Asia Products LLC - The gem market in Chanthaburi, Thailand: Do not miss the chance of visiting this place!

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The gem market in Chanthaburi, Thailand: Do not miss the chance of visiting this place!

For hundreds of years, Thailand has been a major gem trading and gem processing country, with the city of Chanthaburi serving as the main trading center for all types of gemstones. The majority of tourists in Thailand will buy sapphires and rubies from Bangkok, being unaware that Chnthaburi lies just 250 kilometers south east of the capital. Besides selling rubies and sapphires, the gem market in Chanthaburi is a great place to find several notable gemstones that are exclusively mined in Thailand in the provinces of Chanthaburi, Trat, Kanchanaburi and Phrae. The excellent quality of the rubies and sapphires from Trat and Chanthaburi make them highly sort over the world over.

The gem market at Chanthaburi is full of unique, elegant, exotic, colorful and everlasting sapphires and rubies. In the weekend market, besides native gems, you will find a kaleidoscope of gems from all over the world, which have been polished to the finest degree by the highly skilled local artisans. Nearly 80% of the world's supply of rubies and sapphires passes through Chanthaburi, this small city is the major processing and trading center for all types of colored gemstones in South East Asia.

For many of the small families of Thais who trade in gemstones, cutting, grading and polishing gemstones has become some what of a family tradition. Over the decades, their expertise has developed and today the gemstones industry in Chanthaburi is considered the world's best cottage industry. If you are planning a holiday in Thailand, keep a weekend free to visit this wonderful market, which becomes even more colorful and glowing during Friday, Saturday and Sunday. You will be so delighted by the sparkling beauty that surrounds you that you will remember the experience for the rest of your days. One of the interesting things about the market in Chanthaburi is that you won't find sellers sitting with their gems. Rather, they search for the traders who sit at tables around the market. If you want to buy gems, you will need to seek out one of these traders. They are there to act as a negotiator between the seller and the buyer. Such a trading office usually earns a commission from the seller. When you want to purchase a gem, the trader will find a seller by posting a sign up stating what you want to buy; the sign is then placed in the window or on the front of the trading desk. For instance, you will find signs like ‘Spinel and Tourmaline', meaning a buyer is looking for these stones.

In Chanthaburi, you can reduce the asking price of a gem by 20-30%, especially if you have great negotiating skills. The gem market offers exclusive blue sapphires and rubies, which can cost up to four times as much if purchased elsewhere. You will also find a large variety of precious and semi precious stones on display like: pigeon's blood, jade, turquoise, lapis-lazuli, aquamarine, topaz, moonstone, opal, tourmaline, alexandrite, chrysoprase, azurite, malachite, bloodstone, zircon, chrysoberyl, coral and carnelian.

Copyright 2008 Asia Products LLC. Christopher Snyder is the Managing Director of Asia Products LLC. Living in Bangkok, Thailand, Christopher sells interesting pieces of art and gemstones from Thailand on his website: www.asiaproductsllc.com.