I’ve been asked how living in Thailand sparked my interest in colored gemstones. Here’s the story:
Before moving to Thailand, I traveled to Bangkok a few times on business. It was quite common that whenever US headquarters staff visited our Thai operation, we would return home with two things; custom tailored clothes and fine jewelry. Thailand has many skilled tailors, some of whom cater to foreign business travelers by creating custom clothing on short notice. Thailand also has long been associated with the gem and jewelry industry, dating back to its discovery of sapphire and ruby crystals in the latter half of the 19th century. By the 1960’s, Thailand became the world’s marketing capital for sapphires and rubies. Today, many of Thailand’s mines have closed, but it remains a major gemstone trading center.
Travelling from Indiana to Bangkok was, and still is, a grueling trip. It required at least 3 separate flights and if everything went smoothly, 24 hours total travel time. I’d arrive at Bangkok’s airport at midnight and after collecting my luggage and getting transported to and checked into the hotel, I was lucky to be in bed by 3:00 am; 3:00 pm my body clock time. To help my body adjust to the 12 hour time difference, I would only schedule light work activities that first day. While living in Europe I learned not to conduct sensitive business while suffering from jetlag. But that’s a whole separate story. Instead, I used the rest of my arrival day to exercise, stay active by doing a little light sightseeing and prepare for meetings.
On my first business trip, I wanted to tour the Grand Palace during my recovery day. It was a typically hot (high 90’s F) and humid Bangkok day. When I arrived at the palace, I was surprised to learn I couldn’t purchase a ticket because of a rule against wearing shorts onto the grounds. I was kind of bummed and started considering alternate plans when I noticed a shop across the street that appeared to be selling pants. I went over and discovered they were renting pants to people like me. I was a little skeptical, but thought, what the heck, they’re just loose fitting pants. I could wear them over my shorts. So, rent I did. I picked out the ugliest pair I could find. Here’s a few pictures from that day, along with me showing off for the pants renter!
The pants worked out fine and the rash on my legs cleared up within a month! Just kidding!!
Being married with 3 daughters, how could I visit Bangkok and not bring home a bauble or four? An expat in the local business volunteered to take me one evening to the two go-to places; Raja’s Fashions to visit Mr. Bobby, and SJ International Jewelers. SJ’s is known as one of the better retail jewelers in Thailand. Here’s the extreior of SJ’s:
SJ’s excellent sales staff showed me an expansive array of fine jewelry, but I kept coming back to pieces featuring colored gemstones. I left Thailand poorer, but with a little something for everyone; pants and shirts for me and colored gemstone jewelry for the ladies.
We moved to Thailand a few years later. One of our first purchases was a guide written by the Australian Expat Club to help newcomers adapt to Bangkok living. The guide provided helpful hints on everyday living as well as suggested shops and service providers equipped to deal with foreigners. The guide was immensely helpful, containing sections on restaurants, nightlife, shopping, the arts, local travel, etc. Our apartment was located on one of Bangkok’s busiest streets, Sukhumvit Road, where some of the most upscale international stores are located; Bulgari, Cartier, Tiffany, Monteblanc, Dior, Fendi, etc. While extraordinary, these shops weren’t practical for meeting our everyday needs. Thanks to the guide, we found a host of locally-run shops nearby on the Sukhumvit Sois (side streets off Sukhumvit), including local jewelers.
In these nearby jewelry shops, we could find just about any variety or species of loose colored gemstone or jewelry known to man. Trays full of cut gemstones were arranged in a kaleidoscope of colors, with endless combinations of hues, tones and saturation. In my mind’s eye, I can still see the trays of colored stones in one particular shop. I can no longer recall the shop’s name, but the seed of my fascination with colored gemstones, particularly those with bold, vibrant colors was planted there.
