Chanthaburi Gem Market

Chanthaburi's own ruby and sapphire deposits were largely worked out decades ago, but the town did not lose the trade - it became a global centre for cutting, heat treatment and dealing, and a very large share of the world's coloured stones passes through here at some stage regardless of where they were mined. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday the trade spills into the street: dealers set up folding tables along Si Chan Road and the surrounding lanes, buyers walk between them with loupes and tweezers, stones are examined in daylight over white paper, and prices are agreed with little ceremony. Burmese, African and Sri Lankan material moves in quantity. Casual visitors are welcome to watch and the atmosphere is open, but buying without expertise is a poor idea - treatment disclosure, synthetic stones and simple misrepresentation are all real risks and the market does not exist to protect newcomers.

What you actually see

• The street tables - dealers trading stones from folding tables at the kerb.
• The daylight examination - buyers with loupes assessing over white paper.
• The cutting industry - Chanthaburi's role in treatment and dealing worldwide.
• The material - Burmese, African and Sri Lankan stones moving in quantity.

When to go

Friday, Saturday and Sunday, in daylight hours - the trade needs natural light and the market winds down in the afternoon. Two hours to walk it.

Honest expectations

Buying without expertise is genuinely risky - heat treatment, synthetics and misrepresentation are all common and disclosure is inconsistent. Photographing dealers or stones is often unwelcome. It is a working trade, not a tourist market.

Nearby

The Chanthaboon waterfront and the cathedral are a short walk.