Gemology October 7, 2005
Posted by Martin in : Education, Thailand , trackbackI’ve just registered for a 3 hour seminar entitled “How to buy Diamonds” on October 11th. Tik was very pleased about that 
. I will also be studying on the paid 5 day course entitled Introduction to Gemstones beginning on the 17th. I will be studying at the Asian Institute of Gemological Sciences
Right now I’ve got a hell of a lot of time on my hands and I’ve got very few obligations.
I’ve always felt that one huge disadvantage of me being in Thailand is that I have limited opportunities to study. I’m pretty sure that were I back in England now I’d have experienced some education in home maintenance, cookery, DIY, maybe investing, maybe e-commerce, maybe property investments etc.
Of course, I’ve been competely wrong, and I’ve begun to appreciate just how much I can get out of Thailand whilst I’m here.
I am already training 3 times a week in Aikido with one of the worlds highest ranking sensais, with a class size of merely 6-10 students.
I’m keen to do a 1-week Thai massage course at Wat Po – perhaps the most prestigious of places to study. Tik is quite keen to have a qualified masseuse as her boyfriend too.
I’m planning on gaining my PADI diving qualifications in Koh Tao this month. The plan is to go there with my friend Eli and to complete the 4 day beginners course. Time contraints might mean I’ll have to put this off until next year though.
… and obviously I’m interested in learning more about Gemology…
As Lisa recently reminded me, I thoroughly enjoyed visiting a diamond factory in Amsterdam during September 2000. I was only there for perhaps an hour but learnt a lot. I must really have enjoyed it because even five years on I still remember the fundamentals of what we were taught.
My interest was revived a few months ago as I spent my time writing content for my You Do Care Blog Site and studied, edited and composed a number of “how to buy…” articles relating to precious stones and jewlery.
About 2 weeks ago, I got chatting to Jim, my autosurf-buddy in LA. We were talking about the opportunities available here and we both commented about how it would be great to do a gemology course.
On investigating further, I discovered that I am in perhaps the most prestigious and practical place in the world to learn about gemstones and to even work towards a diploma in gemology. Aside from the fact that Bangkok is geographically central to a huge number of mines in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar there are also factories, stores, markets and fakes in abundance.
Here’s a motivating article about why to study Gemology in Bangkok
I am going to be attending the seminar and then the weekly course in order to see whether I’ll enjoy taking my education further. If so then it seems likely that I’ll begin to take the plunge and enroll in the Accredited Diploma Course, taking about 6 months minimum but – more likely- will be done over a longer timeframe.
I’m bored of spending my life in front of a computer. When I arrived in Thailand 4 years ago beginning an e-commerce business was certainly the most practical for me. I was experienced with e-commerce, I had the right background, the right balance of business skills and computer skills and I had no money for training, no industry contacts to help me find work nor any desire to work in the rat race. I’m very glad I developed websites all this time but now I feel it’s time to move on and add some more strings to my bow.
I will still be spending some time online – certainly my e-commerce ventures are my only sources of income right now but I believe that if I enjoy gemology then opportunites will present themselves for me to find credible employment in England, an opportunity to travel and to deal in gemstones worldwide, possibilities of selling gemstones online and – although very unlikely – a rat-race career.
I also think that by learning more about gemstones I’ll be learning how to appreciate them. Like taking a class in art, I expect that the world I’m living in will become somehow more fascinating and enjoyable for me.
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