Reise ins Land der Edelsteine Thailands Teil 1

We started the journey by minivan around 6:30 AM after everyone had arrived. Once all participants were present, we departed. The minivan made a stop at the motorway for about 20 minutes to allow everyone time to find some food and attend to personal matters, preparing for the longer journey ahead. During the ride, the instructor and students chatted about the gems from Chanthaburi and the various places we would visit.

The first destination we visited was the “Demonstration Center and Learning Place for Gems” at Ring Gem, where Uncle Samran (the mine owner) served as a lecturer about the gem mining process. Uncle Samran shared that currently there are not many gems to be found anymore as most of the easily accessible deposits have already been explored and extracted. This gem mine, which is still open for viewing, is supported by the provincial council that maintains it for conservation and public education about the mining process.

The first step in this gem mining process is to excavate or scoop soil using an excavator to form high piles. Then, a high-pressure water hose is used to wash away the rocks and sand, which flow down a long sluice used for screening the debris, with people tasked with sorting through the rubble for gemstones.

This part requires skilled and experienced workers, as from my observation, most of what I found were ordinary stones. However, Uncle Samran and his assistant had very keen eyesight and could distinguish gemstone from regular pebbles, even showing us scraps of gems found using a mobile phone for clearer visibility of their colors. Working under the scorching sun was tough, and I must say that just at the first spot it was already exhausting.

Next, Uncle Samran took us to see the gem mine tunnel, an ancient method of gem extraction that was discovered by chance during soil excavation. The tunnel is a narrow opening wide enough for one person to crawl through. Using a flashlight from a mobile phone to illuminate the depths looked quite frightening. Uncle Samran explained that the height at which gems can be found is approximately 3 meters down. I have great respect for those in earlier times who managed to find sources of gem deposits as well as the advancements made by subsequent generations.

Additionally, Uncle Samran also brought along some beautiful large gemstones from his collection for us to admire. They were truly a sight to behold for us.