Is 9 Carat Jewellery, Such As Pendants & Necklace Chains, Snubbed In Isaan?

[rockyysdt]

I bought a nice 9 carat pendant and chain for my girlfriends birthday.

The jeweller said items 22 carat and above aren't practical and subject to breakage due to the softness of the gold.

Is 9 carat snubbed in Thailand?

Will the receiver feel that you're cheap?

The way things are going with the price of gold, http://goldprice.org/gold-price.html , even 9 carat jewellery is expensive these days!

Danny

Edited March 29, 2008 by rockyysdt

[Thaicoon]

I bought a nice 9 carat pendant and chain for my girlfriends birthday.

The jeweller said items 22 carat and above aren't practical and subject to breakage due to the softness of the gold.

Is 9 carat snubbed in Thailand?

Will the receiver feel that you're cheap?

The way things are going with the price of gold, http://goldprice.org/gold-price.html , even 9 carat jewellery is expensive these days!

Danny

My wife has quite a bit of Thai gold, but never wears any of it, she just buys it as an investment, she calls 9 ct gold, brass, that what she thinks of it, and i would say most thai ladys would think the same, you would of been better off buying 18ct, if you were of bought thai gold and had it hallmarked in the uk, it then would of been reconized as 18ct, sorry for the negatives, but the end of the day it is the thought at counts.

[TokyoT]

If buying any gold for a Thai person that has not spent a significant amount of time outside of Thailand I would not bother buying anything but 23kt. Even 18kt does not have the same color and will not be looked upon in the same way as “Thai gold” – 23kt.

If you are not in Thailand then find something besides gold to buy, or wait until you come to Thailand and buy the gold here.

IMHO if one buys anything but “Thai gold” (23kt) they will only be inviting disappointment (for themselves and for the other party as well); Much better ways to spend ones money that would be much more appreciated than spending it on gold that is not 23kt.

[rockyysdt]

If you are not in Thailand then find something besides gold to buy, or wait until you come to Thailand and buy the gold here.

Is 23 carot gold cheaper in Thailand to buy?

[pgs]

considering it will probably be sold at the first opportunity, 9k would be binned.

Aussie gold I wouldn't buy again. I took a $1000 necklace to TH for mumthai from Oz. When she had 3 strokes in 10 days it was taken to be sold - and was offered $100 for it. Certainly made me look like a cheapo.

[Naam]

Is 9 carat snubbed in Thailand?

Will the receiver feel that you're cheap?

Danny

it is snubbed anywhere on this planet except in the Greatest Nation on Earth™

the receiver will not "feel" you are cheap Danny, the receiver will "know" you are cheap

[khunandy]

I bought a nice 9 carat pendant and chain for my girlfriends birthday.

The jeweller said items 22 carat and above aren't practical and subject to breakage due to the softness of the gold.

Is 9 carat snubbed in Thailand?

Will the receiver feel that you're cheap?

The way things are going with the price of gold, http://goldprice.org/gold-price.html , even 9 carat jewellery is expensive these days!

Danny

I bought a nice looking 9k necklace with an Opal (gemstone) pendent at an Aussie airport for the wife once. It really was a nice looking (but cheap) bit of jewellry in my eyes. She loved the opal and the design but I could tell the "farang gold" didnt meet with approval. I said some things are bought for beauty not for investment, she agreed but the chain was swapped out with a Thai gold chain after a few weeks and then the Opal housing was remade in Thai gold after a few months...all good now and rarely seen off her neck.

Andy

[Asian Frog]

Yes, Gold jewelry is a "saving" and use often as such by Thai Ladies.

When they need money they drop your present in a shop, get it back eventually a little later and this operation can be repeated...

So definitively the only good Gold is the 23kt which is accepted by the shop in case they need to borrow money

[TokyoT]

Is 23 carot gold cheaper in Thailand to buy?

Considering the gold content in Thai gold I doubt one can find it any cheaper than you can get it in Thailand. The high gold content is why it is virtually used as currency here in Thailand, very easy to buy and resell, and the resell rates are not drastically lower than the buy rate. The use of it as currency also keeps the prices well in-line with the market rate for gold as a commodity.

In most western countries the margin on gold jewelry is extremely high and one pays for the design and sometimes the reputation of the shop as well. In Thailand the price really is based mostly on the going rate for gold and the price of an item generally only varies based upon weight.

