Thailand: The Gem of Asia

Exotic, stylish and unique gemstones make excellent and versatile gifts.  It can be made into fantastic jewelry pieces or formed into a decorative feature in your home.  A tour around Thailand’s markets will provide you a peek of semi-precious stones in the most stunning array of colors – from the palest aqua to the deepest sapphire. 

Do you know that Thailand is the world’s gemstone trade center? The country has an interesting history of gemstone mining and trading concentrated in the capital Bangkok and in the town of Chantaburi, in the southeast.

Thailand’s two most important gem mining areas are Chantaburi and Kanchanaburi in the west.  While the country was the world’s gem mining center from the 1960s until the early 1990s, mining activities decreased over the last decade.  But it still remains the world’s most important gem processing and jewelry manufacturing center.

Chantaburi has been Thailand’s oldest and most important mining area since the middle of the 19th century.  The real boom was when the military took over power in neighboring Burma (the present Myanmar) and cut exports of Burmese gemstones. This not only meant that Thai gemstones were more sought after, but also that the market prices increased considerably.  Bo Rai, east of Chantaburi, was the world’s major source for rubies until the early 1990s.  The large mining corporations back then have gone, leaving smaller operators.  The Ban Kha Cha area, southwest of the city, produces mainly blackstar sapphire and blue, green and yellow sapphire, which are found less frequently and highly valued.

The town of Chantaburi is still Thailand’s main heat treatment and stone-cutting center and is widely known for its gem market during weekends.  Rare untreated stones can be found in the market.  However, most are heat-treated to change or enhance the gemstones’ brilliance and color.  Besides stunning sapphires and rich rubies, fine tourmalines, garnets, beryls, spinels, and other unique and stylish gems can be found in the market.  You could use your best bargaining skills to get your hands on that half a geode with glittering gems within.  Chantaburi’s sapphires, with their medium to deep blue tones, are much sought after and are considered among the finest in the world.

The 1970s and 80s were the Thai equivalent of the American Gold Rush.  Trat, the province bordering Chantaburi to the east, used to have daily gem markets which were not only visited by Thai traders, but also Indians and Europeans.  Almost every house in the town had a small workshop with cutting and polishing machines.  Trat’s darker and usually less popular rubies became a hit when Burma ceased exporting gemstones.

Thousands of workers from all over the country flocked to Bo Rai to occupy the many available jobs in the industry, and the town flourished with shops, hotels and restaurants to cater to all.  But by 1990, the boom was over.  The two main causes of the decline were that Chantaburi’s and Trat’s mines had been excavated so fast and greedily that they were simply exhausted.  Secondly, Burma’s gem market opened up again, creating more competition and forcing the prices down.  Luckily the region is blessed with rich fertile soil and abundant rainfall, allowing agriculture to replace mining as the main industry.  Peppers, fruit, sugar cane and rubber have taken over from gemstones, and the local authorities are hoping to ensure a prosperous future for the province with the development of Koh Chang as Thailand’s next hot tourist destination.

The gem mining area of Kanchanaburi is called Bo Ploy, and is situated about 30 kilometers north of the town famous for its Bridge over the River Kwai.  This area was discovered to have gemstones in 1918, but pretty soon it appeared that supplies were very low.  Renewed exploration in the eighties led to a re-discovery of gems in 1987, and the area enjoyed prosperity.  Developers have since found a new use for old mining sites: they convert them into lake resorts and golf courses.  There is still mining activity in the Bo Ploy area, and the gems found are blue sapphire and black spinel, called “nin” in Thai, which is marketed as onyx.

Kanchanaburi can easily be reached from Bangkok by road or rail, and a visit to the gem mining facilities would be an interesting combination with a tour to the Bridge over the River Kwai, as the areas are only 30 kilometres apart.

Mining techniques in Thailand combine both old and new technologies, using intensive hand labor and modern machinery.  The term “primitive pit mining” is applied to mining using hands and some basic tools only.  A team of workers form a link to dig up earth from a pit, place it in bamboo trays and rinse it with water.  After all the mud has gone, they carefully pick and sort out the gemstones from the gravel.  While labor intensive, it is still much cheaper and safer than using machines.  Once the gemstones are unearthed they’re taken into processing centers.

Bangkok is the trade center for the world’s gem industry, and has two areas in which business is concentrated: Mahesak near the Silom and Surawong roads, and Gemopolis near Bangna.  There are two gem and jewelry fairs held each year, in February and September (gemsfair.thaigemjewelry.or.th.)  

The city also has a lively trade in both rough stones and beautifully handcrafted jewelry.  Wat Kho in the city’s Chinatown is known for its trade in less expensive synthetic gemstones and gold.

Thailand processes gemstones from both its own mines and the surrounding countries of Myanmar and Cambodia, and even imports gemstones from Africa to process them here.  Bangkok also serves as the export hub for the region, and the largest importers of Thai gems are the United States, Japan and Switzerland.  The gem trade has grown almost 10 percent every year over the last decade and prices of rough stones have dropped due to increased competition.

If you want to learn more about gemstones or even become an expert gemologist, the Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences (www.aigsthailand.com), based in the heart of the Mahesak gemstone trading area in Bangkok, offers short- and long-term courses in gemology as well as guided tours to gem mines.