Jewelry With Good Resale Value In Thailand?

[RY12]

I was thinking of buying some jewelry here in the US as a gift for the gf when I meet her in a few weeks in Thailand. Originally I thought of getting a ring, but the prospect of it not fitting her, or accidently being viewed as an engagement ring , scared me away from that (actually, do I have to know the exact size for it to fit? I roughly remember how much smaller her fingers are than mine). I want her to be able to resell whatever I give her for however much I paid for it if she doesn't like it, is gold the best material for that? and would it matter if it was a necklace or bracelet? I am but a lowly and common peon, so I can't pay over say $150 US for the piece. humble thanks.

[jstumbo]

The gold in the US is only around 14K. For reselling, you really need the gold they sell in Thailand.

[RY12]

The gold in the US is only around 14K. For reselling, you really need the gold they sell in Thailand.

Ok, now I understand the old thread about '9k gold in isaan.' So the shops won't even consider buying it?

What about another material? silver, etc?

[jstumbo]

All of the gold shops that I see around sell the really yellow gold. Probably about as close to 24K as they can get and have it work. As far as I can tell that is the only type of metal that they do trade-ins on and buy it back. When you buy it, you pay by the weight, it does not matter what the jewelry looks like, they just charge by the weight.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Only buy the Thai gold for her. The lesser gold/s won't be worth much at all.

[shepsel]

When giving a gift, and if a person does not appreciate it, you have a few options for reselling it. The first is trying to sell it as a considerable discount to the retail value on Craigslist or through another type of advertisement. The second is selling it to a goldsmith--and they will buy it for the scrap value of gold at the time--and fourteen karat gold is only 62% gold, and they will offer you a price well below wholesale market value. In both cases you will take a considerable loss from your original purchase price.

These days when gold is hovering around $US 900 per oz. one does not get very much for what you are planning to spend.

Remember also that if you purchase a ring for her, and did not choose the correct size, gold can be resized to fit her by any reputable jeweller anywhere in the world.

[Beardog]

Thai girls value the Thai gold because it is from their country- & it also is easy to trade up & sell.I think you would be wasting your time buying her anything else as she would most likely be bummed out that it isn't worthy. Even if it is white gold or Black hills gold or whatever.

[Tomkagai]

Thai girls value the Thai gold because it is from their country- & it also is easy to trade up & sell.I think you would be wasting your time buying her anything else as she would most likely be bummed out that it isn't worthy. Even if it is white gold or Black hills gold or whatever.

Got to agree with Beardog...my Mrs only wears her "farang" gold when she is out shopping in the markets as she says she has less chance of being robbed....as the common belief among Thai's is that 9ct/18ct Farang gold is not really gold and you can see the thinking in this as 9ct/18ct gold looks like copper compared to Thai gold...

[Gary A]

Beardog has given you the correct answer. I'll add that jewelry in the US is normally WAY overpriced. Buy gold here and she will be happier.

[Smarky]

What i like in thailand gold is that you will pay by weight and the reselling price is still high in the market...anybody have idea here how much is the gold price in thailand by weight?..thanks!

[RY12]

So as I understand it, if I'm going with gold it has to be 23kt or above, and ought not to be purchased in the US (if there's even a place that sells it) because I'll pay extra for superfulous reasons ...is this right? I want to give it to her the first night I see her in Singapore (where we'll meet in a couple weeks), so unless I can sneak out to some jewelry shop there, I better not go with gold? Is there some other jewelry material I can buy or is everything going to be overpriced in the US?

Thanks

[twschw]

You will never get back the initial cost of a $150 piece of retail jewelry.

You can look here but don't get your hopes up with your budget.

http://www.jewelrytelevision.com/index.asp...p=&tid=7362

[PrBkkPr]

Please keep us posted here as we would like to know what kind of jewelry you could get for US 150 these days that has a resale value.

Best wishes and good luck with you gf.

Regards

[teej]

A gift is a gift. At USD 150 it's really the thought that counts. Don't buy a ring unless you have the proper sizing. A necklace or a bracelet should be fine.

If you're already considering that your significant other will reject a gift on the basis of it's material (or for that matter just rejecting it period), then... oh whatever. Just buy something you think she would like and tell her that. If she doesn't appreciate the gesture...

[Beardog]

RY12 ,

Really in all honesty you would be so much better off setting your limit & let her pick out the jewelry. I am from the U.S. everytime I buy something awesome for my girl - there is a 95% chance it won't be right. She is not an ingrate by any way , but

she prefers a 200 baht shirt to a 2000 baht shirt (made in Thailand) The exotic soaps American (good beauty grade hair salon supplies or whatever) Thai'a prefer Thai goods. $150 made in Indonesia isn't worth dick here to them. The surprise when you buy her the gold item in Thailand will be much more rewarding. The general consensus on a myriad of posted topics always point to

Better to buy in Thai if she is Thai. And it is way better for her to pick it out ,that way you know she will like it & if she decides she doesn't it is 300-500 to swap it for the same weight & in time she can trade up to more baht if she wants.

She will LUB you more if you do it that way.

Cheers

Beardog

[astral]

Only buy the Thai gold for her. The lesser gold/s won't be worth much at all.

And she may well reject it as "not the real thing".

[j0hnga1t]

buy Thai gold. you can get a simple necklace for about $150 in thailand. It's not substantial, but it would be something she could wear and not worry about being stolen. I think it's about 0.38 baht.....My gf is looking for one and told me it would be about 4000 baht....

Gold isn't the best investment, but it is liquid. You basically pay for the weight plus a little extra for labor.

Gold has dropped below 900 in the US...

[mizzi39]

Gold is gold and sold by weight. It does not matter if the piece is 14K or 24K, a gold dealer (In Thailand) will give you baht based on the gold content and weight.18K is 75% (pure) gold 25% other alloys. White gold for example can only go as high as 18K. Any ring you have made that has a precious or semi-precious stone (diamond, Sapphire, ruby, emerald, etc.) in it will be 18K maximum, whether it is yellow, white, or red, because higher gold content means a softer metal which means (potential) loss of stones! Thais do generally like a purer gold, usually between 22-24k since it is used as a form of currency, but the price of gold is based on 24K or 99.99 pure. 9K-23K is priced (and bought) accordingly.

Edited June 27, 2008 by mizzi39