I was wondering where people thought the best place to buy precious stones, jewellery containing precious stones and (slightly off topic) quality watches might be. I mean both in terms of the country (taxes, honesty) and place of business (auction, trade show etc) in order to get a good price. We all know that buying any of these things retail incurs a HUGE margin - so I wanted thoughts on other sources. As regards country, I live in the UK - so any purchase of such things would be VAT'd (20% tax) and any dealer is likely to need to cover high overheads, cost of living, taxes etc which will raise the price he needs to charge. Where are low tax but non-dodgy places to buy? Thailand, Singapore? I downloaded the online auction catalogue for a local auction that happened a couple of days ago. Next week he should put up the sold prices - when he does he just gives the lot number and has removed the catalogue by then (guess he doesn't want to give away free data). I'll try to post a couple of the pics and sold prices for everyone's info. Cheers
Go to the Chantaburi gem markets. Its friggen awesome. Go with someone who knows about stones though, there are many a shark looking to rip you off there... Some unbeleivable bargains there too. I wish I had more cash on me when I went though I did walk away with a stunning 2.2 ct tsavorite garnet for about $800... top top colour.
Cheers. Funnily enough I was there a few months ago - was my first port of call after crossing from Cambodia! I only stayed overnight and certainly wouldn't have dared buy any stones. I know very little about them and would certainly have been stung. I also went round one of the big, posh, Bangkok malls whilst wasting some time before heading to the airport for my return flight. They had a jewellery area of the mall. My eye was caught by a diamond necklace that was made up of a lot of smallish but lovely looking diamonds. Out of curiosty I asked the price (40,000) but didn't want to take up/waste their time with further questions so I don't know the weights and grades being sold. I'd hazard a guess it was a better deal than you'd find in the UK - though that's not hard!
Evening, I recommend www.gemselect.com I have purchased - easy and as described. Have a great night Gazza