hello folks

well...I'm about to complete 7 years of marriage with my darlin' wife that have been mostly good...the bad times have been my fault...I'm now in the US and I want to get her a diamond ring to commemorate. Lots of hassids around here in Phila...must be able to get a good deal somewhere...

I need to get the ring into Thailand without 'Somchai thai customs' getting his sticky hands on it. It won't be big...only whatever USD5k will buy; a solitaire with a mounting...could probably just put it inna my pocket and walk offa the airplane but given bad luck, etc...

What have the TV ladies done when it comes to jewelry? No one wants to smuggle anything...I just want to see my lovin' wife's face when I present it to her (she wanted me to get her a souvenir...probably expects a t-shirt)...she will probably be puzzled with a diamond; she understands gold...('hey darlin', that'll cut steel that will...'...she'll probably get out the welding torch - 'that bastard has lied to me from the beginnin'...')

so...please help...sbk darlin', I'm not wantin' to smuggle nothin'...just wantin' to bring a smile to my wife's face...('hey...it costs USD5k...really...')

pleaze help...

Good for you tutsi, every woman likes jewelry Be careful not to get her 14k though as most Thai women don't like the lighter colored gold.

Put it on a chain around your neck, then you won't worry about losing it. I take my jewelry with me back and forth to the US every year (well, not all of it, but alot of it) and have never been stopped on either side of the Pacific.

yeah...but what about goin' thru the metal detector? I can see Somchai's eyes get big when he sees what set off the alarm...

What metal detector? I wear my necklace (2 baht, a gift from father-in-law when we got married), three rings (engagement [with stone], wedding [band] and another ring [with stone]) watch, earrings and bracelet. I have never set off a metal detector.

Perhaps its your artificial hip tutsi

Hope you are enjoying your visit to the US, Tutsi, stocking up on yummies to bring back? I always bring back some food, it doesn't last long after I return but it is a nice change

A 150,000 baht ring? Better make sure any local Somchai don't find out, she'll lose it (and the finger) in the blink of an eye!

i agree with sbk by saying you should just stick it on a chain around your neck. it shouldnt set off the detectors.

you lovely man, you!

no one has ever accused me of bein' 'artificially hip'...ahs the real article...

I had sum Hostess Cupcakes today and they were sooo goood...I had forgotten about the cream filling...

coffee an' GLAZED BUTTERMILK DONUTS...I could continue but don't wanna tantalize...

plays hel_l wid de blood sugar though...

Sorry for intruding into the ladies forum.

Tutsi remember the 4C’s when selecting your diamond. Ask your jeweler what grade the diamond is and get a certificate with it.

This International Gemology Institute link’s a good site explaining diamond sizes, clarity etc. http://www.igiworldwide.com/en/4cs_carat.htm

I had no problems bringing a nice solitaire ring in through Thai customs. I had it in my hand luggage.

glazed buttermilk donuts! I love old-fashioneds. Had to control myself when I went home tho, too easy to gain weight there!

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about it Tutsi, unless you look like some drug dealer, they will leave you alone. I go through Thai customs with two giant suitcases and a carry on every year and they never stop me.

Be careful not to get her 14k though as most Thai women don't like the lighter colored gold.

A good point.

What about getting it set into a cheap 14K pendant to wear around your neck whilst travelling, and then get it reset into a Thai gold 24K ring with 18K clasps when you get back here?

Sorry for intruding into the ladies forum.

Tutsi remember the 4C's when selecting your diamond. Ask your jeweler what grade the diamond is and get a certificate with it.

This International Gemology Institute link's a good site explaining diamond sizes, clarity etc. http://www.igiworldwide.com/en/4cs_carat.htm

I had no problems bringing a nice solitaire ring in through Thai customs. I had it in my hand luggage.

this sounds like good advice...what distinguishes the real thing from paste (unless you get out the welding torch)? I was gonna ask one of the secretaries around here but they all think that I'm a weirdo anyway (hey!!! it's the 4th of July...hooray!!! tutsi: does that mean that liquor stores are closed and I can't get a drink around here?)

anyone remember the heartwrenching scene in Jean de Florette when Jean's wife pawned her jewels to find that they were 'paste'?

