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 Specializing in precious metals, including gold, silver, platinum, bags of US coins, silver eagles, gold eagles,  bars.  Also collectible coins, military medals, swords, autographs, jewelry estate  & new, diamonds, sterling silver flatware & paper money
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Anyone who has ever been on a trip to Thailand or other  Asian countries has probably noticed the honey colored yellow gold jewelry that people wear. It is noticeably different than the 14-18K jewelry than we are used to seeing because it is 23-24K gold.

Thai Baht Chains: "Thai gold" is .965 fine, a little over 23K. The alloy makes the gold harder so that it stands up to wear much better than very soft 24K gold. Thai gold is sold by the "Baht weight", which is 15.2 grams. So a "two Baht" chain would weigh 30.4 grams, just a little under one troy ounce (31.1 grams). The price for Thai gold is published in the newspaper by a governmental agency. Every gold shop in the country prominently displays and uses that price (a little over the world gold price) for selling 23K gold items that day.

The price for the gold in a 23K chain is non negotiable. There is no wholesale or retail; everyone pays the published price. However, there is a fabrication charge which varies according to the weight of the piece and how ornate it is. The labor charge on a heavy, plain chain will be cheaper per Baht weight in comparison to a very fancy, lightweight pair of earrings. The labor charge is sometimes negotiable and occasionally can be reduced a little by bargaining.

The price on a plain two Baht (approximately one troy ounce) 23K gold chain in Thailand would usually cost about $60 over the world gold price. Thailand has lost its most favored nation trade status and Baht chains are taxed at the rate of 8% coming into the US. There are some Thais who insist upon 24K gold, which is also sold by the Baht weight and the procedure is the same as when buying Thai gold.

Hong Kong & Singapore gold: In these and other Asian countries the gold shops sell only 24k gold, and it is sold by the tael, which is 37 1/2 grams (approximately 1.205 troy ounces). The procedure is about the same as Thailand. The gold price per tael is standard at every shop (a few percent over the world gold price) and the labor charge varies and is negotiable.