The Ruby Gem Walking Street
The gem market in Mae Sod, Thailand is known locally as the “Gem Walking Street” Here you can find gems of all sorts and types but particularly Rubies. This decade-old market is testimonial to a hundred years of the gem trade at the Thai- Myanmar border.
This gem trade in Thailand’s Tak province, bordering Myanmar is still bustling in spite of political problems in Myanmar and economic recession in Thailand.
Both Thais and foreigners flock to the gem market in the Mae Sod district to appraise various kinds of gems and buy them to resell and make a profit.
All the gems sold here originate from a gem mine about 200 kilometers north of Mandalay. It’s the world’s biggest such mine, famous for the high quality jade and ruby it yields.
90 per cent of rubies on the world market come from these mines, owned by the Myanmar military government. Many western countries attempting to sanction Myanmar, call rubies from these mines the “Bloody Rubies”, referring to the mistreatment and their poor condition of labourers at the mines. Nevertheless the desire for these Blood Rubies means the shining gems from Myanmar remain in high demand.
Although Thailand is believed to have no more gems to mine, the Thais’ skill in cutting and polishing gems help the kingdom earn more than 140 billion baht a year from gem exports. This ‘gem walking street’ has the potential to be the centre of Asia’s gem market, according to the province’s governor.
Regardless of the notorious nickname of “Bloody Rubies”, the colorful precious stones doubtless will continue to attract more gem traders to this “Gem Walking Street” as well as remaining a lucrative source of income for Myanmar.