[naka]

9 Carat is only 37.5% gold ... the rest is copper/nikel

Naka.

[Gary A]

I bought a nice 9 carat pendant and chain for my girlfriends birthday.

The jeweller said items 22 carat and above aren't practical and subject to breakage due to the softness of the gold.

Is 9 carat snubbed in Thailand?

Will the receiver feel that you're cheap?

The way things are going with the price of gold, http://goldprice.org/gold-price.html , even 9 carat jewellery is expensive these days!

Danny

Unfortunately you have wasted your money. She would think just as much of sterling silver and she wouldn't think much of that either.

[ronthompson]

For fun I purchased a nine carat Dragon ring at Big C. For a couple of weeks it looked nice then I noticed that it was turning colors. Dumb me ask at the store if it could be cleaned with some solution and I was told "never allow it to get wet".

Buy only good Thai gold for your wife or G/F, they can tell the difference.

Good Jewelry is always expensive; cheap jewelry is always cheap.

[misterman21]

If the girl is brass then she will consider 9k brass. If she has a bit more class and education she would understand that 9k is very practical for jewelry and can be worn daily without becoming battered and gruby like 23k quickly becomes.

However it is generally the case that the isan girl would prefer 23k as it is valued as money so looking trashy doesnt matter

[twschw]

Who are you trying to convince, misterman21, the forum or the tee rak reading this over your shoulder?

[britmaveric]

Dunno 23k 1bht gold chain, pendant been wearing for 7yrs now. Still same as i bought it. Now u might have smth if u mean rings - easily bent/knocked.

[misterman21]

Who are you trying to convince, misterman21, the forum or the tee rak reading this over your shoulder?

The tee rak doesnt sport any 24k jewelry - however she does sport a nice little rolex, a small 18k wedding ring and a not too small 9k and diamond engagement ring. 23k is just not that wearable. And you may well find that 9k jewelry is more expensive by weight in thailand for small items of jewelry. Its just you cant cash it in.

[rockyysdt]

Dunno 23k 1bht gold chain, pendant been wearing for 7yrs now. Still same as i bought it. Now u might have smth if u mean rings - easily bent/knocked.

What is a 1 baht gold pendant.

What will a 23 carot example sell for?

Where can I buy one?

I can do a swap on the 9 carat jewellery, but I only hope the shop keeps 23 carat pieces.

Danny

[goldfish]

SOURCE: Pattaya People: January 29th 2007

Snatch & Grab on South Pattaya Road

At about 1 pm on 29th January, a gold snatching occurred on South Pattaya Road – near the entrance of Sukhumvit, where a Swiss National got injured after he crashed.

Mr. Philipp Gerteis, aged 39, from Switzerland, lives in his condo in Jomtien Metro. Mr. Philipp has been coming to Pattaya every year for the past 9 – 10 years and on each visit, stays for about 1 – 2 weeks. He is currently working for a Real Estate Company in Switzerland.

At the time on that day, he was driving his rented motorbike on South Pattaya Road. Suddenly two Thai men on a motorbike approached him from behind and snatched two 18 Karat gold necklaces off his neck, which eventually made him crash on his motorbike and get injured.

Just as he was trying to get up to chase them, some people found his necklaces on the floor not so far off and gave them back to him. Apparently the culprits found that the gold they snatched was not Thai gold and it didn’t seem valuable to them, so they threw them away and fled.

Lots of people in that area assisted him and the police gave him some first aid treatment before going to the hospital.

Talking to Pattaya People, Mr. Philipp explained that he never thought that something like this could happen in Pattaya – maybe in South America, but definitely never thought that it would happen here. He has been to Pattaya so many times and it has never happened before.

When Pattaya People asked him if this incident will stop him from coming back to Pattaya again or not? Mr. Philipp answered that it won’t stop him and he will come back again because he has a condo here, but maybe if people start talking about Pattaya like this around the world, it might stop people coming to Thailand.

[chuckd]

I have purchased a few one ounce Swiss made gold bars in Saudi. It is certified 99.9% pure and the various recepients of these have seemed to like them.

I usually put them in an 18 karat frame for hanging on a good 3 baht chain.

The pawn shops seem to like them, so I'm told.

