Matee Jungsanguasith is considered the Godfather of sapphires in Chantaburi, Thailand. He is low-key, humble, knowledgeable and a wealthy man.
Pongchan Chantayos (narrated by Matee Jungsanguasith) writes:
That day must be a little bit different than the other days because this man just noticed that...the loose soil turned up from the passing of a sharp shovel being pulled by his big buffalo contained many colorful small gravels. That's strange! He thought.
But...will the loose soil mixed with these strange gravels make the rice plants in this plot of land give more grains than other plots? That's all he could think of.
In the evening he returned home with many thumb sized gravels, some were brownish red, some were clear red. He placed them in the empty milk cans lined up under his light bed before lying down to sleep. The life of the farmers in a tiny village adjacent to the Cambodia border moved slowly, repeatedly the same, until..
The news was passed from mouth to mouth that somebody from nearby villages entered to buy red gravel. They called them Siamese ruby. Some gravel had the price equivalent to many bushels of rice...
He hurried back home right away. "I should have a lot of money because I had collected the gravel every day, each day quite a few stones."
Under his light bed.....all the milk cans were empty. Where were all the gravels? Anybody saw the gravels in the milk can? He shouted.
"I used them all up for my slingshot while I went hunting for the birds." His youngest son replied.
The stories from the many old people...all telling the same thing about a family of farmers who pioneered and worked on the land in the vicinity of Amphur Nawong. These were among the sites for the first encounter of ruby in Thailand.
From then on, the red gemstone or Siamese ruby, was quickly known all over the world in a short period of time because of its unique quality: bright red color, sparkling fire after being cut and polished, and most important--the attractive amount of profit every time the stone moved from one owner to another.
It was being told that the first siles that gemstones were found were in Khao Ploywaen area. This is the name given since very long time ago. We may infer that in this area someone must have found gem quality stones that can be used for the rings. In former times, people did not need heavy machineries which consume gasoline in the mining of gemstones. In Khao Ploywaen area the stones were so plentiful that people just scratched the topsoil and found the valuable stones. The gemstones found during that time were green, yellow, star, and blue sapphire.
The searching of gemstones started to be more active and fun after heavy rain. When the heavy rain washed out the top soil, the gravels and gemstones were exposed. The experienced local people could differentiate gemstones from other gravels.
When the rain comes, washes out the soil, exposes the stones
Big ones, golden yellow color, bright and shine
Some are bright green, slightly green, yellowish green
With the size of an egg, as big as a clam, everywhere
Does anybody know how long ago that gemstones were found in Chantaburi, Thailand?
If one questions the local people or the elderly, the answer is that they have seen gemstones in Chantaburi since they were very young and nobody knows exactly how long the gemstones have been around.
There is a record in the Siam Chronicles about the Royal visit of King Rama V to Chantaburi that the local people from Sipraya Village called 'Jeenju' had brought a big sapphire and some small ruby. It was the year 1876. No written record was found before this year.
Khao Ploywaen, Bangkacha, Borai, Nongbon, Nawong, Tokprom, Boweru, Elem, etc are the sources for quality gemstones of Eastern Thailand. This has made Chantaburi a meeting place for Thai gem dealers since the old days until now and the international popularity of Siamese ruby, more and more businessmen around the world are drawn to Chantaburi for the dealing in gemstones.
Chantaburi today
The natural resources change with time. Underground....the raw material diminishes. Above the ground.....more and more knowledge and experiences accumulates until it is difficult for anybody to catch up.
The accumulated experience is tranferred from generation to generation. The experience is characterized as the lay person wisdom. The wisdom that the local people gained is evident in the color enhancement of gemstones by heat treatment. The wisdom that the local people developed is transferred within the family. Each family has their own secret technique. This technique is obtained from practical experience and knowledge.
The knowledge without any certificate and diploma.
The technique......which is accepted around the world.
The technique.....heat treatment of gemstones.
Today Chantaburi people rely on the accumulated experience. They go to every corner of the world searching for the raw materials of gemstones. Rough gemstones from every part of the world are transferred to Chantaburi.
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