Gold (bracelet)

[h5n1]

Greetings to you all, I hope you can help. I need to buy some sort of gold object for my mother (for parents) 50th anniversary. I think a bracelet would be nicer for her than a necklace. As she is American, we don't do 24k, so I'm looking for a 18k bobble.

Does each piece have the weight (and price) on it? Can I haggle at all?

Is the two tier price in the window for buy/sell 24K or 18K or what?

How much should I pay per gram? Is the ounce a troy ounce and what is that?

The mfg of each piece is included in the std gram price correct?

Should I be wary of the gold shops in Pattaya? The big ones seem fairly straight up to me.

Can you give me a basic per gram price for 18k based on gold at US425.00+/-?

= US320+/-???

ANY HELP much appreciated

[Explorer]

Sorry i don't know the gold price is like but i got a local who does design and manufacture gold stuff. He did me and my wife's wedding rings (design and manufacture) for a really cool price. I could PM you his number if you are interested to find out more.

Explorer

[Tornado]

gold is a funny thing.

[stroll]

18k in Thailand tends to be more expensive than the local 22/23k, and kindda hard to find. Shouldn't be a problem to get the weight and work out the gram price. The price displayed in the shops is for 1baht=15.4 g of 23k, a labour charge will be added to that. For 18k the pricing is different, it relates to the individual piece.

[Ken]

Did a quick "google" search and this site answers a number of your questions. As for Gold shops. I would think that these shops are quite controlled and regulated. And where do you think all the Thai's buy their gold? In these shops of course.

Thai Gold

[Boh Bpen Yang]

Gold prices can be looked op on the internet.

Jewelry depends on several factors.

Integrity of the dealer is a must know. All that glitters is not gold.

Next important factor is the quality and intricacy of the work. This can make a purchase of jewelry similar to buying a piece of art. Up to you.

Weight and alloy content come in to play as well but there's a more fixed evaluation there.

You have to shop around do some research to know a basis for pricing and KNOW YOUR MERCHANT.

Good luck to you, and I hope you find something your mother will really appreciate.

[dugdig]

Gold is sold by the baht weight. If you google 'define:baht' I think you will find the conversion stuff you will need I think...I haven't done it.

The two prices are the buy and sell price for 24k.

The following applies to buying 24k:

Pieces have marked weights which can be verified quicky using the small electronic scales which you will see sitting on the counter. Buying a piece means paying the baht weight price plus a fabrication fee. The fabrication fee is negotiable probably by a small amount. Thais often trade in an old piece and add some money to upgrade to a larger piece. The shop charges a processing fee to process the old gold.

You might consider buying 24k since it is really what Thai gold is all about. It is yellower than 18k. There are sometimes some 18k pieces. I've seen ear rings made from 18k.

[stroll]

Thai gold shops can be trusted for the quality of the gold, but some may try to add ficticious charges, when they realise you're a 'newbie'.

By contrast, the run of the mill gold shop knows nothing about precious stones, and it is not uncommon to find the cheapest kind of imitation set in genuine gold. Gemstone jewellery is better bought in gemshops, as a rule, but you do need to inform yourself beforehand, plenty of scams in this department.

I hope this helps.

[h5n1]

Much thanks!