Gems Road Chanthaburi (ถนนอัญมณี – ตลาดพลอยจันทบุรี) is the location of the ASEAN Gems Central Market, a world-renowned comprehensive gem and jewelry center. There are also natural gemstones to trade.
Many gems worldwide are sent here for added value processing and then exported back as precious and beautiful gemstones.
Chanthaburi has abundant gems cutting artisans with excellent craftsmanship and long experience and a source of raw materials for jewelry production.
The Gems road is the bustling economic area of the province and is the largest cut gemstones market in Thailand. It consists of Si Chan Road and Krachang Alley parallel to the Chanthaboon River.
Located in the heart of the city, Tambon Wat Mai, Mueang Chanthaburi District, near the foot of Trirat Bridge, the market opens for service every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Both sides of the road are lined with genuine wholesale gemstones shops from the factories, cut gem shops, gem and jewelry shops, gold shops, jewelry machinery and equipment shops, and galleries showing precious stones domestically and internationally. Inside the market, besides having Chanthaburi gems, there are also foreign ones.
Every Friday, there will be an offer and price inquiry before the actual trading on Saturday.
The charm of this place is an old community composed of traditional Thai people; Thai people of Chinese and Vietnamese descent came together and helped develop the gemstone market. Plus, the trading atmosphere that traders and brokers from within the Thai kingdom and abroad sit at the gems trading table with equipment to see gemstones.
Business travelers and tourists will experience strange trading vibes unlike anywhere else; bargaining and trading start with a commercial building table (with air-conditioned and open-air rooms). Numerous people come to watch impressive images of merchants and experts moving tables searching for the most precious gemstones.
Most gemstone sellers will be the middleman or the broker; they will go to the buyers. The seller is called “a walking person” who often walks with bags in this neighborhood.
Chanthaburi Province is one of the world’s best gems hubs and home to hard gemstones such as red sapphire, garnet, topaz, and brilliant green.
Especially the red gemstone in Chanthaburi across the globe has accepted. The “Siamese Ruby” is the most beautiful red gem globally.
Chanthaburi’s gems artisans are known for their ability and skill in burning and polishing gemstones and being meticulous, which is local wisdom passed down for many generations.
In making gemstones, there are essential steps: formings, cuts, styling, cutting, and setting the gems — these make the gems shine brightly and have the most beautiful appearance globally.
The initial trading price ranges from hundreds to millions of baht, covering a wide range of gemstones, including rough gemstones (uncut rough gemstones) and cut gemstones, such as rubies, sapphires, blue sapphires, emeralds, yellow sapphires, and green sapphires.
To get here: By private car from Bangkok, drive along the Sukhumvit-Klaeng-Chanthaburi route. Then go straight until you reach Muang District in Chanthaburi Province, take highway no. 3150, and turn right at Ban Lum Intersection. Follow Benjamarachutit Road for about 2 kilometers and turn right at the intersection to enter Srichan Road; you will arrive at the gem market.
Source: BusinessBangkok.com’s Staff Report
