Hi all, Have been poking around on the net for a few hours, and haven't found a lot, when I thought that I should ask in here...
I'm sort of planning on going "somewhere" in November/December this year, and wanted to tie my trip in with my new gem knowledge that I've been gaining over the past year and a bit. I normally travel independently, but this year has been crazy, and I've been thinking that I would like to do some kind of tour. With that in mind, I've been googling for "gem tours" and the like. So far I've found:
November - Thailand - run by a guy from Brisbane, Australia (sounds great, but already booked out for this year, maybe I'll look into it next year?)
October - Tanzania - run by the Australian Gem Association (too early, I'll be in the middle of exams)
I've also found a few websites advertising "gem tours" of Brazil etc, but it's hard to know how reliable they are, particularly as some haven't been updated for a while. Reading this forum, I found out about the Scottish Associations Sri Lanka trip in March 2013 (which sounds amazing, but is booked out!). This made me think that maybe there are other associations which may run gem-orientated tours - anyone know of any? Do I need to be a member to be able to go on these kinds of trips? Or does anyone have any recommendations of companies that run similar kinds of trips?
I'm based in Australia, but willing to travel to wherever a trip may be!
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 6:13 pm Posts: 5077 Location: Australia
Hi baobei18. Definitely try the trip next year with Ross. A couple of friends were students of Ross' Gem-A course up there and they loved it and bought oodles. Oh and they had a great time.
Hi baobei18. Definitely try the trip next year with Ross. A couple of friends were students of Ross' Gem-A course up there and they loved it and bought oodles. Oh and they had a great time.
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 6:13 pm Posts: 5077 Location: Australia
No probs. From memory with SL you can take out finished gems only, so I've heard you can get the rough and have it fashioned into cabs etc but for weight retention and then you can re cut if so desired when home. Best bet is to check with Ahmed or someone else can chime in who's done it.
For interesting gems in a civilised country, I recommend Idar Oberstein in Germany. Not only is there the really good show "Intergem" on every year at the beginning of October, but the whole town is given to cutting and dealing in gems. In addition, there are very interesting agate mines in the hills around the town (this is the area where the story of "Snow White" happened - the seven dwarves were gem miners). If a trip to Intergem appeals, there is a very informative and amusing blog of a trip there on the jewellery website www.sidereal-gem.com. Most of the dealers are cutters and sell finished stones, but there are a number of dealers in rough to talk to. In addition, as you travel out of the town northwards towards Teifenstein there are a number of dealers in rough you can visit and haggle with (they are easily recognised because of the mounds of rough stones in the back garden). Good hunting! Alan F.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot post attachments in this forum