Hi Tutsi,

I commend you... I too like to buy my wife special things. I bought her a nice diamond ring in Pattaya for 120,000 baht about 2 years ago. While she says it's lovely and she likes it, then she was saying too much money. I thought it was just her sweet way of telling me that she didn't expect something so expensive. What I really didn't know was... She REALLY thought it was too much money. We've been together for 3 years, one before the ring and two years after. For the last 2 years, she has reminded me of all the things that she could have done with that much money. She's grateful as I said, and she likes the ring, she's just more practical and thinks about business all the time. Every day we spend together when I'm home it's nothing but talk about the ideas she has for new business. She's trying everything to come up with ideas that will get me to stay home permanently in Thailand. All that said, I don't know your wife, but mine certainly likes her ring, but has 100's of ideas of things she could have used that much money for.

take care! and personally... I like to see the sparkle in my lady's eye too.

Chris

I think JaiDee's idea is best (and most reasonably priced)

If somchai the customs man asks about the ring just start tearfully telling him the tale of how it's what you wear to remind you of your dearly departed

He'd have to be a real prick to bother you any further.

I brought a diamond ring into Thailand last year same thought will customs take it away from me etc... Ended up putting it around my neck on my chain, no problems.

It was a nice single stone 1.2, set in a clasp made of white (mounting) and 24k gold band, she loves it never takes it off.

Tutsi,

Buy something that you might be able to get away with wearing as a pinky ring (stylewise). Many modern designs are more unisex. Then wear it through as if it's your jewellery.

When I was a teenager, my Dad worked in the Middle East. He bought my sister & I expensive gold chains & wore them through customs. I remember wondering when my Dad had got all funky, wearing tight gold neck chains. Even I didn't realise they were for us!

Go to MBK mall in Bangkok as the diamonds there are very competitively priced, easy to find a nice 1 carat solitaire there.

If not there is very little worry about carrying with you to Thailand.

US customs will not hassle you. It is just a ring, and they can't tell where you purchased it from. If someone stops you (which they will not)say the following:

1. My wife took her ring off her finger and made me wear it around my neck so that if anyone spoke to me, they would know I was taken.

2. It was my grandmothers.

3. It was my mothers.

4. It is a pretty nice looking ring isn't it? When a woman asks me why I have a ring on my neck, I tell her I this is my glass slipper and I am looking for cinderella.

And if they don't laugh and shoo you on your way.. then I will eat my haaaaat. Okay I will buy a hat to eat.

Or, for a free round trip ticket to the US, I will personally deliver it to you!

Can I ask why you don't want to buy in Thailand?

Plenty of good quality bespoke jewelry companies (I know one immediately that is UK owned and has great pedigree and a factory here in BKK) - send me PM and I will put you in contact if you wish

Can I ask why you don't want to buy in Thailand?

Plenty of good quality bespoke jewelry companies (I know one immediately that is UK owned and has great pedigree and a factory here in BKK) - send me PM and I will put you in contact if you wish

Very true and many wholesalers on Silom of Indian extraction can offer up some very fine stones for good prices, setting it is simple in Thailand.

hello folks

well...I'm about to complete 7 years of marriage with my darlin' wife that have been mostly good...the bad times have been my fault...I'm now in the US and I want to get her a diamond ring to commemorate. Lots of hassids around here in Phila...must be able to get a good deal somewhere...

I need to get the ring into Thailand without 'Somchai thai customs' getting his sticky hands on it. It won't be big...only whatever USD5k will buy; a solitaire with a mounting...could probably just put it inna my pocket and walk offa the airplane but given bad luck, etc...

What have the TV ladies done when it comes to jewelry? No one wants to smuggle anything...I just want to see my lovin' wife's face when I present it to her (she wanted me to get her a souvenir...probably expects a t-shirt)...she will probably be puzzled with a diamond; she understands gold...('hey darlin', that'll cut steel that will...'...she'll probably get out the welding torch - 'that bastard has lied to me from the beginnin'...')

so...please help...sbk darlin', I'm not wantin' to smuggle nothin'...just wantin' to bring a smile to my wife's face...('hey...it costs USD5k...really...')

pleaze help...

