I had the privilege of following my friend, a Gem Broker working at the Mandalay Jade Market. Inside the market, the broker rent a small place with a short stool and a table top place from the shop owner for them to check the gems and deal. For every successful transaction, a small percentage goes to the shop owner. I sat down there with my friend and observed how the place went. Young and hopeful middleman carrying bags of mostly jade bracelets, come and show their crafts one after another. They can also speak broken chinese a little as most of the dealers are Chinese. There are also live sections where the broker do a live cast via their phone and wechat to those buyers overseas, especially China. But I was told most of the top quality pieces go straight to China and I would not be able to see it here. To come here, you will have to pay a entrance fee of 2500 Kyats if you are a foreigner, locals are free though.
Outside the market, there is an open section where they sell leftover pieces from the cut stones, some small accessories and raw stones. The area is free to visit but nothing much to see. Its more happening in the market area. If you are interested, you may come and observe and see how things work around here, its interesting.
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