The Scoop
Ten Reasons Not To Buy A Gem In Bangkok
I would like to begin this article with a simple statement regarding money. If you wish to go to Thailand to buy gems it will cost you about $2,500 dollars for your air-fare, and a decent Hotel. That does not count food, taxis, and many other incidental expenses of which there are a lot. On the other hand I want to be clear. If you are going there anyway, and you have your air-fare, hotel, and other expenses already factored in, then it is quite natural to want to shop around looking for a bargain on a fine gem in what most people regard as the gem capital of the world. Why wouldn't you? In this article I am going to cover a whole bunch of reasons why you shouldn't. I view this as friendly advice from one who has previously tried it, and learned a number of painful rules on why such ventures are a virtual impossibility.
Most tourists don't know anyone in Thailand. They don't know where to go. They have no idea of who to contact and definitely not who to trust, so what happens? Generally tourists will fall victim to the Tour Guide services sometimes located with your own hotel. They will always have what appears to be "a good idea" about where to take you. They will also for a set fee assign a person who speaks both Thai and English. The task of this person is to do the bargaining on your behalf to assure that you get a really good deal. Well, all that I can say is contact me for an inexpensive piece of swamp land in Florida, which will probably be money better spent than what is going to happen with your new found tour guide, taxi driver, and possibly this translator. My suggestion is to hire the tour guide to show you Elephant and Crocoidile farms, but not on gem tours, because they definitely do not have your best interest in mind.
Guides will take you to the Government gem and jewelry shops that are just insanely expensive, because you will be paying government set prices, and also be paying the cut that the guide, and the taxi driver receives. They each get their cut if you are foolish enough to pay the outlandish Government gems store prices. I would however like to make one thing clear. The gem that you get at the Government store will stand the best chance of being real. When you get home and realize how much you paid over the world market price you may regret your decision unless you have money to burn, but at least we can say with reasonable confidence that your purchase will likely be a real gem, and not a fake, so that is something to consider if you absolutely have to make a gem purchase in Thailand.
Thailand once was a safe place to travel. Now it is dangerous. Two civil uprisings have occurred in the last year. The last one was only a couple of weeks ago and it resulted in shooting deaths and tanks rumbling down the streets of the city. Tourists were trapped inside their hotels because the streets were unsafe. Nobody could leave the Country because the airports were closed. There is currently extreme political unrest in Thailind, which this author views as tragic, because Thailand is a beautiful Country to visit and the people are friendly. It is called "the land of smiles." Unfortunately the political instability has severely hampered the safety of foreign visitors, and one needs to take that reality into consideration when planning any kind of trip.
Our next suggestion is to never buy on the streets. The famous "Sucrets boxes" made their appearance in the 1960's with the arrival of American GI's on R&R from Viet-Nam. The GI presence actually created the Bangkok gem market. These little boxes of course contained glass gems, but were sold on the street as Diamonds, Rubies, Sapphires, and Emeralds. That practice had faded, but it illustrates the fact that rarely if ever is a real gem sold on the streets. It would be much too risky, so street vendors only sell cheap glass fakes, so buyer beware. I will address this issue of fakes in more detail at the conclusion of this article, but for now just remember to stay clear of street vendors unless your want a T-Shirt or a fake watch.
Another strong suggestion is not to go into high end jewelry stores. The prices in those stores are staggering, and will even exceed the government run outlets. Also the sellers do not want to let you go once you get inside. They have a complex approach to keeping you there until they persuade you to make a purchase. You almost have to be rude to leave, and being rude in Thailand is not the proper thing to do, so it is better to stay out of these expensive jewelry stores. Many times if you are staying at a fairly upscale hotel there will be jewelry stores inside where you can stroll along and view their eye candy through a window. I suggest that you look and then keep walking, because going inside will be a huge waste of your vacation time.
