frank lee bent wrote:platin is not platinum, it is karat gold starting with 18k and dropping down through the grades.

yes, gold jewellery is cheaper in cambo than in the west.

how do i know?
i have been in the business for 35 years and worked as a smith as well as a lapidarist.

This is Frank's field ...

Better to buy at a gold shop in Bangkok. Baht chains are popular 21k/24k. You get charged for the gold and very little for making it into jewelry. If I remember right Chinatown seemed to have a bunch of gold shops, but in Thailand they are everywhere.

same same all over asia

Garry.Crabtree wrote:I heard that after years of disappointing results, OZ Minerals sold its Mondolkiri resource. It seems that it didn't pan out

Customs Official; So, Mr Kelly, what is the purpose of your trip to Cambodia?

Henry Kelly; Going for gold

Could I expect to pay the same in penhom penh as in bangkok? I have been to Chinatown., but don't have any time in Bkk this year before I meet with the misses.

yes, you will pay spot plus around 4-6% depending on the complexity ( amount of work) of the piece.
the chinese style gold shops are always painted red and usually publish prices.
you find them all over SEA

Is the purity of the gold as per the karat? 10-14-28??? And is the karat stamped on the item?

http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowTopic ... bodia.html

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/p ... hange-rate

from the first link:
Please note that in neighbouring Thailand, the standard gold purity is 96.5%, and the unit of measure/weight is the Baht which is equivalent to 15.244 Troy grams. So, if it’s gold you want buy Cambodian gold as its “purity” is higher.

also note that the author confuses "carats" a measure of weight (200 milligrams) used for precious stones with "karats", a measure of the purity of gold. we can also use a decimal fraction for gold and silver, 1.00 is "fine" or pure gold, but that is theoretical. In practise .999 fine is accepted as pure. Sterling silver is .925 fine- in other words, 92.5 %. these decimal measures make it easier to calculate alloys.

all areas with a few gold shops will have little kiosks where you can get your gold streak/acid tested
thus the colloquial name for pure gold tuk dorp meas referencing the acid ( water) used for testing.
Tuk Dorp Meas = literally means = Water (acid) (from the) Bottle (to test the) Gold (or 100% purity.)

Thank you very much for the detailed info, I learned a lot!
Is the karat stamped on the chain ?
Thanks for everything frank!

sometimes!
i would highly advise to avoid buying gems in Cambodia.
you kinda have to know what you are looking at.
if you are around in March and want to buy stones,for your jewellery project, i can help.

if you don't like what i have, i can still show you what to look for as there are some pretty ok deals if you know what to look for.