Important Note: The author: Vincent Pardieu is an employee of GIA (Gemological Institute of America) Laboratory Bangkok since Dec 2008. Any views expressed on this website - and in particular any views expressed by Vincent Pardieu - are the authors' opinions and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of GIA or GIA Laboratory Bangkok . GIA takes no responsibility and assumes no liability for any content on this website nor is GIA liable for any mistakes or omissions you may encounter. GIA is in particular not screening, editing or monitoring the content on this website and has no possibility to remove, screen or edit any content.
We are gemologists (gemmologists) sharing a passion for gemstones, gemolology (gemmology), gem people and traveling.
You will find in this website gemological expedition reports and some studies of gemological interest.
Visiting many gem mining areas we saw that people in remote mining and trading areas have difficulties to access to gemological publications. As today the Internet can be accessed in most of these gem mining areas and trading centers, the author started to build this website to give gem people living there the opportunity to see the result of the gemological expeditions they were associated in. It is a way to thanks them for their time and collaboration and to help them to get access to more gemological information.
At the same time the author hope that these expedition reports will please the people from consuming countries interested in gemstones and fascinated by their mysterious origins. Our purpose here is to help people facing difficulties to get quality first hand information about gems and their origins to get the information they need through this website and its links.
With our field expeditions to gemstone mines and gem markets around the world, we intend also here to share our passion for photography, gems and our fascination for the work of the "Gem People" bringing gemstones from the ground to magnificent jewelry.
From the gems external beauty to the intimate beauty of gemstone inclusions, from gem lore to the mines, the people and the landscapes gems origin from, we expect to share with you our passion for gemstone beauty.
We also invite you to join us on some gemological forums we are active in as they are convenient tools to get rapid answers to your questions as they are regularly visited by many other passionate gemologists, jewelers, hobbyists and professionals willing to learn more and share their knowledge about gemstones.
Website Map
Index page: Vincent Pardieu's Blog
About the Author
About me : How did a countryside Frenchman became a "Shameless travel addicted gemologist"? ( Under construction)
October 2007: Gemological expedition to East Africa (Kenya and Tanzania) with Richard W. Hughes, Mike Rogers, Guillaume Soubiraa, Warne and Monty Chitty and Philippe Bruno:
Sep. 2005: Madagascar with Richard W. Hughes and Dana Schorr (Will be available one of these days...)
Summer 2005: Gemological expeditions to South East Asia (Vietnam) South Asia (Sri Lanka) and East Africa (Kenya, Madagascar and Tanzania) with J.B. Senoble and Tanguy Lagache with the support of the AIGS, the ICA and the Gubelin Gem Lab:
- Introduction to AIGS/ICA/Gubelin Gem lab 2005 Expeditions
Special THANKS for their support for our field expeditions since 2005:
Any QUESTIONS?
about gems, gemology, field expeditions, studying gemology, minerals, jade, pearls or jewelry? We recommend these FORUMS where the author is contributing:
Do you want to STUDY GEMOLOGY?
Here are some recommended institutes where the author studied gemology in Thailand ... and was happy about his investment!
For those willing to go further after their gemological studies: Recommended Advanced Gemological Courses:
To finish here are some BOOKS about gemology the author have read and appreciated and would like to recommend to people willing to learn more about gemstones, gemology and the places where gemstones are found:
GIA FE10 (GIA Laboratory Bangkok Field Expedition 10): Dec. 30, 2009 - Jan. 02, 2010:
With two veterans of the recent expedition to East Africa: gemologists Jean Baptiste Senoble (France) and Lou Pierre Bryl (Canada) we decided to celebrate 2010 New Year's Day far away from the party crowds and close to both gems and nature. On December 30th 2009 we left Bangkok to travel to Chanthaburi, the former Chantabun of the XIX explorers and one of the most active gem trading centers in Asia.
The idea for that short week end field expedition was to get an update about sapphire mining around Chanthaburi and about ruby and sapphire mining around Pailin in Cambodia, at the same time it was a good occasion to travel with some new "padawans": Tracy Lindwall from USA and Neil Doohan from Switzerland, two fans of fieldgemology.org who contacted me after deciding to study gemology in Thailand as I did also few years ago.
Tracy was looking very motivated to help me on the "Conservation Gemology" project and during the next expeditions around Bangkok she will focus on such issues as ethical and conservation gem mining.
