Look East Magazine Article

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TO BE THAILAND’S OWNRichard Shaw Brown: Could he be the ‘Jim Thompson of Gems’?By Percy Roxas - Look East Magazine: Aug. 2008His life has been described as one “with cosmic proportions, written in the stars,†– probably in reference to his work, which deals with astral or planetary gemology. Whether one believes that or not, there’s no denying that Richard Shaw Brown – founder of the Astral Gemstone Talismans and the Planetary Gemologists Association Global – has led a checkered life that, as they say, is the very stuff of legend. Now 61, Richard is in the news again lately after he moved in at The Siam Society, an honor reserved mostly for elite Thais. The Siam Society, a Royal Patronage, was established in 1904 for those interested in the study of artistic, scientific, and other cultural affairs of Thailand and

neighboring countries. Today, the non-profit organization continues to be dedicated to its founding cause, promoting culturally enhancing experiences. Richard’s Astral Gemstone Talisman jewelry shop-cum-museum (“Our headquarters,†he says) becomes the first such retail venture to ever open on the premises of this cultural organization under royal patronage. He is the first farang (foreigner) to be ever given such privilege. How did Richard earn this distinct honor? “Because my store is also a cultural museum and it gives free information and free services to people,†Brown said. “We choose stones for them, tell them what their best stones are. Anybody can visit the store and we will do their birth chart for them. Anybody can come and we’ll advise them; we’ll do horoscope check on which planets are beneficial to them and give advice on which stones are the best and which stones to avoid.â€He said his

company makes over 20 astrological prescriptions a day, but In fact, you’re not required to have a chart made, you can just buy jewelry from his company. Today, his Astral Gemstones Talisman shops are in six locations around Bangkok.But Richard is not just a jeweler. Seen by some as the “unofficial royal gemologist of Thailand,†(with official application submitted) he has designed a pendant set with what he calls The Nine Gems (Navaratna) – depicting the Royal House of Chakri (nine Rama kings with Rama 5 in the center like the sun). In 1993, he designed a piece – the Queen Sirikit Navaratna – for Her Majesty Queen Sirikit. Even his son is a student in the Chitralada Palace School, which is also a highly rare distinction. As a jewelry designer, Richard is in a league all his own. If you look at his designs, they’re like “Star Wars†jewelry. Explains Richard: “I’m trying to do something from the future.

I’m trying to create designs for the 22nd century. I’m making them look futuristic. I want to make the best jewelry in the world!â€Actually it’s based on very ancient traditions, but Richard is not trying to make it look ancient. “I’m trying to bring the future and the past together to make something like the coolest precious-jewelry in the world!†he says. “Those designs that I made back in 1975 in my first book were so good and to this day they’re still popular. I think the ones I made in the beginning are still some of the best. And the people come to me and just say we love these designs.†He believes his designs will last for generations. The average price for his jewelry is around Bt. 29,000 but some can cost up to Bt. 5 million, or as little as Bt. 5,000.Richard creates jewelry -- only with flawless stones. “When the Vedic scriptures talk about gems, they say: ‘Gems must be flawless

to be beneficial’ – so that automatically makes me the only jeweler in the world who sells only flawless stones.“I deal with very high-quality flawless stones only. Most everyone else deals in ‘bluff stones’,†he said. “Everybody else compromises because they have no reason not to; but I have a reason not to compromise because I believe that inferior quality stones have inferior results. And that just makes sense. Superior stones bring superior results. Bad stones bring bad results.†By what strange twist of fate did a man, whose first claim to fame was rock music – he was lead singer and songwriter of the group “The Misunderstood,†which rose to stardom in London at the same time The Beatles was taking the world by storm, became an astral gemologist?“Well I went to India where I lived in an Ashram for seven years and spoke the language when I was asked by a friend in India to help him; he had

discovered a ruby mine. That was 1974. I had never thought about gems in my life, but that ignited my interest in gemstones. I looked for books about gems but every book I could find on gems was talking about astrology. It’s like the normal thing in India, you know: rubies for the sun, pearls for the moon, etc… and whether they are good or not good for you. “I soon realized that his stones were very low quality and according to the Sanskrit books, stones must be of good quality, so I quickly stopped dealing in those bad stones.†But it inspired him to undertake an in-depth study of the ancient Sanskrit classics concerning gemology, which he uses as reference books until today. “In helping I became curious, and so I found out about the astrological properties of gems, besides their physical properties. You could say there’s ‘mundane gemology’ and ‘supra-mundane gemology’ – and with it developed my personal belief

system.†His new education continued in Nepal, where he learned more about gems having powers, their relation to planets, and how people use them as talismans. Eventually, combining his technical knowledge of gems with planetary aspects revealed to him in Sanskrit texts, Richard began developing his own unique system of designing Astral Gemstone Talisman. He published his first book on gems, “Sri Chintamani Astro Jewels,†in 1975. To date, he has authored 10 books on astral gemstones and their powers, the latest being the second edition of “Ancient Astrological Gemstones and Talismans,†first published in 1995. In 1996, this book was honored with the PMA’s “Benjamin Franklin Award.†After 12 years in Asia, he returned to America in 1979 to complete his formal technical training at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), where he began to question the so-called birthstone system from the West. “It’s the

single biggest obstacle to the worldwide, modern-day practice of Planetary Gemology,†he says.†Birthstones cannot be based on a list of months because birth signs change on or about 22nd of each month. Thus, two different signs rule each month according to the date of one’s birth.â€He decided to move to Thailand in 1986, and he gradually established himself as an international authority on planetary gemology and a cutting-edge fine jewelry designer, continuing to grow in distinction – and continuing to prove his dedication to the kingdom. He is all praise for the gem scene of Thailand. “The quality of labor here is high,†he said. “Crafts-people here are very good, and everyone comes here to get gems. Bangkok is gemstone center of the world.†“I’ve been all over Asia: India, Bali, Nepal, all over. But the only country I feel loyalty to is the Kingdom of Thailand,†he said. It is perhaps not

coincidental that his present life’s work focuses mostly on the Navaratna (the nine Asian gems). “One of the highest awards you can get in Thailand is the Navaratna award, such as was given by HM the King to General Prem Tinsulanonda,†Richard said. “One of the King’s symbols is the Navaratna. And one of the names of Bangkok is the City of Nine Gems.“I’m proud of Thailand,†Richard said, “and I want Thailand to be proud of me because I’m promoting Thai culture. My goal is to be Thailand’s own. I want to do more for jewelry, in the line of jewelry than Jim Thompson ever did for silk.†“Right now we serve Royalty, like His Majesty the King, for whom I made a Navaratna pencil holder recently, and I have dignitaries and VIPs including movie stars as clients,†he said. “We’re like the Rolls Royce of Planetary Talisman Jewelry. We’re the best in the field. And I offer that ‘best-ness’ to Thailand;

it’s like Bvlgari offers it’s best-ness to Rome, Italy. My goal is to be in Thailand what Bvlgari is to Rome.â€Since moving to Thailand, Richard has appeared on TV 36 times, published over 240 articles, authored 10 books on gemology and jewelry design, and given numerous talks and lectures on Planetary Gemology. A book on his early life, “Like, Misunderstood,†is published in America with a script for screen adaptation completed by British music historian Mike Stax. For more details about Richard Shaw Brown’s life, career and work, check-out: www.richardshawbrown.comSri Navaratna Museum and Astral Gemstone Talismans is located In The Siam Society at 131 Soi Asoke - Sukhumvit 21 Road, Bangkok 10110, Kingdom of Thailand. Tel: (66) 2-661-6479-80 • info • www.agt-gems.comSend instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.