Rough Sapphires Awaiting Processing |
The raw stones for the jewelry sold in Bangkok come mainly from Thailand, Myanmar (Burma) and Cambodia. Raw stones are not suitable directly from the mines to be used in jewelry. The raw stones which are irregular shaped and opaque need to be processed somewhere and by someone before they can be used in jewelry. On our last trip to Bangkok last month, I visited one such location where sapphires were being processed.
Our flight back to Udonthani was a late afternoon flight so we ended up visiting Duang's Bangkok relatives. With some time on our hands we decided to visit some of Duang's relatives who live and work in Bangkok. "Live and work" go together even more closely in Thailand and other Asian countries than in many other countries. Many people in urban areas live in concrete structures call "shop houses". Shop houses are two story drop front concrete and brick row houses typically 5 to 10 units wide. Typically a family has a business on the ground floor and sleep upstairs.
Selling Vegetables In Bangkok Working Neighborhood |
Duang's Relatives Sewing Custom Clothing |
Duang's family operate one of the cottage industries where the clothing is made. The entire staff is related and lives together in the shop house. They cook and eat along with work on the first floor. The bathroom is also on the ground floor. Everyone sleeps upstairs in one large room with curtains hung on ropes strung across the room providing some degree of privacy.
On our first visit back in December 2010, I had explored this neighborhood. The area is in Southwest Bangkok where very few tourists visit. The streets are narrow and crowded with family life often spilling out from the shop houses onto the margins of the streets. Where Duang's relatives live the street is so narrow that you have to walk or go by motorbike to get there. All this contributes to a most interesting neighborhood. I found places where families were making small purses that are sold in morning as well as night markets. There were also two other homes where clothing was being produced. There were several little markets as well as restaurants. At one home, the women were making greeting cards. I even found a machine shop where large blades for shearing thick stacks of paper were being sharpened. Around the corner there was a commercial print shop with three offset printing presses.
During last month's visit after paying my respects to the family, I grabbed my camera and set off to explore once again. The biggest change that I found was that one of the places where little purses were being made two years ago is now occupied by a new family that processes sapphires for the local jewelry industry.
For Some in Thailand - Everyday is "Bring Your Daughter to Work Day" |
After asking permission to enter, I moved from my streetside location to better positions overlooking the worker's shoulders. The first work station involved grinding the rough somewhat irregular shaped dark stones into more suitable sizes and shapes. The work was performed on a mechanical lathe type device. A single stone was mounted on a plastic shaft and shaped with a silicon carbide wheel. Periodically the operator stopped to measure and inspect the preform as it developed.
Dimensional Checking of Rough Gemstone |
A Worker Adds Facets Using A Lap, Adjustable Handpiece |
Further done the processing line a young man was polishing the facets on some extremely small gems - so small that he had to use a loupe to inspect them and I had to remove my eyeglasses before using the loupe to just barely see the sapphire - sort of makes me think of a butchered recent film title "No Process For Old Men"
Young Worker With A Bunch of Dopped Gems to Be Polished |
Inspecting In Process Gems |
Taking A Closer Look |
I visited the printer and he proudly gave me a tour of his shop making special effort to point out the two presses that came from Germany. He had a large run of government forms that were being printed for Chiang Mai. He offered me a glass of cold water which even though it was November, I greatly appreciated and needed. Even in November the temperature is often above 90 F in Bangkok.
I returned to Duang's family shop before I got into trouble ... trouble with Duang. She worries about me when I am out and about on my own. I am sure that I could find trouble if I were looking for it on my unaccompanied excursions but I am not looking for it. Instead I find very friendly people all too willing to share as best they can with a stranger how they live and work. I hope that in some way that I too am able to share with them some of my ways as our paths cross here in this most interesting land. It had been a gem of a morning for me - literally and figuratively.
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