I'm currently in the UK and hope to return to Thailand within the next 4-6 weeks. I want to buy my GF soon to be fiancee an engagement ring but wondered if she would prefer Thai gold to what i can get in the UK. Would i also get more for my money in Thailand than here.

Borring question i know.

i brought my wifes wedding ring in the uk ,, but she wanted thai gold ,,,
you cant porn uk gold here ??????,

ps if you get the wrong size they cant make it bigger ,,(uk gold), and if you need it smaller make sure they dont cut any of the hall marks out , thats what they did to mine ,, they dont understand hall marks ?

Thai gold is actually too soft to support diamonds in many cases.

Most Thais do not have engagement rings. She will likely not understand its worth or meaning.

Diamonds and gems here are dodgy. No laws to protect the buyer. I'd buy in my home country but then I wouldn't waste money on one for a Thai. A wedding ring, yes, Thai gold.

She wont appreciate 9ct or 18ct gold, it's so yellow her mates will think it's fake. It would have to be a really impressive diamond to overcome that. I'm sure she'd appreciate a Thai one better but dont go to buy it yourself otherwise you are very likely to be ripped off for the jewel.

Thanks for the info. I did think of letting her choose herself if i bought in Thailand.

If your in Chiang Mai area there was a great jewelery store heading out to Bo Sang. It billed itself as the worlds largest jewelery store. You'll not save any money in comparision to prices in the US its about the same. My jeweler here looked at my wifes ring and said he would sell it for a few dollars more than we paid for it. No its not 24 k as it won't hold the stone. The service is great they had a free bar to keep you occupied while they size the ring to your ladies finger. Theres a mess of people making settings you can watch through windows. The selection really stuns you it was a big place.

Go to a jewelry shop and look around. Thousands of shops in Bangkok.

I would differ in the opinion that she wouldn't appreciate the setting. My wife understands the reasoning why you can't use 24k for a ring that has a setting. My wife's only stated presents that she wants contains the word "diamond(s)" It makes gift buying easy for me and I appreciate that. Only my bank account doesn't

Do Thai's normally use engagement rings? I'm not sure about this. Maybe better to save the money and use it to buy her.................. opps....sorry..I mean pay the dowery.

Does it HAVE to be a diamond ring? Lots of cubic zirconia rings available with yellow gold which would fool even some jewellers. This one is stunning!

Peter

There's a Tiffany and Co. at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. Yeah, it's a X,000% markup, but she'll really appreciate the experience. Tiff and Co. have licensed sales execs working in Thailand, but they only work by appointment, and it's not the same as actually being in the store. There's also a Cartier at Emporium, but they don't keep much stock on hand as the locals who are willing to pay a million+ per carat usually will go abroad for the weekend or day for their jewelry needs.

Go here: http://www.bluenile.co.uk/ BlueNile has a huge variety of diamonds and settings to choose from. You aren't going to get hit with a big mark up that you would in a normal jewelry store.

Thai will indeed wear a diamond and they are available here with the same grading as elsewhere. And the Thai gold rings do indeed hold them in place. They are available at all the normal jewelery stores but I would recommend you both visit the old Chinese shops at Ban Mo together and pick it out. I always see Thai couples doing that when I am in the area and do not believe they will try to rip you off - as they offer buy back/exchange service and have been in the diamond business for generations. Most Thai will know about Ban Mo or Ban Mor as both the electronic center and diamond sales center of Chinatown. If you take a taxi to "Old Siam Shopping Center" it will be one road to the west from the S&P (west) side of the shopping center.

How about getting white gold? My wife has diamonds in her engagement ring. White gold is nicer in my opinion than Thai gold. We bought her engagement ring in the Emporium.

This post has been edited by Jockstar: 2007-06-03 10:23:54

I bought my wife's engagement ring at MBK. There seems to be a lot of bigger (seemingly reputable) shops there. And i was quite happy with the ring/price.

When we bought our wedding rings we went to Chinatown. Which i thought was a real nightmare. You have to literally elbow swim your way to the counter, and after 15-20 minutes if you yell loud enough you can get someone to show you a ring.
I couldn't believe how packed the gold shops were!

This post has been edited by dave111223: 2007-06-03 10:28:22

Completely agree with Jockstar. Aesthetically, a good diamond looks much better with white gold. I've bought my wife a couple of high grade diamond rings and a necklace, all in white gold. Understated, classy and not too obvious.

If you're going to buy a diamond, get a quality one. D clarity at least and as close to flawless as possible. There's a huge difference in prices, but it's worth it. And make sure you buy from somewhere where you will get an Antwerp certificate of authenticity - any decent seller will have them. I've bought a couple of times from an old Chinese family store on Wireless Road . . half way between the US embassy and Suan Lum.

My wife won't touch thai gold as jewelly. Rightly or wrongly, she thinks it looks tacky and common. I'm inclined to agree. But i do have a few small bars stuck away in my safe at home

the advantages of buying thai baht gold are obviously the low labour cost.i dont believe that thai baht gold is less durable than 18k.i think one of the alloys is bronze.thais seem to wear there jewelry everyday with no problems.
maybe the jewelry industry in the west promoted the durability problem of high karat gold to serve their own purposes.

The ring I am wearing right now is 23k. It scratches pretty easily. I think if someone had an engagement ring made out of 23k gold and if the prongs holding the diamond are also, that diamond is going to fall out easily.

Buy it in Thailand, In Chinatown at one of the reputable shops on Yaowarat

I would also choose the white gold, and make sure it's 18 carat gold, which is strong enough to hold the diamond. Thai gold is usually 23 or 24 carat and too soft.

Choose the diamond at a reputable place and insist on a certificate from a well know gemological society.

Diamonds go by the "C"s: Clarity, Color, Carat, each of which has an influence on the price. If you buy for investment, choose top Clarity or at least "vvsi" (very very small inclusions), and size only as second importance. But if you want to impress your girl (and she wants to impress her friends), compromise on clarity and choose a bigger size.
Colors are subject to fashion. Right now, pink is fashionable and expensive. I would choose to the blue side ("River").

I hope your diamond is forever.

fly to gibralta,no tax and you will get double the size of diamond.for the money that if you would get in england..that's what i will do...

i'd like to find out for sure.i read one german jeweler say that the idea of high karat gold being more likely to break is nonsense,& another who agrees that high karat gold is less durable. i believe that most of the rings sold in the west are cast,whereas in thailand they are mostly forged (hammered/pressed),hand made which is stronger due more densely packed molecules of gold.

Of course she prefers thai gold. That way she can sell it back to the gold shop soon after you board the plane for UK.

1. They do not use 100% (23k in Thai terms) for rings. It is called 90% and much stronger than the gold shop 100% type. I would guess this is about 20k.

2. The current fashion is gold color. White gold is out of fashion and is not exchangeable - only payment/pawn value would be for diamond.

Tiffany & Co.
make your gf veeeeeery happy...!
hahahahah
i mean, this would make me happy, at least.


ps, I love this branch, the models r just fantastic. http://www.tiffany.com/