Bangkok Jewelry Question
Sep 17th, 2006, 04:48 PM
#1
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Bangkok Jewelry Question
I think it's Kathie who has a jeweler she recommends in BKK and I have a question regarding if it is worthwhile or appropriate to look for the following:
I have several solid gold heavy chain link bracelets that I got from an estate sale, they all have one or more gold charms on them that incorporate diamonds of several sizes. Actually these are bracelets and charms that someone got for working for Ma Bell for 35 years.
There is quite a bit of gold here, several ounces and lots of diamonds in various sizes. Will the SJ Jewelers (or others) be able to melt down the gold and re design a new bracelet (if I have a picture of something I'm interested in) during a 10-12 day period? Is it wise to take "melt down" jewelry to BKK to have it re worked?
I also have a pair of beautiful 1 Carat each diamond ear studs that I no longer wear as I'm always frightened that they might fall out. Is it a good idea to take them to BKK to be re-designed into some other piece of jewelry such as a necklace? Will the savings be worth it? Is the quality of work good?
Sue
I have several solid gold heavy chain link bracelets that I got from an estate sale, they all have one or more gold charms on them that incorporate diamonds of several sizes. Actually these are bracelets and charms that someone got for working for Ma Bell for 35 years.
There is quite a bit of gold here, several ounces and lots of diamonds in various sizes. Will the SJ Jewelers (or others) be able to melt down the gold and re design a new bracelet (if I have a picture of something I'm interested in) during a 10-12 day period? Is it wise to take "melt down" jewelry to BKK to have it re worked?
I also have a pair of beautiful 1 Carat each diamond ear studs that I no longer wear as I'm always frightened that they might fall out. Is it a good idea to take them to BKK to be re-designed into some other piece of jewelry such as a necklace? Will the savings be worth it? Is the quality of work good?
Sue
Sep 17th, 2006, 06:40 PM
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Sue, Let me start by saying that I have not taken gold jewelry to be melted down, so I do not have personal experience with this. That said, the workmanship at SJ is excellent. They have duplicated a couple of items for me that were indistinguishable from the originals. I would think they could make you a bracelet in the time you have.
I always think of the stones (sapphires and rubies) as being great bargains, but it is true that the craftmanship is excellent and less expensive than the US, certainly. I don't know if the savings will be worth it or not. If I were you, I'd take the jewelry to a local jeweler that you trust and get an estimate of what it would cost in the US. Then take it along to Bangkok and see what the price difference would be.
I always think of the stones (sapphires and rubies) as being great bargains, but it is true that the craftmanship is excellent and less expensive than the US, certainly. I don't know if the savings will be worth it or not. If I were you, I'd take the jewelry to a local jeweler that you trust and get an estimate of what it would cost in the US. Then take it along to Bangkok and see what the price difference would be.
Sep 17th, 2006, 06:54 PM
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i know my jeweler would be able to make you something from the large stones....i also do not know about the melt down, but i suspect that it could be done....i just asked my wife and she had a couple of comments:
most award items, like the charms, are not a high carat of gold, usually 10K...american and european gold looks totally different from asian gold (asian is far more yellow/bronze)...she also says most of the jewelers make their money by selling you gold, so they might not want to do it for that reason...but no harm in asking....they would take the gems and use them in something for you however....
you would see a huge savings in having things made there....example...one braclet of my wife's: we had a picture of a "nantucket motif" braclet which sells in 14K for $1250 here in usa....it is not a heavy weight....we had a duplicate made in bkk, of almost twice the weight and added two small sapphires to it and used 18K gold and the price was $285....
we often have duplicate earing and small items made....we have repairs done all the time for practically nothing....but again we also buy totally new pieces as well from them..
the shop is Thai Stone Jewelry in the Nana hotel lobby, soi 4, sukhumvit road---a very grotty hotel but an excellent shop....we have dealt with them for 10 years...
most award items, like the charms, are not a high carat of gold, usually 10K...american and european gold looks totally different from asian gold (asian is far more yellow/bronze)...she also says most of the jewelers make their money by selling you gold, so they might not want to do it for that reason...but no harm in asking....they would take the gems and use them in something for you however....
you would see a huge savings in having things made there....example...one braclet of my wife's: we had a picture of a "nantucket motif" braclet which sells in 14K for $1250 here in usa....it is not a heavy weight....we had a duplicate made in bkk, of almost twice the weight and added two small sapphires to it and used 18K gold and the price was $285....
we often have duplicate earing and small items made....we have repairs done all the time for practically nothing....but again we also buy totally new pieces as well from them..
the shop is Thai Stone Jewelry in the Nana hotel lobby, soi 4, sukhumvit road---a very grotty hotel but an excellent shop....we have dealt with them for 10 years...
