Gold shop Suk area

[Julian2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baht

 

"Baht is also a unit of gold measure and is used commonly in jewellers and goldsmith in Thailand, 1 baht = 15.244 grams. (15.244 gramme is used for "raw" gold or bullion; in the case of jewellery, one baht should be more than 15.16 grammes)"

 

No mention of purity here. I'm prepared to meet you half way though. Don't worry about my advice. Hey some of those tuktuk drivers carry some nice chains at a good price.

[OCgringo]

I know of the shop SD speaks of in MBK , have done some business with them before,

 

yes you can get ripped off , but as others have said , go to an established gold shop , if you see lots of Thai-Chinese in it you can be pretty sure as they are not going to screw up their longtime business.

 

Do not buy at the weekend market , on a street stall on Sukumvit, from anyone who comes up to you on the street etc

 

OC

 

PS...I "invest" in other things than gold , but not what you can easily sell in a crisis

 

[Old Hippie]

"...PS...I "invest" in other things than gold , but not what you can easily sell in a crisis ..."

 

 

I disagree, a lot of girls sell it well in a crises!

 

 

Regarding putity, the standard is 1 bht =15.16grms gold at 97.?% or so, a bit over 23 Karats. Anything else, they tell you it is 90% 85% etc...the shop clearly marks it on the case.

 

Chains and bracelets are usually the standard % and vary by weight. Pendents, rings, and other styles of bracelets may be 90+% for strength.

 

You get a receipt for your purchase that will have the weight and the purity written on it, along with the price for the gold and the work, and the date.

 

The proper name of the shop I mentioned was/is Hua Seng Heng.

[Orangutan]

 

Regarding putity, the standard is 1 bht =15.16grms gold at 97.?% or so, a bit over 23 Karats. Anything else, they tell you it is 90% 85% etc...the shop clearly marks it on the case.

 

My standard is higher, I buy only 24 karat gold 99.99% pure easily resold, and pegged to fixed spot market prices. There is one shop in Yaowarat ( China Town) that I go to. They have a huge 24-KARAT sign over the shop, on the main street that passes through the market.

 

-Orangutan

[Orangutan]

BuBi,

 

I should add that for the BG of your choice the lower grade gold would be acceptable.

 

-Orangutan

[Khun004]

My standard is higher, I buy only 24 karat gold 99.99% pure easily resold, and pegged to fixed spot market prices. There is one shop in Yaowarat ( China Town) that I go to. They have a huge 24-KARAT sign over the shop, on the main street that passes through the market. -Orangutan

That's an excellent idea.

Because 999+ gold is easily resold anywhere in the world, whereas Thai "baht" gold is unique to Thailand.

 

Two questions for Orangutan:

First, at that shop, in what forms is that 24K available?

Do you see necklaces and other jewelry?

Or is it in coins or small, bullion bars of some sort?

 

Second, what is the premium or "making" charge over spot?

The gold shop signs I see at MBK have a 100 baht spread between bid and asked prices, plus they charge upwards of 400 baht per baht-weight for "making".

So, the effective premium is 500 baht, or more, per baht-weight.

What about on the 24-K?

 

And I'm still hoping for an answer to the crucial question: How can a buyer be sure they are getting the gold quality they are paying for?

We could buy gold now, but, upon selling, might find we had owned less quality than we'd paid for.

[elef]

What thais call 24 K is in the best shops 96.5 % (23 K = 95.8) but in some shops can be 20 - 22 K. If you buy gold in the gold shops in bigger hotels I've never seen more than 18 K (75 %).

 

Same btw for Dubai gold which also is said to be 24 K but never more than 96.5 % except in gold coins and bars.

[Old Hippie]

"...And I'm still hoping for an answer to the crucial question: How can a buyer be sure they are getting the gold quality they are paying for?

We could buy gold now, but, upon selling, might find we had owned less quality than we'd paid for...."

 

 

I have answered this...sort of, buy it from a reputable shop, and you have no worry. It will be stated what purity and weight, and if you walk down the street to another shop, and have it checked, they will offer you the "buying" price for gold. WHen you go into a jewler in your home country, how do you know what they are selling you, is as stated? Use the same logic here.

 

Some MBK shops frequently charge more per bht weight than Yaowarot, and more for work as well, but they negotiate a bit more as well...also they may have more styles...NEVER BUY GOLD FROM A SHOP THAT DOES NOT ADVERTISE/DISPLAY THE PRICE UP FRONT, AND THE PURITY OF THE GOLD YOU ARE BUYING!!

 

 

As for buying pure gold, 99.9999 fine gold jewelry...be aware, it is very soft, and can break easily, resulting in loss. Almost any jeweler will advise against putting stones in gold softer than 18kt. I have had no problems selling Thai gold here (USA), or trading it in, as most gold in jewelry shops has some other metals in it (copper?) for strength, and sometimes for appearance.

 

Also, be advised, read the fine print, if it says "...contains xyz grams of 99.999% fine gold..." it may weigh more than xyz grams, and thus is not 100% pure gold buy weight. An example is the American Eagle gold coin series (Krugarands as well maybe?) They do contain 1 troy OZ (or whatever) of 99.999% fine gold, but they also have other metals added for appearance and strength. Some jewelry is sold this way as well, though I have not seen it sold this way in Thailand IN THE REPUTABLE SHOPS... Hence, I'll say it again, stick with a reputable shop.

[Orangutan]

Khun004,

 

I mostly buy 5 and 10 baht gold bars. Hence there is no charge for design labor. I also have a necklace, and a couple of bracelets, for these I paid a design labor premium. The spread commission for buying the bars in maybe 1-3%. For the jewelry the labor charge depends on the intricacy of the design, and whatever they think they can get. The gold prices keyed to the Spot market always seem to be higher than the London fix market; the difference is around $10, the Spot being higher. When I buy the bars the price is always under the Spot Market price.

 

Thai Gold

 

Thais use a unique unit of measurement for weighing gold, the "baht" which is precisely 15.244 grams before the gold is worked or 15.16 grams after. Most gold shops will display on their windows the current buying and selling price of a "baht" of gold bullion of 96.5% purity. Gold can also be measured in "satangs" and "salungs". 100 satangs = 1 baht and 25 satangs = 1 salung.

 

1 baht in approximately half an ounce of gold (1 troy ounce = 31.1034768 grams) so a rough and ready way to calculate the value is to divide the price of gold in ounces by 2.

 

100% gold is considered too soft for jewelry. In the past, perhaps 40 years ago, most gold was 98% pure, with the joints and other delicate parts being made of an alloy called nam prasam tong. Nowadays most gold sold in Thailand is 96.5% purity which is just over 23 karat. The remaining 3.5% consists of silver and bronze. Some is 98% which is called 24 karat and in some shops they sell 20 or 18 karat gold. The company Gold Master sells 99% pure gold. Prima Gold, which is a subsidiary of Pranda Jewelry sells 99.99% pure gold; they are also the market leader in 24k white gold. There are no shops selling Prima Gold in the US as yet, but you can buy it through the TV shopping channels.

 

There is no hallmarking system in Thailand although random checks are made periodically on gold shops to determine the purity of the gold.

 

In department stores you will have to pay 7% sales tax. However in many gold shops you will not have to pay any tax.

 

-Orangutan

[adanac]

How much do these shops charge per troy ounce for gold jewllery. Also approximatly what percentage will I save buying jewllery in Thailand rather than North America ?