Hi Tutsi,

Congrate on your in comming seven years wedding anniversary. Knowing what 'seven years itch' could un-done to any married couple. I think it's wonderful gesture any man can do for his wife.

Phila is quite close to NYC. There are this huge diamond district right on Sixth Ave. and 48 Street in midtown Manhattan. Enormous selections with prices and qualities to fit everyone's pocket. Most quality diamonds sold here came from diamond mines in Africa via Belgium diamond distributors where as most diamond shops in Siam Paragon sold Rusian diamonds.

Also when you buy a diamond from them, years later if you want a bigger diamond you always can bring it back to the shop along with the certificated ( issued at the time you bought the ring) to exchange for a new one, of course, you have to pay the difference between yours and the bigger one, you would get full credit the same amount on the certificate.

As for bringing the ring to TL. No need to worry a thing. They never question you at all. Just to be sure to keep my keen eyes on valuable things like diamond, gold, watch, cash while they are going through the handbag and carry-on.

Good luck on your serch.

Again, many many happiness on your marriage.

T-Bell

now I'm havin' second thoughts...I just called the wife to check in to find that she wants to build a canopy/roof over my magnificent terrace 'bbbbut...what about my flowers???...'...silence...there ain't no arguing with women when they have their plans about the house arrangement...whether thai or falang...she's moved the washer up there and wants to turn it into a utility facility...

'if you don't protect my flowers you don't get to have no diamonds, goddamit...'

(sniff)...sbk, please help...you like flowers...tell her she can't do this to tutsi...

Edited July 6, 200719 yr by tutsiwarrior

OK, I know it's completely off the topic of diamonds, but at least if your wife roofs over your terrace it could solve the cat poo problems

By the way, if you are planning to buy a diamond, domake sure that the gold that is holding the stone in is thick or strong enough. A friend lost a diamond out of her ring recently because the claw was too thin

OK, I know it's completely off the topic of diamonds, but at least if your wife roofs over your terrace it could solve the cat poo problems

By the way, if you are planning to buy a diamond, domake sure that the gold that is holding the stone in is thick or strong enough. A friend lost a diamond out of her ring recently because the claw was too thin

leisurely, sorry to learn about your lady friend lost a diamond, it is an expensive lesson indeed .

From what I had seen ( in the US) most diamonds rings are mounted in platitum or 14k gold ( white gold or yellow gold). The jewelry makers used these precious metals for their strength and good looks. The so- called Thai gold - 24k or 99% pure gold is too soft to hold any precious stone. Thais use exclusively in making gold band ring ' whan ga'.

why would anyone chose to mount a diamond with anything else but 14 carat white gold?...a beautiful white stone with gaudy yellow gold???...rubbish...my wife prefers white gold for jewelery anyway

this philadelphia nonsense has taken it's toll...I'm tryin' to do a job in Saudi and these idiots send me here to sort out work permits(???) imagine the culture shock to a Calif. boy that hasn't spent any time at all in the US in 20 years...now my beloved wife wants to destroy my flowers...my 'special girl' thai niece has just started at the local school and I need to see that she's OK...not to mention my Aspergers autistic son that has been confined to a boarding school in England...

I don't need it!!!...I DON'T NEED IT!!!

and the 'classic rock' station in Phila don't play any Bob Dylan...

oh...boo hoo...

I've decided that a diamond is impractical (the wife would prefer gold anyway) and decided to purchase an adornment for the house...specifically a poster of a pensive 25 y.o. John Coltrane. I've got a couple of tapes ('A Love Supreme' and 'My Favorite Things') and shall turn the Suphanburi premises into a shrine to the prime exponent of the music that America has contributed to the world.

The purchase of the poster carries a story...from a fast photo place in Phila run by a Korean couple. The poster was already mounted and the proprietor wanted USD60 when I just wanted the rolled up poster. I agreed to the price and he got excited...telling his wife 'that crazy white man just paid me USD for a poster of a negro...' she observed with her arms crossed across her chest 'must've been a very special negro...' they obviously did not have a clue...uninformed recent immigrants...but what is America if not a nation of immigrants, informed or not?

God bless tutsi and God bless America...