Sep 17th, 2006, 07:36 PM
#4
my daughter, who makes jewelry, says many shops don't like melting down gold -- It can have a lot of impurities and the time involved to clean it is not worth it, especially if you want high quality at the end.
I would email SJ in advance and ask them. Perhaps they can melt it at a good price, or maybe they'll take the gold as a trade in on new.
Sj does nice work, so if you have a photo of what you want, you can get them to copy it. You could also have your earrings remounted on screw back studs or reworked entirely. I bought several pieces there and also had some fixed and was very pleased.
We did not have good luck with pricing at Thai Stone Jewelry, but it may have been the timeing or something else that day. I have seen the piece Bob talks about above and it is gorgeous!
I would email SJ in advance and ask them. Perhaps they can melt it at a good price, or maybe they'll take the gold as a trade in on new.
Sj does nice work, so if you have a photo of what you want, you can get them to copy it. You could also have your earrings remounted on screw back studs or reworked entirely. I bought several pieces there and also had some fixed and was very pleased.
We did not have good luck with pricing at Thai Stone Jewelry, but it may have been the timeing or something else that day. I have seen the piece Bob talks about above and it is gorgeous!
Sep 17th, 2006, 10:19 PM
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You might also want to contact Venus Jewelry. Many high ranking American officials, including several Presidents have bought jewelery from them.
www.venus-thailand.com
www.venus-thailand.com
Sep 18th, 2006, 06:00 AM
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I just had a pair of earrings made from a men's ring at Thai Stone that Bob speaks of. She used the diamonds from the ring and then gave me a credit for the gold. It was only 10 K and she gave me an estimate on the credit and when my earrings came back, she was told the true credit. I am very happy with Thai Stone and have had several pieces made.
Sep 18th, 2006, 07:03 AM
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While on the topic of jewelry...Kathie...I went to my jewelers here this past weekend to get an informal appraisals on the yellow sapphire/diamond pendant that I bought at SJ a few weeks ago and I was told that I got a very fare price and if I were to buy it here...at a regular jewelry store...to multiply my Bangkok price by 3 or 4...and if I were to buy it in an upscale jewelry store here to multiply the price by 4 or 5.
I went to 4 jewelry stores...including Tiffanys...where I know people who work there and they all said about the same thing. At two of the stores the salesgirls were Asian and buy their sapphires in Bangkok and other parts of Asia.Before I left for BK the salespeople I know told me to come by after arriving home to show them what I'd bought. One had suggested that I buy yellow sapphires in Bangkok...which I wanted anyway since the color is good on my skin tone. She said they are the ones to buy in BK.
At one upscale jewelry store here, there was a similiar pendant as mine, but with only one(pink) sapphire and only a few diamonds around it that was priced at an outrageous $4,000. My Bangkok pendant has 8 sapphires(yellow) with diamonds for about $630. I haven't gotten my credit card statement yet, but it'll be that amount...or less. Happy Travels!
I went to 4 jewelry stores...including Tiffanys...where I know people who work there and they all said about the same thing. At two of the stores the salesgirls were Asian and buy their sapphires in Bangkok and other parts of Asia.Before I left for BK the salespeople I know told me to come by after arriving home to show them what I'd bought. One had suggested that I buy yellow sapphires in Bangkok...which I wanted anyway since the color is good on my skin tone. She said they are the ones to buy in BK.
At one upscale jewelry store here, there was a similiar pendant as mine, but with only one(pink) sapphire and only a few diamonds around it that was priced at an outrageous $4,000. My Bangkok pendant has 8 sapphires(yellow) with diamonds for about $630. I haven't gotten my credit card statement yet, but it'll be that amount...or less. Happy Travels!