[SNGLIFE]

9k gold - don't bother.

To most Thai women, gold is viewed as the commodity it is sans any "western-style" sentimental value; and it's value is realized when it is pawned/sold. It WILL be pawned/sold at some point in the future.

My wife has quite a bit of it. She wears it for show only when visiting friends/family whom she wants to impress and wouldn't even think to wear it casually anywhere else. In her words: "Antelai-mak!" (very dangerous!)

[rockyysdt]

I bought a nice 9 carat pendant and chain for my girlfriends birthday.

The jeweller said items 22 carat and above aren't practical and subject to breakage due to the softness of the gold.

Is 9 carat snubbed in Thailand?

Will the receiver feel that you're cheap?

The way things are going with the price of gold, http://goldprice.org/gold-price.html , even 9 carat jewellery is expensive these days!

Danny

Unfortunately you have wasted your money. She would think just as much of sterling silver and she wouldn't think much of that either.

I can exchange it.

The jeweller can make a 22 carat 5gm pendant in a natural nugget shape with a 9 carat tube along the top to allow it to be threaded onto a chain for 400 aussie bucks. It would have "22 ct" engraved on it.

Would this be acceptable?

[mikethevigoman]

I bought a nice 9 carat pendant and chain for my girlfriends birthday.

The jeweller said items 22 carat and above aren't practical and subject to breakage due to the softness of the gold.

Is 9 carat snubbed in Thailand?

Will the receiver feel that you're cheap?

The way things are going with the price of gold, http://goldprice.org/gold-price.html , even 9 carat jewellery is expensive these days!

Danny

It is totally dependant on who you are giving it to, for fear of being flamed to death ill say no more !, however i will say the thais are a lot smarter than us as our gold when taken back to the jeweller to resell is worth peanuts, Edited March 31, 2008 by mikethevigoman

[mikethevigoman]

I bought a nice 9 carat pendant and chain for my girlfriends birthday.

The jeweller said items 22 carat and above aren't practical and subject to breakage due to the softness of the gold.

Is 9 carat snubbed in Thailand?

Will the receiver feel that you're cheap?

The way things are going with the price of gold, http://goldprice.org/gold-price.html , even 9 carat jewellery is expensive these days!

Danny

Unfortunately you have wasted your money. She would think just as much of sterling silver and she wouldn't think much of that either.

I can exchange it.

The jeweller can make a 22 carat 5gm pendant in a natural nugget shape with a 9 carat tube along the top to allow it to be threaded onto a chain for 400 aussie bucks. It would have "22 ct" engraved on it.

Would this be acceptable?

i doubt it, get a refund and buy her thai gold,

[mikethevigoman]

9 Carat is only 37.5% gold ... the rest is copper/nikel

Naka.

Exactly, and gram for gram more expensive than thai gold,my rule of thumb is buy thai gold for a thai, and european gold for a european,. a european lady given a nice piece of jewelry will be happy and probably keep it for ever, give the same to a thai and they will probably give it to their 4 year old brother to wear anound the farm !

[rockyysdt]

22 carat is near pure (91.6%)

Any higher and it's not workable or durable.

What is Thai gold?

Edited March 31, 2008 by rockyysdt

[Cuban]

> I can exchange it.

> The jeweller can make a 22 carat 5gm pendant in a natural nugget shape with a 9 carat tube along the

> top to allow it to be threaded onto a chain for 400 aussie bucks. It would have "22 ct" engraved on it.

> Would this be acceptable?

As others have said Thais see gold jewellery less as a sentimental gift that is kept as a reminder of the giver but as "money in the bank" or an indication of their wealth to others. Thai gold is measured in Bahts (there is no connection with the currency in this context), one Baht of Thai gold weights 15.16 grams or 0.482 Troy ounce. Most gold shops sell +23Karat (96.5% pure) or 24Karat (98% pure) gold, yes it is soft compared to Western ideas of gold at 9-18 Karat. 22 Karat is 91.6% pure.

Prices, during the peak of the gold futures prices in the past month I saw one shop selling 1 Baht at 15,500 Baht, last week I saw the price was down to 13,100 per Baht.

If you are tied into an exchange before you travel to Thailand consider options of turning the gift into a bracelet or a simple necklace of high purity, or maybe a ring - however you might consider this too deep?

