Today we go to the China town of Bangkok, also known as "Yaowarat" rd., specifically for Thai gold at where I believe is The most reputable Thai gold dealer in the Kingdom. Hua Seng Heng
( 1Baht Chain with 1 Salung Monkey pendant & a Steem on shirt. Notice the clasp and ends of the chain. This is unique to Thai Gold)
Before that...
Here is what I know about Thai gold, that I think you should know about Thai gold too:
Known for its purity. 23K (96.5% pure) or higher, 24K (99.9) is the standard!
In the USA , 14K (58.3% pure) is most common- Sad! 😢, and Europe doesn't consider anything below 18K ( 75% pure) to be Gold.
I think 23K is as pure as you want to go for jewelry as it is very soft and can bang up, melt and bend on you much easier.
Thai gold comes in the form of 24K bars and 23K Jewelry, and in all shape and sizes at that. You will see BUY/SELL prices clearly posted in the windows of reputable shops for Pure 24K bar and 23K Jewlery.
Stick with shops that post this ask/buy price up front for obvious reasons. You can easily reference the Thai Gold price online or on mobile apps
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ราคาทอง-thaigoldprice/id511705403?mt=8
and make a more informed decision on if you should deal or not.
Baht is a unit measure of weight, Not to be confused with Thai Baht currency ( THB ).
You will also find smaller denominations called satang and salung.
1 baht ( 15.16grams) is 100 satang.
25 satang is 1 salung
4 salungs in 1 baht.
Thai Gold is greatly understood as real money here. You will see people buy gold with their Thai baht and hold on to Gold over THB in a Bank.
It is very liquid and so easy spend. You could take the bar or jewelry to the shop you purchased to sell back for baht or get a loan on the metal at many shops all around the city.
You would ask the desired loan amount and if agreed upon the shop holds your gold until you make full payment back. There is a monthly charge every month that the loan is not paid back and if you miss that, the Gold is now the shops.
It is really inexpensive if you factor in all of the actual work involved to 1) get the metal out of the earth and then 2) turn it into such nice Jewelry.
It is extremely undervalued for the prices we can get it at today, in my opinion.
HUA SENG HENG http://www.huasengheng.com/
The price clearly marked for 19,647 THB per Baht and 1,296 THB per gram
You can see clearly marked in the window 20,100 THB sell and 20,000THB buy per bath price.
People come through like it is a bank and deal in their wealth only here people trade funny money aka currency for the stuff that has real value.
Gold chains weighing in between 1 to 10 Baht or roughly, .5 to 5 oz equivalent.
Some heavy chains up there. 20Baht + ( 10 oz). Notice the dude on the phone, has a fanny pack on.... That is the plain clothes armed security trying to blend...
Picture from another shop on Yaowarat displaying Thai Gold Ornaments.
If you are in Thailand and are into precious metals, you'll want to stop by Yaowarat road to check out all of the Gold shops and especially Hua Seng Heng.
These guys are the best and most reputable. Best buy back on their own gold.
Check out their site if you're interested in mining stock, vaulting, custom work... very friendly if you reach out to them.
Even if you are just minimally interested in metals, this is still a sight to see!
I hope you enjoyed the post... I plan to next get over to the Silver market and share in a post in the near future. Until then, I eSteem on. Stay well and steem on. 🐳
