Hill Tribe Silver

[kittyboy]

I will be in Thailand for 4 weeks and I have been "taking orders" as it were from friends who want thai handicrafts.. etc..

One friend has asked me to look around for Hill Tribe Silver. She would like a necklace or some silver beads..etc..

Also, my sister wants me to pick her up a couple of pairs of earings - saphire and or maybe ruby.

I have seen a couple of recomendations for gem stores in Pataya - Honest Gems...etc...

Others have recommended going to BKK.

Where would be a good place to buy Hill Tribe Silver - a necklace and maybe some beads?

A recent post recommended China Town in BKK to buy gold - what about silver and gems?

Mark

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[kjun12]

Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai would probably be the best place to find silver. Be very careful purchasing gems. It is very easy to get ripped off. Many fakes are sold.

[francois]

In Pattaya, at Royal Garden shopping mall you will find one or two silver shops on the upper level. An impressive amount of silver is displayed but not sure if have "Hill Tribe Silver".
The recommended gem shops in Pattaya are a good choice for sapphires,etc.

In Chaing Mia there is an area known for crafts and silk. I have been there several times but not for a couple years but I did enjoy the area.

'Hill tribe silver' would not pass muster as 'silver' in any recognised western jewellers. It is an impure alloy with, in most cases, a silver content of barely over 50% and items made with it are invariably so weak and fragile that they easily and quickly break.

The silver shops already mentioned in Royal Garden by Francois are a far better bet (although, of course, you will have to pay for the 'real thing').

[Wesley]

I can't say much about the silver, but the hill tribe boys up in Chaing Mai are certainly worth a there, Believe me!

Wes

'Hill tribe silver' would not pass muster as 'silver' in any recognised western jewellers. It is an impure alloy with, in most cases, a silver content of barely over 50% and items made with it are invariably so weak and fragile that they easily and quickly break.

The silver shops already mentioned in Royal Garden by Francois are a far better bet (although, of course, you will have to pay for the 'real thing').

Pissyboy,

in the hope that your friends and your sister are not quite as unbearable as you, you would be well advised to take Snowkat's advice - I would say he has been lucky if he has found "hill-tribe" jewellery with a 50% silver content! Sapphires and rubies are not found in Thailand (those "mined" around Chanthaburi are imported from the Pailin area in Cambodia) so you are unlikely find any bargains. Note the comments at http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/fo ... 25-15.html

[TrongpaiExpat]

There's a place that I have been to a few times in Chiang Mai but I can't remember the name and can't find the business card. It's quite large and has a nice selection of silver.

It's on hyw 1006 Charoen Mueang Road. From town when you cross the "super Hwy"9-the ring road, it's on your right about 1km.

Take Charoen Mueaug Road (rt 1006) from town out in the direction of the 'Super Hwy" rt 11. Cross the super hwy and on your right about 1km you will see a large silver show room. If you are arriving on the Super Hwy( from the north), look for Makro and turn left.

Locate these roads on a map and if you don't have your own transportation I would be careful with a tuk-tuk taking you there and then getting a commission that will be passed off to you.

[kittyboy]

'Hill tribe silver' would not pass muster as 'silver' in any recognised western jewellers. It is an impure alloy with, in most cases, a silver content of barely over 50% and items made with it are invariably so weak and fragile that they easily and quickly break.

The silver shops already mentioned in Royal Garden by Francois are a far better bet (although, of course, you will have to pay for the 'real thing').

Pissyboy,

in the hope that your friends and your sister are not quite as unbearable as you, you would be well advised to take Snowkat's advice - I would say he has been lucky if he has found "hill-tribe" jewellery with a 50% silver content! Sapphires and rubies are not found in Thailand (those "mined" around Chanthaburi are imported from the Pailin area in Cambodia) so you are unlikely find any bargains. Note the comments at http://www.sawatdee-gay-thailand.com/fo ... 25-15.html

Thanks for the information.

As for the quality of the silver тАУ I doubt my friend cares whether the silver is up to тАЬinternationalтАЭ standards or quality. This is not an investment тАУ this is a small gift from me to her. I give her the gift because she is an important person in my life. I want to give my sister a gift from Thailand because she is an important person in my life. Neither one of them are luxury queens тАУ it is the fact that I am thinking of them and want to give them something unusual that is important. Not the amount of money I spend тАУ so the тАЬQualityтАЭ of the silver is not the point. The point is demonstrating to people who I care about that I am thinking of them.

My friend and sister are very bearable - thank you so much for asking and the advice. However, I expected a more typical response from you which is generally much longer, self-important and self-referential.

Thanks for the information.
As for the quality of the silver тАУ I doubt my friend cares whether the silver is up to тАЬinternationalтАЭ standards or quality. This is not an investment тАУ this is a small gift from me to her. I give her the gift because she is an important person in my life. I want to give my sister a gift from Thailand because she is an important person in my life. Neither one of them are luxury queens тАУ it is the fact that I am thinking of them and want to give them something unusual that is important. Not the amount of money I spend тАУ so the тАЬQualityтАЭ of the silver is not the point. The point is demonstrating to people who I care about that I am thinking of them.

The point I was trying to make is that it is not the quality per se, but rather the ease in which jewellery made from such 'silver' breaks because of the poor quality of the metal. It would be a shame to buy an item of jewellery as a gift for your sister or friend (especially if, as you say, they mean so much to you) as a souvenir only for it to break after being worn one or two times. Now if you were to buy ornaments or other items not frequently handled it would be a different matter!