Magnificent Jade and Diamond Jewelry

On the same floor as the restaurant Paste in Gaysnor Village mall are several fine jewelry shops. One display fit for Queen Elizabeth caught my attention because of the green color.

My birthstone is emerald which is a rich green color and is considered a symbol of rebirth and love.

I used to have a pair of emerald earrings with a matching ring. There were tiny brilliants around the stone set in 18 ct. gold. I don’t know where they are now. I lost them long time ago, maybe 27 years ago. I have been wanting to buy a replacement but they’re never my priority. Lagi kong nalilimutan. I would only be reminded whenever I see something like this necklace on the display case of Francis Chiu.

It’s stunning but I want something simpler (and cheaper).

This is made of jade stones and not emeralds. Jades also radiate a beautiful vivid green color and it symbolizes a loving heart and gentleness.

We met the very young owner and designer Francis Chiu. He was the one who opened the door to let us in. His family has been in the jade mining business for generations.

I was only curious about the selling price but he took the necklace out of the display cabinet and placed it around my neck. Oh my! Libre ang sukat pero hindi pwedeng iuwi kasi the price tag is Baht 7,000,000 or more or less Pesos 11,270,000. Whew. He even wanted to let me wear the earrings and the matching ring. Ayaw ko nga kasi ang mahal. The whole set costs Baht 12M or 19,320,000 Pesos!!!! I was enumerating in my head the names of women who could afford to buy such magnificence as Francis Chiu describes the quality of the stones. Queen Elizabeth, Beyonce, Gretchen Barretto, Melania Trump, or Zhou Qunfei, the richest woman in China with a net worth of US$10 billion, and Astrid, the girl who bought a S$1.2M necklace in the movie Crazy Rich Asians.

Francis told us to come back anytime even if we’re not going to buy. “Just to talk” were his exact words. What a nice young fellow.