I'm looking for a stone vendor that I can purchase in small bulk - turqoise, ruby, onyx.... I've found places that sell this sort of thing in Bangkok - where can I find it in Shanghai?
lets_do_it
2
lets_do_it
Because I like these stones and I find that alot of necklaces and bracelets made out of turquoise are tacky - I want to make my own for myself is all. I bought a bunch in Thailand and made stuff for me and my friends and it was great. I'm looking in Shanghai because that is where I'll be. I know turquoise is found in China but I'm looking for a vendor. Streets are like mazes - especially a market that would carry this - I just someone to pinpoint where I can go to find turquoise in bulk.
3
ellyse
Strings of things that at least look like what you're looking for can be found in the wholesale buildings around Yuyuan Bazaar. Head into any non-Chinese-looking, non-eye-catching building on the perimeter of the touristy, Chinese-looking Yuyuan Bazaar buildings and poke around.
Cheers!
4
pratyeka
Historically a lot of these sort of things came out of Burma. I'm not aware of any natural deposits in China.
I live down on the border with Burma and Laos, and have been to the border markets at a number of places.
It seems to me that mostly the stones are either brought across by Burmese Muslim traders to sell in their network of shops, or sold on-site at the border.
I was told from a second-hand source recently that most of the rubys they bring these days are in fact bought in Rangoon or Dhaka from traders who bring them across from Africa, and are not mined in Burma, as those mined in Burma are more expensive.
If you want to buy lots cheap, try Rangoon, Dhaka, or someplace further west... maybe the right African nation?
Pro tip
Lonely Planet
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