Mr. Spinel's journey began humbly in 2000 during his first year at university, when he traveled to the gem mining town of Mong Hsu to assist his uncle in a shop selling mining equipment. While working to save for tuition, he became quietly captivated by the gem world-particularly colored stones.
At the time, Mong Hsu was known only for rubies, and there were no seminars or learning resources available. He began to self-educate, though most of his time was consumed by work. Two years later, he felt a strong desire to start trading gems. But when he shared this with his family, he was met with disapproval. They viewed the gem trade as unstable. His father warned him, "If one day you suddenly need money, what will you do with a gemstone? You can't trade it for rice when you're hungry." Undeterred, he began working as a motorbike taxi driver in the mountainous mining areas to save capital.
The road was difficult-he made costly mistakes, bought the wrong stones, and even lost everything at times. But each failure only deepened his determination. His path shifted when a fellow driver invited him to Mogok. The journey took two days and one night by motorbike. While staying with locals, he was gifted a gemstone he had never seen-spinel. It looked like colored glass: vivid, yet unfamiliar. In Mong Hsu, no one mentioned it, and its value was unknown. He brought the stones home and began researching. The more he learned, the more fascinated he became. But others in the trade dismissed it-some laughed, others grew irritated. Spinel, they said, held no value. But he saw otherwise: its brilliance rivaled diamonds, it existed in over 200 natural colors, and each stone was untreated and unique. To him, spinel represented infinity. Determined to give spinel the recognition it deserved, he began collecting and trading it, slowly building trust in its beauty. In 2014, he introduced spinel to Bangkok and Chanthaburi. At the time, neither the gem nor his name was known. Gem dealers were more familiar with tourmaline, aquamarine, and peridot. Most brushed him off, but they remembered the man who wouldn't stop offering spinel-and so, they began calling him "Mr. Spinel." 15 years later, spinel has risen from obscurity. Its market value has surged over 500%. The nickname once said in jest is now a mark of respect-one that reflects vision, grit, and a love of beauty that cannot be replicated.