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- September 30th, 2008
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tiptopgem has posted a new entry on: The Gem Vault
Basking in the Glory of Expertise
Ahhh, what lofty heights I have reached as a gemologist! What fun it is to live in Thailand, in the gemstone market town of Chanthaburi no less, and preach the word of gemology to the masses. What a pleasure to share with you my sage advice on tr
- September 21st, 2008
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tiptopgem has posted a new entry on: The Gem Vault
The Great Chanthaburi Flood of 2008
Yes, there is a reason I am so light with inventory this week! A lot has been happening in the past few days. The motherboard on my PC went out meaning a costly and time-consuming repair that kept me from getting all of my listings done, and there
- September 4th, 2008
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tiptopgem has posted a new entry on: The Gem Vault
Why does a round ruby cost so much?
This happens very regularly. A customer buys a stone from me, or sees one that I have for sale. “I want one just like that, except round. Do you have one?” Most often the answer is no. And the next question is “Will you te
- August 27th, 2008
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tiptopgem has posted a new entry on: The Gem Vault
Purple is the color of the day!
I bought this stone two days ago and I’ve been staring at it ever since. It rocks. It is gorgeous. I’m swimming in a sea of junk tourmaline here in Chanthaburi so when a stone like this comes across my desk it really grabs my attent
- August 21st, 2008
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tiptopgem has posted a new entry on: The Gem Vault
Exploitation and the gem trade
Wow, that’s an exciting title! Let’s talk about all the victims! Media reports of the Burmese Karen refugees and South African diamond miners who are being abused will get so much attention! There is another side to the sordid tales
- August 16th, 2008
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tiptopgem has posted a new entry on: The Gem Vault
Chanthaburi is ground zero for gemstone action- ruby and moonstone and stars, oh my!
It’s been great settling in here in Chanthaburi but also it has been a lot of work and a lot of things require adaptation. Culturally it is very different from Korea and my Thai is certainly not as good as my Korean language! But things are
- August 10th, 2008
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tiptopgem has posted a new entry on: The Gem Vault
The gem trade in Iran
It’s not easy to describe the feeling of living in Chanthaburi for a gem dealer. Partly I guess it is like any cohesive group like junior-high summer camp or your freshman year in university when everyone is enjoying their freedom from mom and
- August 8th, 2008
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tiptopgem has posted a new entry on: The Gem Vault
Common Traits of Gemstone Collectors
If you are a gemstone collector you may not know exactly what attracted you to the hobby. I admit that I did not until I thought about it carefully. There are likely certain elements in your personality (like mine) that make gemstones so appealing. T
- August 7th, 2008
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tiptopgem has posted a new entry on: The Gem Vault
The Chantaburi buying office is plugged into the world!
Hello, All! Well after a week here in the new building we just got internet! I am thrilled to be back in touch with everyone as I am used to! I am getting settled into the new office and some of the work has been done on the building. The paint
- August 4th, 2008
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tiptopgem has posted a new entry on: The Gem Vault
Chanthaburi office is now OPEN
There is so much going on right now it is hard to believe! I am in Chanthaburi now and the new buying office is open for business. It has been a struggle as we still do not have internet and I am hoping this will be rectified very soon! Please
- July 13th, 2008
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tiptopgem has posted a new entry on: The Gem Vault
Spot the LIAR! Lessons on buying stones with eBay
Some folks are not taking a very good look at the images of gemstones on eBay before they bid. I’ve seen many examples of images that show obvious signs of tampering but the bid just goes up and up and up. Images can make a bad stone look g