Buying Hill Tribe silver and semiprecious stones
Jan 9th, 2007, 08:40 PM
#21
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Hello again,
I just got off the phone with SilverBell and they told me 17 baht or $.47 per gram at 25 kilos. You may or may not get a better price if you go directly to the hilltribes, again, depends on how much you buy. Most of the large folks like SilverBell, Chiangmaidesigns, etc. bring their own silver to the silversmiths and have them make the stuff for them. As makes sense, different folks are good at different things, like there are the flower folks and the hammered design folks, etc.
Either way, it would be a good experience for you as all of the tribesfolk I have met outside of the in-town markets (where they may be a teeny bit pushy) are so sweet, be they Akha, Hmong, Karen, whatever.
If you want someone that you can order from when you return to the states, just get the catalog or cd-rom from either SilverBell or Chiang Mai Designs or maybe both. However, shipping costs are a tiny consideration and it works out best of you get more as both UPS and Fedex have 10 and 25 KG promotion boxes, the 25 KG is around 5500 baht or $150. Otherwise, they may send it to you postal EMS which is very reasonable though I would not trust it for anything over $500 worth but that is just me(i have lost a few things and the tracking is not as reliable).
If you want the best price, my recommendation is to buy from one store where they have the most choice as you can buy the largest quantity or if you are just looking for a few pieces here and there, check them all out because really, if you are getting say 2 kilos, a difference of 5 cents is only $100, no? The best consistent selection I have seen is at Orient Silver in Bangkok but then, if you happen to go there after someone has just bought 500 kilos, you may not have a great selection on that day and the price is usually similar to chiang Mai, maybe .25 baht more in Bangkok. He also has a heap of sterling silver bracelets and a smattering of enamel beads (overpriced with him), marcasite beads, and bali style (you can get it cheaper from Chantilly vendors like Silver Planet, Kalapaturu, etc.)
Tip on price thus haggling, check out the price of silver (stock market ETF symbol SLV divided by 10), divide by 31.1 (troy ounce) to get the price of raw silver per gram then add 2.5 baht or right now, with the exchange rate, approximately 7 cents and that is the price someone buying larger quantities (25-200 kilos)would pay, give or take half a penny. If you are getting at least a kilo, you should be able to haggle to 3 or 3.5 baht per gram at most so right now, about 52 cents per gram or 18 baht. If you like, you can tell Wisit (the owner and nice older fellow who speaks a tiny bit of english but his son speaks fairly well)that you are a friend of Mister Paul from America, maybe it would help in your haggle though i haven't been buying much lately so who knows.
Also, both will take credit cards but will charge you 2 or 3 percent for visa and master card or if you want to pay dollars, they will be able to change it at a rate that is almost always a hair better than you will get at the banks around town.
Also, let me know if you will be looking for silver jewelry and I can write another tome;-)
whilst i do have a rolling deposit with Intergem, I have not done a show with them since 2005 and have no plans of doing those shows though I hear Chantilly is a good one for vendors.
Best of luck to you and your husband and feel free to ask anything at all about restaurants, shopping, whatevuh...I am here to serve...or at least share the info for fellow travelers.
I just got off the phone with SilverBell and they told me 17 baht or $.47 per gram at 25 kilos. You may or may not get a better price if you go directly to the hilltribes, again, depends on how much you buy. Most of the large folks like SilverBell, Chiangmaidesigns, etc. bring their own silver to the silversmiths and have them make the stuff for them. As makes sense, different folks are good at different things, like there are the flower folks and the hammered design folks, etc.
Either way, it would be a good experience for you as all of the tribesfolk I have met outside of the in-town markets (where they may be a teeny bit pushy) are so sweet, be they Akha, Hmong, Karen, whatever.
If you want someone that you can order from when you return to the states, just get the catalog or cd-rom from either SilverBell or Chiang Mai Designs or maybe both. However, shipping costs are a tiny consideration and it works out best of you get more as both UPS and Fedex have 10 and 25 KG promotion boxes, the 25 KG is around 5500 baht or $150. Otherwise, they may send it to you postal EMS which is very reasonable though I would not trust it for anything over $500 worth but that is just me(i have lost a few things and the tracking is not as reliable).
If you want the best price, my recommendation is to buy from one store where they have the most choice as you can buy the largest quantity or if you are just looking for a few pieces here and there, check them all out because really, if you are getting say 2 kilos, a difference of 5 cents is only $100, no? The best consistent selection I have seen is at Orient Silver in Bangkok but then, if you happen to go there after someone has just bought 500 kilos, you may not have a great selection on that day and the price is usually similar to chiang Mai, maybe .25 baht more in Bangkok. He also has a heap of sterling silver bracelets and a smattering of enamel beads (overpriced with him), marcasite beads, and bali style (you can get it cheaper from Chantilly vendors like Silver Planet, Kalapaturu, etc.)
Tip on price thus haggling, check out the price of silver (stock market ETF symbol SLV divided by 10), divide by 31.1 (troy ounce) to get the price of raw silver per gram then add 2.5 baht or right now, with the exchange rate, approximately 7 cents and that is the price someone buying larger quantities (25-200 kilos)would pay, give or take half a penny. If you are getting at least a kilo, you should be able to haggle to 3 or 3.5 baht per gram at most so right now, about 52 cents per gram or 18 baht. If you like, you can tell Wisit (the owner and nice older fellow who speaks a tiny bit of english but his son speaks fairly well)that you are a friend of Mister Paul from America, maybe it would help in your haggle though i haven't been buying much lately so who knows.
Also, both will take credit cards but will charge you 2 or 3 percent for visa and master card or if you want to pay dollars, they will be able to change it at a rate that is almost always a hair better than you will get at the banks around town.
Also, let me know if you will be looking for silver jewelry and I can write another tome;-)
whilst i do have a rolling deposit with Intergem, I have not done a show with them since 2005 and have no plans of doing those shows though I hear Chantilly is a good one for vendors.
Best of luck to you and your husband and feel free to ask anything at all about restaurants, shopping, whatevuh...I am here to serve...or at least share the info for fellow travelers.
Jan 10th, 2007, 05:26 AM
#22
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Podimer (Paul, I presume?) - Once again, thank you for this hugely helpful info and trouble you have gone to in order to answer my inquiries. If you ever do DC area shows, please email me at [email protected] to let me know. A hill tribe visit is definitely in order; are Akha, Hmong, and Karen the names of local tribes? What driver and/or guide do you recommend that we use for the day who won't get paid huge commissions on what we purchase (passed along to me to pay of course)?
Crosscheck - Thanks so much for the email address - all I can find appears to be for reservations!
3 weeks to go! Claire
Crosscheck - Thanks so much for the email address - all I can find appears to be for reservations!
3 weeks to go! Claire
Apr 3rd, 2012, 09:44 AM
#23
Join Date: Apr 2012
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HI,
I am a jewelry maker in Canada.....I have been trying to get in contact with Thavorn from Silver Bell, but the phone and emails I have don't work. I used to buy some items from a family he supplied here and they went out of business due to silver prices. He gave me silver bell's email but it didn't work. My main season is fast approaching and I am feeling a little desperate to find a good silver supplier. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
IF you have a working number for Thavorn-Silver Bell or another supplier you trust that would be great
I am a jewelry maker in Canada.....I have been trying to get in contact with Thavorn from Silver Bell, but the phone and emails I have don't work. I used to buy some items from a family he supplied here and they went out of business due to silver prices. He gave me silver bell's email but it didn't work. My main season is fast approaching and I am feeling a little desperate to find a good silver supplier. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
IF you have a working number for Thavorn-Silver Bell or another supplier you trust that would be great
