Buying Silver in BKK - sterling vs ??
 

I usually buy my silver when vacationing in Mexico, and am used to seeing .925 on pieces that are sterling. From these posts, and others, I'm delighted to find that I'll be shopping for silver jewelry on my upcoming trip to BKK and ChiangMai! So - is it sterling? Is there a way to tell? I've seen several postings for places that are inexpensive and that are sold by weight (which I'm used to) but am wondering about the quality....

Most places in Bkk - and like the rest of Asia eg India - are not marking silver purity yet. I bought some silver at Lin near the Oriental and think the quality is ok - certainly looks good and responds well to silver polish, etc! But like many of your other Bkk purchases it is caveat emptor which is the norm...

the silver at lim shops in back of the oriental are indeed marked---at least the pieces we bought are marked....the prices are fantastic...Lim has 3 shops in that general area...there are a number of silver shops all around that area and out onto new road as well...just browse around...i think it could be considered the silver area...
many of the other shops sell silver that is less pure, however....and also less "finished"....
among other things, we bought monogramed pill boxes as gifts from lim for $5-15 each...very nicely done...candle sticks, flatware, trays, picture frames, dresser sets, tea sets....they have lots to choose from...

also next door is the thai home store, which looks junky from the outside (it is a traditional building) but if you poke around inside you will find some treasurers....it a hold over from past days....the daughter or grand-daughter is american educated and helpful...they have tons of stainless steel and brass ware....we found the brassware does not keep its shine and does not shine up well however....nice wooden handles however...

i think you will find the silver better quality than mexican

We were just there last week and I bought many pices of silver...all of which were marked with .925.

of course you know that marks in asia don't really mean much...