found cut as an oval or cushion. That's because these cuts enhance each stone's lustre while keeping its weight as high as possible. They're also stylish, and easy to set in a piece of jewellery. Watch out for areas that don't reflect light and so don't seem to sparkle. These are called 'windows' and they detract from the brilliance and value of the stone. A gem with a large face and a shallow bottom will produce this effect.

To check for windowing, place the gem on a piece of paper with text on it and look directly down on it at an angle of 90°. If there is a lighter area in the middle through which you can read the text, the gem has a window. Some sellers will try to overcharge for windowed stones, relying on a tourist's lack of expertise.

I should say here that most stones will demonstrate windowing to some degree when viewed at an angle. What you need to watch out for is windowing that is obvious when viewed directly from above.

Carat

Carats are units of weight in gemstone terminology. The higher the carat weight, the heavier and more expensive the gemstone. Price per carat increases at 2, 3 and 4 carats. A 4-carat stone will cost more per carat than a 2- carat stone because of the rarity of larger stones. It is rare to find stones over 5 carats, so beware if you are shown a large ruby or sapphire at what seems like a surprisingly low price.

Origin

Myanmar (Burma), which borders Thailand, is the most highly-rated location in the world for ruby. Rubies from here have the coveted pigeon-blood hue — a rich, pure red — and will attract the highest prices. However, Thailand and Sri Lanka also produce top quality rubies, along with Tanzania, Kenya, Madagascar, Cambodia, Vietnam and Afghanistan. The most prized sapphires come from Kashmir and Myanmar, followed by Sri Lanka in third place.

(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Gemstone Detective: Buying Gemstones and Jewellery in Thailand"
by .
Copyright © 2019 Kim Rix.
Excerpted by permission of Filament Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Background,
Why you need this book,
What makes me an expert?,
Don't learn the hard way!,
About Rubies and Sapphires,
Buying a Ruby or Sapphire,
Knowing what you're looking at,
Deciding what you want,
Choosing where to buy,
Spotting a fake and dodging a scam,
Top Tips,
Essential Information,
Prices - what to expect,
Gemstones as investments,
Other gemstones found in Thailand,
Caring for your gemstones,
The ethics of buying gemstones,
Certificates of authenticity and Grading Reports,
Where to get your gemstones tested,
Reputable jewellery and gem shops in Thailand,
Registered gem dealers and merchants in Thailand,
Outdoor gemstone markets in Sri Lanka,
Chanthaburi gemstone market,
VAT refunds process,
Appendices,
Glossary,
Acknowledgements,
Useful contacts,
About the author,
Connect with Kim,