![]() Thanachakaphad says the very act of asking to do a lab analysis on a gem would help flush out unreliable traders. Shor says these reports include a “scientific and impartial assessment of the gem.” While some glass imitation gems can be spotted easily due to unnaturally-bright colors and small bubbles inside the stone, sophisticated fakes can only be identified by a gemologist, he adds. Gem analysis reports often cost less than US$100 and can be completed within 2-3 days. These include the Gubelin Gem Lab in Hong Kong, Jaipur’s International Gem Testing Laboratory and Bangkok’s GIA and AIGS. The golden rule, especially when buying expensive stones, is to have them assessed for quality and authenticity at a reliable gem analysis laboratory before purchase. He launched the two-hour workshops after seeing how many tourists were fearful of being sold fake gems by unscrupulous traders.Īccording to both Thanachakaphad and Shor, there are several key measures tourists can take to avoid being scammed when shopping for gems. He says that because Thailand, India and Hong Kong are major gem export centers, they offer tourists better value on stones than they would find in their home countries, which are most likely at the end of the supply chain. Thai gemologist Kanpoj Thanachakaphad, a graduate of the GIA with 15 years of experience in the trade, recently launched a series of workshops to teach tourists how to analyze stones, particularly diamonds. So how can a buyer know for certain a gem is legit? ![]() Thai gemologist Kanpoj Thanachakaphad hosts workshops to help tourists avoid being scammed. The leading sources of colored gemstones, such as rubies, jade, emeralds and sapphires, are Brazil, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Madagascar and Tanzania.Īmong the main producers of diamonds are Russia, Australia, Canada, South Africa and Botswana. Most of the gems sold in these three centers are imported from other parts of the world. Thailand, meanwhile, is one of the world’s top colored gemstone cutting and trading centers, exporting in excess of US$600 million worth of gems a year.īangkok’s Silom neighborhood in particular is home to hundreds of gem traders, while the town of Chanthaburi in southeast Thailand is a major center for stone cutting and boasts a big weekend gem market. Why Hong Kong? Tax-free shopping makes it an attractive destination for tourists, who contribute more than US$1 billion a year to its gemstone export trade. 1 location for expensive gems, including “million-dollar-plus jade and ruby pieces,” says Shor. While Jaipur’s gem trade focuses mostly on lower-end stones, Hong Kong is the region’s No. Jaipur, Bangkok and Hong Kong are the three major gemstone trading hubs in Asia.
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