Thais like wearing buddha icons, there are many small glass/gold holders for these icons sold here and they need a nice chain to go with them. You might be better telling her that your simple chain that you bought at home for her was to allow her to wear it everyday with her icon rather than wear a really expensive 4 Baht chain and risk theft or damage.

As Thai gold is so soft it does get damaged easily if worn everyday, a few years ago my GF replaced one of the first bits of jewellery I bought her because it was getting a bit battered, no feeling of emotional loss from her - but happier in a bright shiny new bracelet. (It seems to have got heavier too!)

> The way things are going with the price of gold, even 9 carat jewellery is expensive these days!

Gold in Thailand is priced by weight. In the West - the 9 Karat stuff is priced by design, IMHO over priced for what it is.

[rockyysdt]

One Baht of Thai gold weights 15.16 grams or 0.482 Troy ounce. Most gold shops sell +23Karat (96.5% pure) or 24Karat (98% pure) gold, yes it is soft compared to Western ideas of gold at 9-18 Karat. 22 Karat is 91.6% pure.

Prices, during the peak of the gold futures prices in the past month I saw one shop selling 1 Baht at 15,500 Baht, last week I saw the price was down to 13,100 per Baht.

Thais like wearing buddha icons, there are many small glass/gold holders for these icons sold here and they need a nice chain to go with them. You might be better telling her that your simple chain that you bought at home for her was to allow her to wear it everyday with her icon rather than wear a really expensive 4 Baht chain and risk theft or damage.

As Thai gold is so soft it does get damaged easily if worn everyday, a few years ago my GF replaced one of the first bits of jewellery I bought her because it was getting a bit battered, no feeling of emotional loss from her - but happier in a bright shiny new bracelet. (It seems to have got heavier too!)

Thanks Cuban.

As usual, you're a very imformative source of information.

I'll follow your suggestion to keep the 9 carat chain for its durability and perhaps I can off load the pendant for something else.

I can then purchase 1 baht of gold in Thailand.

If I buy 1 baht of gold for around 14,000B is it fashioned in any shape or style and does this affect its price?

Does it come with a loop to allow it to hang on a chain?

Is there a jeweller in Pattaya that you recommend?

[rick75]

Just wondering how they can sell the gold at below the world rate, at 13,100 bht per baht that was actually below the rate last week, on most days that figure translates to $30.11 aussie per gram and most days last week the gold was up around $34/gram. These are just quick sums. To the OP what ever happened to the concept of its the thought that counts, I am a very generous person by nature but if someone disrespected me in relation to a gift I gave it would be the last they received. Just my two cents.

[Gary A]

The Bangkok Post publishes the exchange rate and gold price every day. Here's from today;

EXCH RATES >>

Baht/$ 31.38/41

Bid/Ask

GOLD

14,050 Baht/Baht weight

- 100

[blue eyes]

Just to answer a few questions here.A good quality Thai gold is no less then 23kt and "cut" with titanium.The reason being that titanium makes the gold stronger and able to hold its shape.Most shops sell thai gold anywhere from 2-7% over spot price of 24kt if it is in the form of jewlry.The price is determined by the detail of the piece.Western gold on the other hand is priced what ever the market will pay regardless of its gold content.The gold shop that you buy your gold from will almost always buy it back for the price of spot minus 1%.Thais do look at gold as money in the bank and not much else.The wife said that "farang gold"is not real gold.I have to agree with that after having Thai gold.Oh and the wife does say that gold from Tiawan is better then Thai gold.Go figure that one out.For daily wear the wife wears an 18kt chain with a dimond and green emerald pendant.Only because I gave it to her as an engagment present and she say no Thai want to robber her of it.Go figure.

Out in the provinces you have to be carfull as to the price and the puraty.I have never meet anyone that has gotten "bad"gold but there are stories of.In Phi Mai the wife and I where shooping at the morning market and I decide to step up to one of the few gold shops there.I saw something that I liked but did not buy and left.As the wife and I where walking up to the shop later to buy what I had seen before the woman quickly erased the buy price on the board and uped it by 1000 THB if I remember correctly.The wife asks why and the woman say gold go up now.Well no sale from me or anyone that we know ever in her shop!!!!!!

I personly prefer to do our gold shopping on Yarawat road.I feel safer and have never felt like a I was being taken.

Up To You.