Gemcarft

Thai began to show interest in gems in the Sukhothai Period. Having not discovered their own natural resources at this time, They imported precious stones from abroad ; for example, India, Myanmar and Cambodia. In those days, as it was the common belief that gems had supernatural and protective powers, they were owned by men only. It was only later that they were given to women and initially for the same purpose, i.e. for protection, not for ornamental use.

1. Diamonds

2. Colored stones, including minerals and organic materials which have gemstone properties.

Many kinds of gemstone are found in Thailand such as diamond, ruby, blue sapphire, aquamarine, spinel, garnets, onyx, yellow sapphire, zircon, amethyst, rose quartz, peridot, opal, pearl, pyroxene, bloodstone, chalcedony and agate.

Many kinds of gemstone are found in Thailand such as diamond, ruby, blue sapphire, aquamarine, spinel, garnets, onyx, yellow sapphire, zircon, amethyst, rose quartz, peridot, opal, pearl, pyroxene, bloodstone, chalcedony and agate.

Since real gems are precious and difficult to find, and in order to provide ornamental objects inexpensively, there have been attempts to create imitations and synthetics for the most popular stones such as diamonds, rubies, zircons.

Among the colored stones recognized initially were amethyst, amber, garnet, jasper, lapis lazuli, emerald, and turquoise. Later, their beauty made them valuable. Interest led to the discovery of other stones such as ruby, sapphire and jade.

Nowadays, there is and increasing demand for gems, due to their beauty and people's belief in their supernatural power. However, natural gems are limited in number. So, there have been more and more attempts to produce substitutes and with the help of advance technology synthetics have been made which are excellent imitations. Now synthetic diamonds, colored stones and pearl are mass produced at a much lower cost than the natural ones.

Cutting is the art of making gemstones into desirable shapes according to convention as well as fashion with a mirror-polished finish. It is a craft that involves high skill. History has it that gem setting in Thailand was started by the Thai Yai tribe who migrated to the gemstones-rich areas sometime ago. Incidentally, the first Thai gem mining was done at Tambon Borong in Denchai District, Phrae Province. It was the blue sapphire mine, called "Bor Kaew". Later, when gemstones were found in Chanthaburi and Trat Province, mining also took place there and since then cutting has thus spread widely.