After our walk at Inya Lake, we were brought by our driver to a famous store for Jade and other gems like Sapphire and Rubies, called MK Gems. It was an eye opening experience to the precious stones that Myanmar had to offer!
There is a restaurant out front, but we didn’t get to try it.
I never realized that Jade can came in so many colors!!! WOW! I am not so fond of the deep green of expensive imperial jade so it was nice to know that there are other gorgeous colors to choose from. Check out that map of Myanar made with different colored stones. Just WOW.
Unfortunately they didn’t allow me to take pictures in their shop floor. They had the most amazing jewelry made with the best quality jade, sapphire, rubies and so much more! You’ll need to have your credit card ready or a lot of cash on hand. This was one of the very few places we encountered that allows credit card purchases.
GOOD TO KNOW:
Many people go to Myanmar with not much money thinking they are going to use their credit card, withdraw from international ATMS or do a bank transfer. During the time of our trip 2012, none of that was available (with a handful of exceptions such as this store for credit card transactions) so you have to bring all the cash you need. It would be a good idea to distribute your cash among different people so incase one person gets robbed, you still have cash.
They did however allow me to take a picture of the small workshop they had out front, where we can see how they turn massive rough chunks of jade into the beautiful pieces of art they sell.
Before you leave this is another good place to take a bathroom break. The toilet is clean enough. Always bring your own tissue and alcohol/handsanitizer.
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looking for genuine jade : bangle, bracelet, pendant and ring