Sep 18th, 2006, 07:18 AM
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Guenmai, I'm glad your appraisals reflected the great deal you got at SJ. My local jewelers have told me the same thing. My jeweler here once gave me the names of specific mines to ask for when I bought my rubies at SJ! My rule of thumb is that I can buy jewelry at SJ for approx. one-fourth the US retail price, which agrees well with the appraisals you received.
Sep 18th, 2006, 09:22 AM
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As always, thanks so much for your responses. We have been very timid at anything to do with jewelry in BKK on our last two trips, since we fell for the well dressed "student" who knew all about Chicago, spoke real good English, Tuk Tuk "Golden Budha is Closed today" - scheme. Actually, it was classic, it was his "Anniversary" and he brought out a certificate from Royal Lapidary where he had purchased something for his wife as there was a Government tax holiday for tourists that day !!!!! We ended up with a very ordinary saphire bracelet, ring and earings that were appraised back here for around what we paid for them. (over $1,500 sorry to say) I must add that this was on our first trip to BKK about 6 years ago and, before I knew about this wonderful Fodors Asia talk site. I don't hold any malice to the Thais for this lesson I learned though, and chalk it up to my own stupidity for falling for the ruse.
I need SJ's address and email, and Kathie what is your last name to use with your contact. Also Bob, do you have an email for Thai Stone? and Bob your wife is right, (of course she is) all the gold is 10K but there is about 3 ounces of gold and six diamonds in the bracelets and charms, a couple of the diamonds are quite big. I found all these bracelets in a box of junk jewelry and looking at the medallions/charms they represent 45 years of service to Illinios Bell. I really feel badly that the family members of whoever owned these just tossed them out, but my gain is I got all of them for $16.00.
I'm just sure that SJ or Thai Stone could make me something really lovely from this, especially if I was to buy some extra stones while I'm there. Do you have any thoughts where I could look at lots of gold and diamond/saphire jewelry designs to select a photo of something they could copy? Do you know of any catalogs or online places?
Sue
I need SJ's address and email, and Kathie what is your last name to use with your contact. Also Bob, do you have an email for Thai Stone? and Bob your wife is right, (of course she is) all the gold is 10K but there is about 3 ounces of gold and six diamonds in the bracelets and charms, a couple of the diamonds are quite big. I found all these bracelets in a box of junk jewelry and looking at the medallions/charms they represent 45 years of service to Illinios Bell. I really feel badly that the family members of whoever owned these just tossed them out, but my gain is I got all of them for $16.00.
I'm just sure that SJ or Thai Stone could make me something really lovely from this, especially if I was to buy some extra stones while I'm there. Do you have any thoughts where I could look at lots of gold and diamond/saphire jewelry designs to select a photo of something they could copy? Do you know of any catalogs or online places?
Sue
Sep 18th, 2006, 09:47 AM
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Kathie...SJ had the same pendant that I bought, but in rubies. The ruby one was about $1,000. It was beautiful. I was told that some of the sapphires are coming out of Madagascar, but that some of the cuts aren't good, so they are recut and reworked in Bangkok.
Oh, have you seen any jade jewelry...high-quality Myanmar jade only...anywhere in Bangkok... and if so about how much does it run?
One of the salespeople I have here said she got her Myanmar jade in China. While at SJ, the salesperson and I were discussing Myanmar jade, but I didn't have time to go looking for it and I should have asked her where to get it. I don't think they had it at SJ although I did buy a jade necklace for a friend, but it was Chinese jade. Happy Travels!
Oh, have you seen any jade jewelry...high-quality Myanmar jade only...anywhere in Bangkok... and if so about how much does it run?
One of the salespeople I have here said she got her Myanmar jade in China. While at SJ, the salesperson and I were discussing Myanmar jade, but I didn't have time to go looking for it and I should have asked her where to get it. I don't think they had it at SJ although I did buy a jade necklace for a friend, but it was Chinese jade. Happy Travels!
Sep 18th, 2006, 09:48 AM
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Sue, here is the contact info:
SJ International
phone 02-2432446 or 02-2432447 or 02-2411875.
