Shopping for gems in Asia: What vacationers have to know

Nevertheless, gemologists say there’s little to fret about if vacationers are cautious and heed some primary recommendations on easy methods to discern actual stones from the phonies.

An outline of the principle markets

Thailand, Hong Kong and Jaipur in India are three of Asia’s key gem buying and selling facilities, says Russell Shor, senior analyst for the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), a non-profit group that focuses on schooling, analysis and requirements within the gem commerce.

Jaipur is India’s hub for the sale of gems, that are bought at kiosks, shops and avenue markets all through its Outdated Metropolis space.

Whereas Jaipur’s gem commerce focuses totally on lower-end stones, Hong Kong is the area’s No. 1 location for costly gems, together with “million-dollar-plus jade and ruby items,” says Shor.

Why Hong Kong? Tax-free purchasing makes it a sexy vacation spot for vacationers, who contribute greater than US$1 billion a yr to its gemstone export commerce.

Thailand, in the meantime, is without doubt one of the world’s high coloured gemstone reducing and buying and selling facilities, exporting in extra of US$600 million price of gems a yr.

Bangkok’s Silom neighborhood specifically is house to a whole lot of gem merchants, whereas the city of Chanthaburi in southeast Thailand is a serious middle for stone reducing and boasts a giant weekend gem market.

A lot of the gems bought in these three facilities are imported from different components of the world. The main sources of coloured gems, equivalent to rubies, jade, emeralds and sapphires, are Brazil, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Madagascar and Tanzania.

Among the many important producers of diamonds are Russia, Australia, Canada, South Africa and Botswana.

Suggestions and tips of the commerce

So how can a purchaser know for sure a gem is legit?

Thai gemologist Kanpoj Thanachakaphad, a graduate of the GIA with 15 years of expertise within the commerce, lately launched a collection of workshops to show vacationers easy methods to analyze stones, significantly diamonds.

He says that as a result of Thailand, India and Hong Kong are main gem export facilities, they provide vacationers higher worth on stones than they might discover of their house international locations, that are most probably on the finish of the availability chain.

In accordance with each Thanachakaphad and Shor, there are a number of key measures vacationers can take to keep away from being scammed when purchasing for gems.

The golden rule, particularly when shopping for costly stones, is to have them assessed for high quality and authenticity at a dependable gem evaluation laboratory earlier than buy.

Gem evaluation experiences usually price lower than US$100 and will be accomplished inside 2-3 days.

Shor says these experiences embrace a “scientific and neutral evaluation of the gem.” Whereas some glass imitation gems will be noticed simply resulting from unnaturally-bright colours and small bubbles contained in the stone, subtle fakes can solely be recognized by a gemologist, he provides.

Thanachakaphad says the very act of asking to do a lab evaluation on a gem would assist flush out unreliable merchants.

“It reveals that you simply’re not silly, that you understand what you are doing,” he says.

“If the dealer would not comply with have the gem examined at a lab then you understand they don’t seem to be trustworthy, and you’ll simply transfer to a different store. Any trustworthy dealer shall be comfortable to have a gem examined when you’re a severe purchaser.”

Thanachakaphad concedes lab experiences will not be at all times possible resulting from time constraints for vacationers, or maybe the price could also be prohibitive when shopping for cheaper gems.

If lack of time is the issue, then patrons wanting an costly stone ought to rent a marketing consultant from a gem evaluation lab to supply on-the-spot recommendation.

In different circumstances, Thanachakaphad says there are a number of methods to keep away from shopping for pretend gems and get the very best value on actual stones:

Be taught the lingo

Decide up some primary phrases referring to gems, significantly the kind of stone you are desirous about, and use them in dialog with a vendor to indicate you are not a simple mark.

When you have carried out some primary analysis a couple of explicit gem it is possible for you to to ask the vendor about issues like its minimize, shade, readability and supply.

Look out for fakes

Faux gems usually have shadowing (double strains) alongside every of their cuts. Actual ones do not.

When assessing diamonds, an actual stone’s shade needs to be stronger whenever you have a look at it from the again. Faux diamonds are likely to have brighter colours whenever you have a look at them from the entrance.

A large product vary?

Untrustworthy gem retailers usually have very huge product ranges, making an attempt to distract you with their selection. Dependable retailers sometimes have smaller ranges.

Do not belief tour guides and taxi drivers

Keep away from coping with gem merchants really useful by a tour information, a taxi driver or a tout. These individuals usually receives a commission hefty commissions to convey you into an unreliable gem store.

Evaluate costs and sale techniques

If you wish to store for gems by your self, be sure to go to a number of totally different shops to check costs and in addition to notice the conduct and sale techniques of the employees in every store.

You’ll begin to establish patterns of conduct, which is able to enable you keep away from being scammed.

Ask to see {qualifications}

Earlier than you journey to a metropolis to purchase gems, analysis critiques of retailers on-line to search out the best-regarded merchants.

When doubtful, choose a store staffed by skilled gemologists with {qualifications} from GIA or different famend institutes. Ask to see their {qualifications}.