Most people don't realize another crucial matter. It is not legal for tourists to do business in Thailand on a tourist visa. This is a fact that is rarely mentioned, because the Thai governemt does not want to discourage tourism, but if a tourist is purchasing a number of gems, and are unlucky enough to be there when a raid is conducted you can have all your gems seized, along with all your money, and you can be jailed and wind up paying a stiff fine. Most of the time you will get out of jail, but then you can be deported on the next plane out at your own expense. Now please don't misunderstand. I am not saying that if you take a vacation to Thailand and purchase a small ruby that you are going to be arrested in Bangkok. This kind of event usually happens in gem centers outside of Bangkok like Mai Sai, Mae Sot, or Chantaburi. A special business license is required to do business in Thailand, and if you don't have one, then do not underestimate the risk you are taking by seeking to make multiple gem purchases. These arrests happen all the time and many have paid a big price because of it.
Lets say however that you do make a trip to Bangkok and during your vacation that you do make a purchase or two with no problem. Now you have to deal with US customs when re-entering the USA. I am more fearful of these people than I am the Thai's. You have to absolutely make sure that you declare everything, and don't forget the ring you might be wearing on your finger. Forget nothing, because US customs can seize your purchases and fine you heavily to get them back. or possibly you may not get them back at all. I have known people to whom that has happened. US customs are not the friendliest people these days, so I cannot stress enough how important it is to have paperwork, including valid receipts for everything you are bringing into the country, because US customs often suspects that people create fake invoices for expensive gems and jewelry. Therefore the more documentation that you can produce the better off you will be. I cannot emphasize this point enough, because US customs these days are not to be taken lightly.
I also need to be honest and simply state that it is somewhere between extremely unlikely and impossible to find a good deal on a quality gem in Thailand. Quality gems are retained by high end jewelry stores and collectors. These people are rich and often employ site buyers who live year around at significant gem mines all over the world. They have pre-made arrangements to buy every high quality gem that is mined. Americans operate under the myth that a better deal awaits them at the country of origin on the gem, and that simply is not true. We think that because these countries are often poor that logically good deals would be all over the place, but again that is a myth. The markets are controlled by very wealthy people and they are not about to let a high quality gem slip into the hands of a tourist for a bargain price. It just isn't going to happen. This applies to gem centers in Brazil, Sri-Lanka as well as Thailand. Remember the old saying, "there is no free lunch." The same is true with gems regardless of their origin.
Finally, beware of FAKES. It is estimated by many gem experts that somewhere between 75% and 95% of all gems coming out of Thailand are actually synthetic, or lab created. The internet has provided a pipeline for these created gems to flow into the USA. Buying a gem on the internet from a Thai dealer is equivalent to lighting a match to money. A buyer has no idea whether the gem is real or fake. Often the buyer does not receive the gem that is pictured. Sending it back is a virtual impossibility. In the USA buyers have many safeguards. In Thailand dealers operate with virtual immunity from prosecution, so if you buy a fake gem you simply lose, and the Thai internet dealers will not put high quality gems up for sale anyway. The gems may look good and the dealers claim that they are real and rare, but it seldom is ever is true. Some people choose to take the chance, but most wind up getting burned.
In summary I would encourage people seeking quality gems to look for an American dealer who offers full disclosure and a 100% money back guarantee. Otherwise it is caveat emptor. (Buyer Beware). In Thai culture it is not a dis-honor to cheat you. It is considered your stupidity. If they outsmart you then so be it. Here we call it cheating. Culturally they don't, and every American who buys in Thailand or any other Asian Country needs to understand that. It is simply a cultural difference, but it has a huge impact on American buyers trying to make a successful gem purchase. It rarely works out well for the Americans. If I can answer any questions that a buyer may have, or further expand on any points that I have made in this article, please feel free to contact me at sales@gemsnjewelry.com . I will be glad to communicate in greater depth about my buying experiences learned over a 20 year career in the gem and jewelry business.
Jim Stewart:
Gemstones Of Montana
dba: www.gemsnjewelry.com
Email: sales@gemsnjewelry.com