Oh No - I've Been Scammed.

[DavidOxon]

Hi guys and gals

went off for a jolly up in the mountains near Chiang Mai and ended up in a Hill Tribe Agri Tourism Village

Where I was peruaded to part with money in return for some diamonds (which I was interested in buying for earings for my beloved).

Whilst looking online on how to verify my purchase I came across this startlingly similar experience posted on another forum.

'So I just did the test and realized I got a CZ stone rather then a real diamond

Hehehe, I knew I was getting a fake, this guy sold it to me in a back alley in Phuket for $30 CAD dollars, he made a huge song and dance story about how it was real, then did a bunch of tests, 3 tests actually.. I talked him down from $500 USD LOL....

1st test, he scratched glass then broke it in half (common myth that seems to wow people).

2nd test, he placed a wood block on the ground, then a coin, then the "diamond" then another coin, then he made me smash it with a rock furiously.. It didn't break... Thats a show stopper right there... In fact the coins got all scratched up.

3rd and final test, he placed it into a gem holder, then lit it on fire for a minute or so with a lighter, it was fine..

Boy these CZs are really tough... I think I'll make it into an earring and whenever people ask, I will tell them the story about this allycat jewler.'

Exactly the same scam with me, only he said that they were from Burma.

So . . . buyer beware . . . if it's too good to be true, however good the sales pitch then it probably is.

Night

David

[Tywais]

3rd and final test, he placed it into a gem holder, then lit it on fire for a minute or so with a lighter, it was fine..

"Being a form of carbon, they can burn in the presence of oxygen if heated over 800 °C (1500 °F). In absence of oxygen they can stand higher temperatures, but will convert to graphite eventually."

Also Diamonds and Burning a humorous side.

[Kerryd]

Never fallen for the gem scam (or any other scam that I'm aware of).

Had someone try that on me my very first trip though. The old "Limited Time, Special Government Approved" gem sale. They take you into a shop and show you all sorts of things and how to (supposedly) tell if they are "quality" stones or not.

Truth is, if you don't know what you are talking about, you should walk away and consider yourself lucky. Too many people get blinded by the greed monster though, thinking they are somehow special (which is why only they are being offered this great deal) and that if they buy these emeralds, or those sapphires, they'll be able to take them home and sell them for 2/3/4 times their value ! Meanwhile they are shelling out big bucks for coloured glass, and don't have a clue.

I see the same thing here at the weekend markets with the (mostly Pakistani) vendors selling various gems, carpets and antiques. They can tell in an instant if you are totally clueless, and minutes later will have you believing that somehow, out of the thousands and thousands of people that have been through there, this special "once only" deal is only for you.

But like that old saying goes " A fool and his money are soon parted" (I think that was used in another thread recently as well).

Or another one "Live and Learn"

Or "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me"

(etc etc)

[PrBkkPr]

My family is in the Jewelry and Diamond business and I can tell you crazy stories of whats happenning in Bangkok. For starters, a lot of the jewelry that you find in MBK or at most of the counter brands including a few flag ship shops where the diamond jewelry usually uses small diamonds ie from sizes of a pointer to about 20 points are all using Indian cut diamonds that are off a cheaper quality and are of very little resell value. To add to it, some of these pieces contains fake diamonds known as Moissanites. At one stage, moissanites were still relatively expensive and normally where not available in the smaller sizes but as a result of advances in the Russian markets, these moissanites are so cheap and are incorporated in the jewelry pieces usually about 10 to 20% of a piece of jewelry will contain these stones. These stones will also test positive with a diamond tester and only a trained eye can tell but if its too small plus set in pieces that contains say 50 or more smaller pieces, then its difficult to tell.

For the larger pieces, like 0.5 carats upwards, they even have diamonds which was originally of a cheap quality with inclusions in them but then using lasers, they remove these inclusions and patch the tiny holes with either a new form of silicone or else another new product known as diaticer which is available only in Israel. Only very good trained eyes can tell the differences. Then they are even cases of GE Diamonds or HTHP Diamonds being usesd as substitutes, Now though some of these diamonds come with certs, some of these certs are even forged by some Diamond dealers when they are sold to the Jewelers. and for the lesser known certifying bodies, you can even pay them to certify the stones 2 to 3 times of higher levels.

My advice, be very careful when buying any jewelry in Thailand.

[qwertz]

I bought a set of six cut gems on the beach on Pattaya, my first trip.

Since they only cost $10 I figured they weren't for real but I could maybe make a little profit from them in England.

I took them to a jeweller for a valuation and he came up with a worth of 5 Pounds, so had them set in a tie clip which I still have

somewhere around the house.

One thing though, they do sparkle and lots of people have admired the clip.

Can't say I was dissatisfied with the deal.

[AmeriThai]

I've never fallen for a gemstone off the street scam. Seen a few hilltribers selling Burmese "rubies", "sapphires", etc, at the CM Night Bazaar. I've just passed them by. If I want real gemstones, I'll go to a highly reputable dealer that I know have the real deal. Still, as already mentioned, a lot of tourists fall for the gemstone scam thinking they're getting a great bargain. In reality though, real gemstones aren't exactly a "bargain" anymore. Those days are long gone.

Edited May 11, 2008 by AmeriThai

[bendix]

With respect, if you guy gems from the street, the beach or from a guy approaching you in the street and you think you're getting a great deal . . . . . . . . . No, I can't go on. I've already had enough warnings for calling people idiots.

[vegas]

I've been buying the amber liquid in Thailand for 19 years and have nothing to show for it. You just can't trust the Thais!

[tuky]

With respect, if you guy gems from the street, the beach or from a guy approaching you in the street and you think you're getting a great deal . . . . . . . . . No, I can't go on. I've already had enough warnings for calling people idiots.

Shocked I am sure

It is a good warning for newbies, seeing as these guys try they must get a few people otherwise they would have given up by now so my thoughts are that it must be newbies that get caught.

I can't understand it myself, but the Nigerians catch people out too.

[Ubon9]

Hi guys and gals

went off for a jolly up in the mountains near Chiang Mai and ended up in a Hill Tribe Agri Tourism Village

Where I was peruaded to part with money in return for some diamonds (which I was interested in buying for earings for my beloved).

Whilst looking online on how to verify my purchase I came across this startlingly similar experience posted on another forum.

'So I just did the test and realized I got a CZ stone rather then a real diamond

Hehehe, I knew I was getting a fake, this guy sold it to me in a back alley in Phuket for $30 CAD dollars, he made a huge song and dance story about how it was real, then did a bunch of tests, 3 tests actually.. I talked him down from $500 USD LOL....

1st test, he scratched glass then broke it in half (common myth that seems to wow people).

2nd test, he placed a wood block on the ground, then a coin, then the "diamond" then another coin, then he made me smash it with a rock furiously.. It didn't break... Thats a show stopper right there... In fact the coins got all scratched up.

3rd and final test, he placed it into a gem holder, then lit it on fire for a minute or so with a lighter, it was fine..

Boy these CZs are really tough... I think I'll make it into an earring and whenever people ask, I will tell them the story about this allycat jewler.'

Exactly the same scam with me, only he said that they were from Burma.

So . . . buyer beware . . . if it's too good to be true, however good the sales pitch then it probably is.

Night

David

If the daimond where real this person would have gone and sold them in a shop, not to you for little money.