They are located at 125/8 Sawankhalok Road, Dusit, Bangkok.
Call ahead of time and have them pick you up from your hotel.
The sales person I use is Lily. If you just say "Kathie from Seattle" sent you that will be enough. SJ has hundreds of rings, earrings, necklaces and bracelets already made up for you to look at and give you ideas.
I've never emailed them, but google them, as I believe someone said they found a website. I don't think I'd try to negotiate something via email, too much opportunity for misunderstanding.
Also, I'm not sure if they would be willing to work with 10k gold. It is not considered something one would make jewelry with in Asia.
The best deals are sapphires and rubies.
SJ International
phone 02-2432446 or 02-2432447 or 02-2411875.
They are located at 125/8 Sawankhalok Road, Dusit, Bangkok.
Call ahead of time and have them pick you up from your hotel.
The sales person I use is Lily. If you just say "Kathie from Seattle" sent you that will be enough. SJ has hundreds of rings, earrings, necklaces and bracelets already made up for you to look at and give you ideas.
I've never emailed them, but google them, as I believe someone said they found a website. I don't think I'd try to negotiate something via email, too much opportunity for misunderstanding.
Also, I'm not sure if they would be willing to work with 10k gold. It is not considered something one would make jewelry with in Asia.
The best deals are sapphires and rubies.
Sep 18th, 2006, 11:25 AM
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I can most highly recommend the following store:
Karat Jewelry, 161-163 Sukumvit Rd (next to Ambassador Hotel), Wattana, Bangkok (& other locations)tel = 253-7095
The first time we were in Bangkok, we bought a valuable ruby necklace there on the advice of some Thai friends of ours. Since then, we hosted the adult daughter in Los Angeles while she studied at GIA (the gem instititute) after earning her MBA at American University in Washington, D.C. The family has been in the jewelry business for 5 generations. The are extremely knowledgeable and -- <b>most importantly -- extremely honest and reliable. </b>
Karat Jewelry, 161-163 Sukumvit Rd (next to Ambassador Hotel), Wattana, Bangkok (& other locations)tel = 253-7095
The first time we were in Bangkok, we bought a valuable ruby necklace there on the advice of some Thai friends of ours. Since then, we hosted the adult daughter in Los Angeles while she studied at GIA (the gem instititute) after earning her MBA at American University in Washington, D.C. The family has been in the jewelry business for 5 generations. The are extremely knowledgeable and -- <b>most importantly -- extremely honest and reliable. </b>
Sep 18th, 2006, 12:14 PM
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May I steal your thread for a moment? I have some (about 100? ) small to medium garnets (of no monetary value, but priceless to me!) that I was gifted with while in Africa. I would love to have made into a necklace - is that something SJ or Karat Jewelry might do?
<font color="green">Cyn</font>
<font color="green">Cyn</font>
Sep 18th, 2006, 06:45 PM
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thai stone jewelry
nana hotel lobby
soi 4, sukhumvit rd
bangkok
e-mails:
[email protected]
[email protected]
telephone: 662-2520736
generally open 7 days with limited times on sundays sometimes (have a shop at the weekend market--sect 17, #245-247, near the bangkok bank)
hours about 10-8
we have had things mailed to us frequently with no problem
no web site that i know of...
we see amporn (porn) or mr lee
nana hotel lobby
soi 4, sukhumvit rd
bangkok
e-mails:
[email protected]
[email protected]
telephone: 662-2520736
generally open 7 days with limited times on sundays sometimes (have a shop at the weekend market--sect 17, #245-247, near the bangkok bank)
hours about 10-8
we have had things mailed to us frequently with no problem
no web site that i know of...
we see amporn (porn) or mr lee
Sep 19th, 2006, 07:44 AM
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Guenami
your yellow sapphire/diamond pendant sounds lovely...seems like you got a good deal..do you recall the size of the sapphires and weight of the diamonds..how many diamonds? I am going to try to have a pendant done and just trying to figure out how much it will cost me...
your yellow sapphire/diamond pendant sounds lovely...seems like you got a good deal..do you recall the size of the sapphires and weight of the diamonds..how many diamonds? I am going to try to have a pendant done and just trying to figure out how much it will cost me...
