Followed with interest the thread on Thaigems and “Fleabay” Great
acrony m!! I’ve been dealing gems all over the world for twenty years
and I wou ld never, never, never buy sight unseen from anyone but the
most trusted sources, people who have proven there integrity over the
years.
Another point, everyone of orchid is, I believe a hand craftsman.
U.S. j ewelry makers simply cannot, ounce for ounce compete with Thais
or anyone else from southeast asia. So we must set ourselves apart by
superior cr aftsmanship and unique design. Why then try to buy the
same low-end ston es that anyone can get on Fleabay or QVC? To
paraphrase the Chinese stra tegist Sun Tsu, why allow your competitor
to select the field of battle? He will always select terrain that
favors himself.
My solution has been to only buy unusual, high quality gems.
Gemstones o ther than diamonds are very rare. Even a 5mm amethyst of
deep Siberian c olor is rare and quartz is the second most common
element on earth. So a s with our jewelry, we must set ourselves
apart in the gemstones we use.
Richard
** Hanuman’s Response **
Good point Richard;
However some of the sources you mentioned do their production in
Thailand 
As a Thai based trader, I work for a company who is Internationally
recognized by it’s high quality standards, and granted the
ISO9001:2000 certificate. You might want to check their website at
http://www.creativegem.com
As for Thaigem.com I would rather prefer not to offer my opinion and
to stay away from them and the discussion about them,
hanuman
your host