Gold

[binnsy]

Why do the shops say that gold is 12600 (today)yet when you say ok i will have 50 or 100 baht as an investment they then add on 50 for this and 100 for that????

[bendix]

It's hard to say. I suggest few TV members own goldshops in Thailand. Perhaps you'd be best advised to ask the people doing it.

[lazeeboy]

if the price is 12600b ,this is set by the government and 12600b is what you pay ,this price is set country wide .

[N47HAN]

I may be wrong but if gold is 12600 , then that is the value of the gold and the extra is the profit for the shop ?

[Xangsamhua]

I may be wrong but if gold is 12600 , then that is the value of the gold and the extra is the profit for the shop ?

If the gold is bought in the form of jewelry - necklaces, bracelets, etc - there's an additional cost for the workmanship. If you just buy bars the cost should be as set.

[tropo]

That's exactly the price you'd pay for a bar of gold.

When you buy jewelry, and I stress this is only relevant only for 23k gold (96.5%), you will pay a manufacture cost of somewhere from 400 baht up to 750 baht per "baht".

In the above example "baht" is the Thai terminology for 15.16 (15.2) grams of 96.5% gold jewelry.

For example, if you buy a "3-baht" necklace, that will weigh 15.16 x 3 = 45.48 grams of 96.5% gold = 43.89 grams of pure gold or 1.411 troy ounces of gold.

If you do the conversion you can check how much you are paying for an ounce of gold against the international spot price of gold.

Note: The majority of gold shops only weigh to one decimal point ie. "1 baht" = 15.2 grams.

[Naam]

if the price is 12600b ,this is set by the government and 12600b is what you pay ,this price is set country wide .

gold price is not set by the government and it might vary several times during a single day according to the world market price.

[prakhonchai nick]

In the Isaan area the price of a baht weight of gold in ornamental form is normally increased by 500bt over the advertised gold price. This covers manufacturing costs and profit. However when gold is sold to a gold shop different criteria apply. Normally the best price is obtainable from the shop where the gold was originally purchased. There is an advertised price for selling gold to a shop, but from that price 5% has to be deducted for tax.

The following web site which is updated daily gives the prices. http://www.goldtraders.or.th/index_en.php From the buy price (ornaments) 5% must be deducted

For investment purposes gold bars (ingots) are the only way to go - other than shares in gold mining companies. The spread on buying and selling ornamental gold is too large. Apart from which gold is now so high that opportunities for profit are limited.

The price of gold historically, rises and falls inversely with the US dollar. The dollar is now weak, but inevitably it will bounce back, and the price of gold will drop.

[TonyLeung]

gold in thailand is of low quality.

[Naam]

gold in thailand is of low quality.

= the usual hearsay rubbish! you can buy 999 finegold in Thailand like in other countries.

[tropo]

gold in thailand is of low quality.

Absolute nonsense. Gold is gold. There isn't high or low quality gold...it costs the same to buy anywhere on earth because it's a basic element.

Perhaps you don't like the quality of the jewelry they make with the gold, but that's irrelevant because you are only paying a very small price for the manufacture of the jewelry.

In actual fact it's near impossible to make 23k jewelry any better than it's made in Thailand. There's only so much that can be done with 96.5% pure gold and the Thai goldsmiths do amazing things with this near pure gold alloy. Have you seen some of the more recent offerings in the gold shops?

If you want finer jewelry then you need to buy 18k, but the manufacture cost is much higher. In reality you're buying gold, not jewelry when you buy the standard 23k stock.

The reason why Thais like 23k gold jewelry is that they can wear their gold investments rather than just put gold bars in a safe. It's jewelry made as close as possible to pure gold (96.5%) with the lowest possible manufacture price.

Edited November 4, 2007 by tropo

[kangeroo]

gold in thailand is of low quality.

999 gold is the same price everywhere.

[TonyLeung]

i was joking.

[kangeroo]

so was i.

[uptou]

What do you think are the chances of buying a few grams of .999 gold from a thai jeweler for alloying up to 18k purposes?

[tropo]

What do you think are the chances of buying a few grams of .999 gold from a thai jeweler for alloying up to 18k purposes?

You can buy .999 gold in coins or bars. You can also buy 18k jewelry at most of the larger stores.

[Heng]

Recommend Hua Seng Heng. Nice folks, good product. Probably better to avoid their 3 Chinatown branches and make use of their Seacon Square branch if being able to find a parking space is important to you.

Edited November 4, 2007 by Heng

[MyPenRye]

Am I getting old or what, but the look of the gold in, say, Central looks way different (better) than, say, the usual corner shop? Oh! And the price is much higher in Central, it goes without saying, of course! Personally, I prefer the look of the gold in Central! There must be some good reason for the big difference in price, apart from the profit margin from Central, of course! Is it a higher quality gold? A different process?