Bangkok is the epicenter of the world gems and jewellery trade. The Thailand Jewelry Advisor blog by Jenny Forster is an insider’s guide to buying jewellery in Thailand. She reports on exciting designers and outlets, explains new trends and developments in the trade, helps you acquire the skills required to ascertain quality and value and avoid scams and rip-offs and enables you to negotiate prices from a position of knowledge.
About me
I call myself a chronic expat! In fact I am a second-generation expat. I was born in New Zealand but spent my childhood living in Western Samoa and Papua New Guinea with expat parents. I was sent back to boarding school in New Zealand, and after training and working there for a few years as a journalist I left for Asia (Hong Kong) at the age of 25: I’m still here almost thirty years later!
I met my Swiss husband, Markus, in Hong Kong while I was working for Reuters. He was a jewellery manufacturer. We had two sons, who are now students in Switzerland and Australia. After the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997 we moved to Zurich and two years later when the Asian Crisis hit we had to return to Asia (to Bangkok) to take care of our businesses here and in Hong Kong. My husband had to retired prematurely five years ago after surgery for a brain tumor, and we sold our business. Sadly he is now suffers Parkinson’s Disease.
What makes you tick?
I love meeting new people and hearing their stories. Everybody has one! I’m a curious person, which is why I became a journalist I guess. I always try to get involved in the culture of the place I live: whether it’s Hong Kong, Thailand, the South Pacific or Switzerland. I’m very interested in Asian philosophies: Taoism and Buddhism, and feel blessed to have been able to learn from these ancient teachings. I’m not a natural linguist but I speak passable German and just enough Thai to get by: I always try to engage with the culture that I live amongst.
Why did you start your website?
My husband established one of the first foreign-owned jewellery manufacturing and exporting businesses in Hong Kong over 30 years ago, and then later a subsidiary company in Thailand. I was not directly involved in his businesses, but for years had my own small side-business selling his collection via trunk shows. I was quite successful with this and over the years learned a lot about jewellery and stones and developed a real love and interest in gemstones, and an appreciation for good jewellery design and workmanship. In the 13 years I have lived in Bangkok I have heard so many stories of people being scammed and otherwise making bad purchases, I decided to combine my journalistic skills with my knowledge of the industry in an effort to help expats and local residents become more savvy jewellery consumers. I hope this effort will benefit not only the consumer but also the retail jewellery trade in Thailand, whose international reputation has been damaged by pervasive scams directed at tourists. On the slightly less-altruistic side, I am also planning to start starting my own Internet jewelry business, so the work involved in the blog brings me even closer to the trade and will help get my name out among the jewellery-buying public.
What is the main purpose of your website?
The website thailandjewelryadvisor.com, launched only in September 2011, is an insider’s guide to the business of evaluating and purchasing jewellery in Thailand. It aims to inform about all aspects of buying jewellery in Thailand: from how to shop at Trade Shows to where to find the best deals on Cambodian silver ornaments. Thailand is an absolute world centre for jewellery production and a mecca for gemstones from all over the world. If one buys with knowledge and discernment you can buy the best jewels in the world here at fantastic prices. My blog will provide all the where, why, who and how’s. I have story ideas coming out my ears!
Why do people come to visit your website, who is your audience?
So far traffic has been generated it’s been mostly through my social networking links, and people who have been my customers of my jewellery business in the past. But I’ve had readers make contact from as far away as India and Switzerland.
What is the most negative & what is the most positive thing that has happened?
When I first launched my website I decided to call it bangkokjenny, foolishly neglecting to do a web search first. This site turned out to be an upscale escort agency, as one of my reader’s gleefully pointed out! Fortunately I hadn’t widely published the site yet, so it was easy to rectify.
The best thing has been the response from local retailers. They are fed up with having their reputations besmirched by the many gems and jewellery scams that operate in Thailand; they have been very supportive and very generous with their information. I have just launched a “Bangkok Jeweler” category where I feature an interesting designer or retailer. Many are queuing up to get featured on my site.
