Our Story

I'm Edward, the founder and owner of ThaiGold.com. I started this business in 2022 as a very casual side-hustle while working as an ESL teacher. I had been traveling and teaching in various countries throughout Asia until I eventually wound up in Thailand. As soon as I arrived I immediately fell in love with the country. The food, the low cost of living, the beautiful beaches and nature, the friendly and chillax vibe of the whole country... I was hooked! Three years later and I'm still just as much in love as when I first came.

A few months after I arrived in Thailand I wandered into the gold shop right across the street from where I was living at the time. As a longtime goldbug I naturally had to check it out. The store was filled with hundreds of beautiful gold chains, bracelets, rings etc... all so much purer and brighter than the jewelry I'd see back home in the US. 

I found a bracelet that caught my eye and asked the lady at the counter how much it was. And I was completely blown away at the price she quoted me... only 3% above spot!!! Typically jewelry in the US costs anywhere from 50% to 200% above spot. Even after doing this business for a few years now I still can't believe  how super affordable the gold jewelry here in Thailand is, all the while being so much purer, lustrous, and made with the same level of craftsmanship I see back home.

I was even luckier than I realized at the time, as the family running that store are some of the kindest people I have ever met. To this day we're still very close friends and business partners, with many of the orders placed on ThaiGold.com being fulfilled by their shop.

  • The family owned gold store, the first gold shop I visited in Thailand. As previously mentioned, they fulfill many of the orders placed on our site.

And so, the business idea very naturally and logically followed. I figured I could export these pieces to the US and sell for around 20-25% above spot, make a reasonable profit for myself, all while offering customers in the US (and elsewhere) much purer gold jewelry at a much lower price than they would find anywhere else, win-win. I started off in 2022 selling on reddit, my profile can be found here.

Then in 2024 after seeing the potential for this business during the prior two years, I decided to quit teaching and go all in to devote all my time and effort to selling high karat Thai Gold jewelry. I hired my first employee, Ploy, who has been nothing short of exceptional and instrumental in building what you see here today. 

Setting a New Gold Standard, What Sets Us Apart

We believe in providing you with high karat gold jewelry at a fair and transparent price, something that is sorely lacking in the Western gold jewelry market. Time and time again we've heard many customers bemoan the lack of good options for gold jewelry at a reasonable premium. Many of them struggle to find any gold jewelry at all. And the only options they can find are usually 14k-18k gold jewelry for sale at ridiculous mark ups. 

We're also tired of many online jewelers sneakily hiding the weight of their pieces off to the side somewhere, and many don't even list the weight at all! Which prevents customers from calculating the true value of the piece. We hope you'll join us in setting a new gold standard for the gold jewelry industry. 

  • A product listing from one of the top online jewelers in the USA. They charge $2500 for this piece, and don't even tell you the weight! So you have no idea what the real gold value is. (Though safe to say, probably far less than $2500)

We provide mostly 23k and 24k gold jewelry, and we believe in being very transparent and upfront with our prices and the weight of our pieces, so you know exactly the value you're getting when you buy from us. While no gold jewelry will ever be as cheap as bullion, we do our best so that our pieces are the next best thing price wise, with total costs of around 20% total premium on average, including shipping and insurance. 

Another thing that makes us different is you, our cliental. Most other jewelers tend to market to customers that are more interested in fashion and style, rather than those who know the true value of gold and care about getting a good deal. I've never been into fashion myself and I've always been more interested in gold as an investment, so I completely understand that perspective, the "stacker's perspective", and have built this business with that in mind. 

Adaptability

The Thai food available in America is certainly not the same as the Thai food you'll find in Thailand. Thai restaurants in the US naturally need to strike a balance between adapting to the American pallet (which often means adding more meat, less spice, and larger portions) while still maintaining the authenticity of their dishes. The same is obviously true for other types of cuisine as well.

I've found that the same concept applies just as well to selling Thai Gold jewelry. The styles, preferences, and concerns among gold jewelry buyers here in Thailand are often quite different than the needs and desires of our US customers and internationally. And so, just like Thai restaurants in the US, we've done our best to strike a balance between what is authentic and traditional Thai Gold and the wants of the US and international consumer. 

All that to say what you find listed on the site are what we've found to be the most popular and requested designs, sizes, clasps etc... that resonate well with the customers we've had so far, but are no means all we have to potentially offer! Often some customers come to us with very beautiful and elaborate Thai/Asian gold pieces they find online, pieces we usually can source as well. Please reach out to us if you see a piece elsewhere that you're interested in that you don't see listed on our site.

To the Future

I'm excited to see what the future holds for us, and I know we owe it all to you, our valued customers. I'm very thankful for all we've accomplished thus far, and I'm especially grateful for all the first customers during the early days while we were still starting out and learning! We've since gained invaluable insight and experience to better serve you, and I firmly believe in providing exceptional customer service and being responsive to your exact needs and desires. Afterall, this is valuable jewelry so it's important to get it just right! 

We hope to one day be the leading source of all high karat gold jewelry in the US and Canada, and we've still got a long way to go from reaching that goal. Until then, I appreciate all those who have chosen and trusted us for their gold jewelry and hope you also consider taking the plunge with us if you haven't already. Please do not hesitate to ask if you have any questions at all.