Well
I cannot let these pages under construction...
So here is a small introduction
about the trips I did to the Houay
Xai sapphire mines in Laos.
After
visiting regularly Pailin, Chanthaburi
and Kanchanaburi during my week
ends while working at the AIGS gemological
laboratory, I decided to take advantage
of a long week end in order to go
with few gemology ( or gemmology
) students from the AIGS school
to visit the Houay Xai gem mining
area in Laos. It is a very nice
mining area located just near the
Thai border along the scenic Mekhong
river. It was for me a good occasion
to return in this country I have
appreciated for its quiet atmosphere
while backpacking in Asia in my
tour guide days.
The trip was much facilitated by
French gemologist and traveler Perig
Ruffault ( Left: Perig panning for
gold in Pailin, Cambodia, 2006)
who provided me some very helpful
information about the mining area
and also a study he did on the gems
from the area. Meeting Perig was
already a true story!
My former gemology student Jean
Baptiste Senoble was escaping Bangkok
to celebrate the end of his gemological
studies at AIGS for a week end to
Kho Samet, a small island around
four hours traveling in the south
of Bangkok. He arrived late at the
pier and met there an other wandering
foreigner. As they were the only
foreigners on the boat, the contact
was easy, they began to talk and
discovered that they were both French
and gemologists: This is the way
Jean Baptiste met Perig Ruffault.
Incredible encounter! After enjoying
the week end together they came
back in Bangkok and Jean Baptiste
was willing to introduce Perig to
me as Perig had some amazing stories
about his travels to gem mining
areas in the region. I was of course
interested and Perig came to visit
me at the laboratory. It turned
to be a real pleasure for me to
meet such a real gemstone adventurer...
During the last 20 years Perig has
travelled to most of the mining
areas in South East Asia and also
in several African countries. All
the places I was dreaming to visit
one day. Perig was not doing that
for business but as a hobby. A passion
that he told me later was transmitted
to him in Voi a city in the south
of Kenya were he met another French
Guy from the west of France: Cedric
Simonet. Cedric as a mining engeneer
was at this time the manager for
the mining group Rockland of one
of the most famous ruby mines in
the world: The John Saul mine. Perig
told me that his interest for gemstones
started really by this encounter.
I was not surprised...
Perig encouter turned to be of a
major importance for me. It happened
at the right time. I was just a
long lunch in a small Bangkok soi
near the lab, but it was nice and
useful. It was a pleasure, we became
friends and had later the chance
to travel twice to Pailin blue sapphire
mining area in Cambodia: Thanks
Perig!
About fieldgemology.com
creation: My encounter
with Perig was very important for
the creation of this website: www.fieldgemology.com:
I was since october 2004 the new
director of the AIGS Gemological
Laboratory and rapidly I became
in conflict with the AIGS Gemological
School management. As lab director
I was still working as part time
teacher and in july 2004 I also
created a new website for the AIGS
acting then as webmaster for both
the school and the lab. I will pass
the details about this conflict
but in January 2005 I stopped all
collaboration with the AIGS school.
I was affected by this conflict
as I was really enjoying teaching
gemology, promoting the whole AIGS
over Internet and doing my best
as webmaster for AIGS. I was affected
as I was doing that more about passion
than because it was my job. I can
say that fieldgemology was born
from this conflict, from this passion
to do something. While thinking
about how to positive about that
failure, I was remembering the lunch
with Peri:
"A fertile seed met a available
ground".
To forget about deception and anger,
I decided to be positive, to stop
caring about what could not be changed
and start a new project: As director
of the AIGS Gem Lab, i started a
research program to update the lab's
ruby and sapphire sample collection.
I invested in a good digital camera
and took it with me on professional
and week end field trips. I started
working on fieldgemology.com using
the design I created for the AIGS
websites... Now as i dont work anymore
in Thailand with AIGS I'm modifying
the website design to give it's
own identity.
That's
fieldgemology story: It's about
fighting hard to turn a passion
into something real. To turn dream
into reality. It is not easy as
it is a lot of work but it's life
and life is not just about business
and leisure: I have nothing to sell
here doing this website: I don't
sell gems, I don't sell gemological
courses, I just enjoy sharing with
friends and people interested in
gems and traveling. Fieldgemology
is finaly a source of motivation
to continue to explore the gemological
world and do my part in promoting
the gems I like as a good ICA member.
Perig
was very enthousiast about Laos
and Houay Xai. He gave us some good
contacts and few months later he
provided me the report he has written
about Houay Xai sapphire mining
area. I could definitively not delay
further a trip to the Mekhong. I
told to my "Synthetic and Treatment"
class at AIGS Bangkok and a crowd
of students decided to join me on
this first expedition to the mekhong
sapphire mines.
The place was beautiful: Imagine... Sapphires found on the Mekhong river banks, just on the opposite of Thai city from the Golden Triangle: Chieng Khong. Beautiful river and hills sceneries, quiet Laosian villages with their traditional wooden houses...
The trip was that great that I decided then to come back in Laos for new years day with my girlfriend with a small difference. Instead to arrive from Thailand we decided to first go to Luang Prabang, a charming Laosian city on the Mekhong and from there to have a romantic cruise up to Houay Xai!
It was just great!
Enough writting, here are the photo galleries I invite you to visit:
Fieldtrip to Houay Xai sapphire
mining area with gemology students
Witnessing
zircon heat treatment. (soon...)
Mekhong cruise and new years day
visit in Houay Xai. (soon...)
All
the best,
Vincent Pardieu 
( Vincent Pardieu near Houay Xai with Khun Nok a friendly Thai gem dealer from Chiang Khong, Jan 2005)
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