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Slippy1
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Many questions rolled into one here. Do forum members believe the quality of Thai gold, and the price for one baht, is consistent throughout the Kingdom?
For example, do members find the quality of gold (or the workmanship in the gold jewellery) in chinatown in BKK superior to elsewhere in Thailand, therefore justifying the higher prices that you seem to find in chinatown BKK?
Is there "snobbery" in chinatown BKK, where the gold traders look down their noses at gold bought in the provinces and therefore offer lower prices if you want to trade it for BKK gold?
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 11:29 am on April 25, 2004
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Minder
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The variation I have seen in the price of Thai gold from one gold shop to another and one town to another has always seemed fairly minimal - rather like the variation in exchange rate from one currency booth to another - its there but too small to make much difference.
Can't comment on the "snobbery" part of the question but certainly if the gold ain't Thai gold then it ain't really gold to most Thais. 18ct is tolerated but 9ct is just rubbish, that'[s the attitude I've seen.
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Bangkok Women : Meet Sensual Bangkok Women
Posted on: 11:49 am on April 25, 2004
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Slippy1
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Thanks Minder. Your points about 9K gold etc are good, understood and noted. It is only Thai gold I ask about, in other words 23K or thereabouts.
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 11:54 am on April 25, 2004
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Vancouver Jay
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Every gold shop has the day's buying and selling price on a sign (or written in soap) on the front windows. As a rule, when you sell gold the shop is only buying the weight of the gold ( X baht weight times.965 purity ) not the workmanship in it, so the quality of the piece is largely irrelevant.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Sexy Bangkok Girls
Posted on: 12:26 am on April 26, 2004
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Slippy1
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Thanks for the feedback VJ. Thought I would wait a while to see if any other answers arrived.
You are right of course.
The reason I raised this is that when my Thai wife tried to exchange in Chinatown a 2 baht gold bracelet bought in Pattaya for an identical looking (to me) 2 baht Chinatown bracelet (it fitted her better apparently!) she was quoted an outrageous price for making the trade. Something like THB4K to make the trade and it was explained to her that the reason for this was the workmanship was superior in gold bought in Chinatown, and the quality of the gold in Chinatown was better. The gold trader my wife only BKK gold was genuine, gold bought elsewhere in Thailand (he said) was only about 90% quality (not sure how many karats that translates to). I showed the shopkeeper the hallmark on my wife's bracelet but it made no difference to his assertion. To my mind the gold trader was coming out with a load of BS. I put my foot down and told my wife to keep the bracelet she already had. A few days later she made the same trade in Pattaya for a few hundred baht (about the normal going rate for a trade).
The gold trader in Pattaya confirmed the quality and workmanship was the same for gold bought in Pattaya and gold bought in BKK (all over Thailand actually as you say VJ). Presumably the Chinatown gold shop just saw a farang with a Thai lady and assumed he could mark up the price as the farang would be paying, would not be wise to his tricks, and the Thai lady would not care less. Or do you think I being too cynical?
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Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 7:38 pm on May 15, 2004
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Abrak
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Slippy... you are almost certainly correct.
All thai gold is effectively 24 carat. 18 carat gold in Thailand is all imported. There is no machinery to manufacture 18 carat gold in Thailand. 24 carat gold is very soft so good craftmanship is rendered useless by wear and tear.
So western jewellry is usually 18 carat with a high degree of design (with jewellry costing several times the value of the metal). Thai gold is 24 carat and only has value by weight (baht).
As such you only pay a few hundred baht to exchange one 2 carat bracelet for another. Gold is effectively a second currency in Thailand. Saying that gold from Pattaya is inferior to gold from Bangkok is rather like saying that the Bt1000 note you got in Khom Kaen is worth less than a Bt1000 note in Bangkok.
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Bangkok Women : Meet Beautiful Thai Girls
Posted on: 8:42 pm on May 15, 2004
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Pierre D
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I have planed to find a gold signet ring for me in BKK but I know that thaï gold is too much soft and I have seen many TG's rings broken by the use. Do you think that imported gold at 18 is cheaper than in Europe and I can make a good bargain, buying my signet ring in Thaïland ?
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Thai Girls : Meet Active Thai Girls
Posted on: 4:12 pm on July 5, 2004
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aurum
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the difference between thai gold and international standard gold is defined in its purity, thais like it a little bit more yellow, therefore thai gold only reaches a 965/1000 ratio, while international bullion requires 999/1000. The Chinatown Gold Shops and their employees behave like any branches representatives who stand at the top level of their business, snobbish but most of the time with expertise and kno-how
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Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 1:20 pm on July 9, 2004
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BlueHawaii
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I'll be in LOS in a couple days, and would like to buy a Thai gold necklace for my GF. Was planning to visit one of the famous gold shops in Chinatown like Tang To Kang, Hua Seng Heng, or Jin Hua Heng.
I read about bargaining in most places in LOS, but I read elsewhere on the internet that there isn't much wiggle room when buying Thai gold.
Is there any bargaining room for Thai gold, or do I just pay the original asking price, specifically from one of the shops I mentioned?
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 3:48 pm on Oct. 20, 2005
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