On December 31st we visited the sapphire mining area near Khao Ploy Waen and Ban Ka Cha few kilometers from Chanthaburi. The area was quiet but around ten mechanized sapphire mining operations were visible around the lovely jungle covered volcano and its old pagoda. If most operations were stopped during the New Year weekend, we could nevertheless see two mines in operation and speak with several miners. All the mines in the area are working to produce black star sapphires, some blue sapphires but the main production is yellow and green sapphires, which are later turned into bright yellow/orange sapphires (Locally called "Butsarakam") after heat treatment usually using the "beryllium" technology.
After visiting the lovely area around Khao Ploy rich not only with sapphire mines but also lovely houses and fruit plantations, we were joined in the evening by Neil Doohan, a young Swiss American studying gemology in Bangkok. After a great diner near Chanthaburi River, we decided to return to Khao Ploy Waen volcano to reach the old pagoda on its top and wait there for midnight to come.
At midnight, standing on the top of the volcano, which is the source of all the sapphires in the area, we could enjoy the fireworks all around in the plain... Simply nice!
(Sapphire mine near Khao Ploy Waen volcano, Chanthaburi, Thailand.
Note the different bassins built in order to return to the river only clean water.
Photo: V. Pardieu / GIA Laboratory Bangkok, 2009)
On January 01 2010 we left Chanthaburi and Thailand by road to Pailin in Cambodia, a small Cambodian city we like to visit regularly despite its bad reputation for land mines and malaria (July 2009 and more recent) as it is an interesting ruby and sapphire mining area not very far from Bangkok. Pailin is located just north of the Cardamon Mountains one of the most interesting and endangered ecoregion of South East Asia. For some background information about Pailin and its gems, please download the "Concise Field Report Vol. 01: Pailin, Cambodia" on www.giathai.net.
In Pailin we met our Cambodian friend and guide: Votha. With his help, we visited several small ruby and sapphire mining operations around the city. Mining was quiet as most of Pailin population was busy with maize harvests:
Near Bang Pra Lat, we could meet a team of five miners we met last year at O Beng. As last year they were mining rubies with a small old jig and some high-pressure water. During the last month they produced few small rubies including an interesting stone about 3 carats rough.
In another area near Suan Umpal we met two groups of old men mining sapphires with iron sticks in holes in an area that was mined by Thai companies during the "Khmer Rouge" period. Finally near O Ta Prang we met a man and his wife mining in the river for sapphires. Near them an 83 years old Cambodian woman living usually in California, and currently spending some holidays with her family in Pailin, was also enjoying searching for zircons and sapphires in the stream with one of her grand sons.
The visit was interesting as we could add to the GIA reference collection the daily production of the miners composed of several small rubies and blue sapphires.
Our main surprise was to see how the city had changed in just few months as the new road built by a Chinese company linking Battembang to the Thai border had reached Pailin. The new road and the fact that Pailin is became a full Cambodian province since December 28th, 2008 has turned the small sleepy village into a small boomtown.
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(A Cambodian sapphire miner searching gems in a stream near Pailin.
Photo: V. Pardieu / GIA Laboratory Bangkok, 2010)
On Jan 02nd, 2010 we visited Pailin gem market near the Phnum Yat pagoda were we met again all the usual traders and miners. Very few stones were visible at the market as the dealers said that there was very few mining during the past days.
(A small parcel of rough blue sapphires seen at the Pailin gem market on January 02nd, 2010
Photo: V. Pardieu / GIA Laboratory Bangkok, 2010)
Around noon, after a short lunch at Samaki market, we returned to Chanthaburi where we could see that the traditional weekend gem market was very slow. Nevertheless we could see many rubies reportedly from Mozambique including numerous large "paw mai" (lead glass treated) and several parcels of small-unheated attractive faceted stones. We returned then to Bangkok in the afternoon.
It was a short visit but it was interesting to visit again Pailin and Chanthaburi after several months away in East Africa and it was a great occasion to meet and spend some time with Tracy and Neil.
1 Responses to “FE10, Thailand and Cambodia: New Year's Day visiting ruby and sapphire mines near Chanthaburi and Pailin.”
Vince,
The sapphire rough shown seems marvelously crystalline. I am surprised, I expected dark green-blue rough. This rough shown seems almost Ceylon-like.
R.
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Important Note: Vincent Pardieu is an employee of GIA (Gemological Institute of America) Laboratory Bangkok since Dec 2008. Any views expressed on this website - and in particular any views expressed by Vincent Pardieu - are the authors' opinions and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of GIA or GIA Laboratory Bangkok. GIA takes no responsibility and assumes no liability for any content on this website nor is GIA liable for any mistakes or omissions you may encounter. GIA is in particular not screening, editing or monitoring the content on this website and has no possibility to remove, screen or edit any content.