What makes your website stand out from the others?
I am a trained journalist so I am good at research, and I am impartial. My site combines news of developments in the retail jewellery trade of interest to the buyer as well as features about little known aspects of it. I do actual legwork for all my stories, which is based on a foundation of first-hand knowledge of the trade.
I won’t give any business any publicity if I don’t consider them to be a reliable or reputable business. For instance, I did a story about how to get your old gold smelted without being ripped off. While I give actual addresses of businesses that provide this service I also provide enough detail and include caveats, so that the consumer can make truly informed decisions.
Why did you move to Thailand and how long have you been living here?
I moved to Thailand 13 years ago, kicking and screaming! We had supposedly moved to Switzerland “for good” and after two years there had really only just settled when the effects of the Asian Crisis on our business necessitated our move back to Asia. But I have grown to love it.
Why do you think foreigners move to Thailand?
Thailand is a fascinating and very livable country in an economically dynamic region. Why wouldn’t anyone want to live here?
What is the worst & what is the best thing about living in Thailand?
Aside from the traffic the worst thing about living an urban life in Thailand is the lack of access to parks and pleasant outdoor recreation spots. I feel for expat mums with young children living in Bangkok. Fortunately the Eastern Seaboard, with its great beaches and sailing, is within easy reach.
What is the strangest thing that has happened to you in Thailand?
Being regularly addressed as “Sir”!
What is the biggest challenge living here?
My husband is an invalid. There aren’t the community support groups and organisations that you have in the West. Also, as I am now the head of our household, I have to deal with government agencies and my experience in this role is that there is an underlying and quite subtle lack of respect for women in Thai society.
Do you have Thai friends? Do you think foreigners often make Thai friends?
I have a small but valued group of Thai friends, who have mostly lived abroad themselves. This lends a common understanding. I have to say I found it much easier to make local friends in Hong Kong than here. I put this down to Thailand’s history of independence, and the fact that Thai people are naturally reticent and shy and don’t seem as comfortable with foreigners unless they have had some expat experience themselves.
How is your Thai?
My Thai is very basic, but I get by. Because I was trained as a broadcast journalist I have quite a good ear and I am told my pronunciation is good. So when I speak Thai locals assume I understand a lot more that I do, which sometimes gets me into situations!
What advice would you have for those considering moving to Thailand?
Firstly, consider that you might never leave. Expat postings have a habit of becoming permanent! With this in mind learn Thai immediately: It really opens doors. Engage in the local culture. Thai people are warm, gracious and can be very funny, and a lot of fun. And don’t just stick to your familiar stomping ground: there are many fascinating neighborhoods and communities to explore, where you will be welcomed.
You have been a long time resident of Thailand. How have things changed for expat women?
I worked on the ANZWG Bangkok Guide for several editions, which gave me a good insight into the services that support expats here. Nowadays there are many more resources for families for special education, psychology and health, and many more opportunities to take diverse courses and learn new skills.
Bangkok is certainly a more navigable place now with the sky train and MRT, and there is almost nothing that is unobtainable these days, so Thailand is no hardship post, as some expat women used to believe.
Thailand is still a male dominated society but times are changing. What is your opinion about this?
There are more women CEOs in Thailand than in any other part of South East Asia. To me this merely reflects the fact that big business in Thailand is family-run, rather than any particular advances regarding women in business. The education system has not improved and I think it very sad that a lot of working class girls still aspire to jobs like being a Coyote Girl.
What do you think about a website like Chicky Net? Do women in Thailand really need their own social networking site?
I think it’s a great thing. It is possible to be an isolated and lonely expat, especially if you don’t have children to help connect you.
Anything else you would like to mention?
If any of the Chicky Net members have any questions about purchasing jewellery or stones in Thailand, they are more than welcome to contact me for any information they can’t find on the blog. There is also a Flickr link on my blog to photos of my own sales collection, which will eventually have its own website.
Do you have an interesting Thailand related website and do you want to do an interview too?
Contact the admin or send a message via the Contact page.
