| Welcome to SinarinSilver.com! |
This website is dedicated to prakeuam, a unique style of silver bead made only in the Khwao Sinarin sub-district of Surin province in Thailand. Hundreds of years ago, Khwao Sinarin was settled by migrants from Cambodia, some of whom were gold and silver smiths. Their descendents, the villagers who make these beads, still use the same designs and techniques that have been passed down for generations.
A prakeuam bead is made from at least 95% silver, which is softer and purer than 92.5% sterling silver. The silver is first beaten into a thin sheet, cut to the required shape, and inscribed with the design. The bead's core is then formed from pitch, a resinous substance obtained from pine trees, and the silver is applied around the core. Finally, the bead is oxidized to darken the pattern. The entire process is done entirely by hand using only hand tools.
The beads in our catalog with no "N" suffix - for example, A01 - were collected by Cholada and Kris Hoover during the early 1990's and were the world's largest collection of silver prakeuam. We now produce new prakeuam beads, which are listed in our catalog with the suffix "N" - for example, A01N. Our new beads are made in the same traditional fashion, with two differences: 1) the design portion of the bead is now made from 99.9% silver with 97% silver soldered hole flanges; and 2) the 99.9% silver is fabricated into a flat sheet of uniform thickness using a motor-driven rolling machine.
We currently list 239 styles, but most styles are available only in limited quantities. Once our stock of a particular bead has been sold, there is no assurance when we can obtain additional inventory. Sadly, many Khwao Sinarin silversmiths have abandoned their heritage and now prefer to produce commercial jewelry for the tourist trade. The number of remaining prakeuam silversmiths is small, and most rely on farming as their primary source of income.
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| How To Use This Site |
This site employs a new concept in website design that allows you to maintain multiple, concurrent viewing windows on your screen. Since you are viewing this How To Use This Site page, you will notice that on the left hand side of the screen there is now an icon for this page as follows:
 | How To Use This Site | | Home |
This is your history menu. When you click on any of the icons shown in your history menu, that page will be re-displayed. You can have up to twenty concurrent open windows.
When a viewing window is no longer desired, click  on the top bar of the viewing window or click the Close this Page link at the bottom of the page.
To start selecting products, move your mouse over OUR CATALOG in the left bar and then click on one of the menu categories to display a catalog page.
The catalog page will show a collection of product pictures. To select a product, just click on the picture. A new window will open with a full-size picture and additional information. You now can add this product to your cart. An icon and product code will also be created in the history menu on left side of page.
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 | Cylindrical Beads |
| How To Use This Site |
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The viewing windows can be full size or half size, allowing you to view two selections at the same time. A half size window can be placed on either the left or right side of the screen.
To change the size and position of a viewing window, click one of the orientation icons    on the top bar.
A final caution on the use of your browser's Refresh feature. This website only uses one web page. All the viewing windows are inside this single page, so if you click Refresh, ALL of your viewing windows will be refreshed! Depending on how many windows you have open, this could be a lengthy process. If you have many open windows and a picture in one of them is not displaying due to a temporary network error, we recommend closing that viewing window and then opening it again.
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| About Us |
Blue Fire Creations is a Thailand-based group that supplies hand-made jewelry and related products made in our own factories and by independent craftspeople in Thailand and Indonesia. We strongly support the preservation of traditional handicrafts and sustainable, village-based manufacturing. When we learned that the Hoovers wanted to dispose of their collection of over 170,000 prakeuam beads, we opened this website and assumed the role of coordinating the manufacture of new beads.
It is our hope that SinarinSilver.com will promote renewed interest in these beautiful beads and assist the craftspeople of Khwao Sinarin in preserving their unique cultural heritage.
You can contact us by mail, telephone, or email. If want to call us, please bear in mind that Bangkok time is GMT+7. For example, 9 AM Monday morning in Bangkok is 9 PM Sunday evening in New York City.
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SinarinSilver.com Customer Service
Blue Fire Creations Co., Ltd.
236/88 Soi Sukhumvit 68
Bangna, Bangkok 10260
Thailand
Tel. +66 8-6883-9815
Email: service@sinarinsilver.com
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| Ordering |
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If you have questions or need additional information about placing an order, please e-mail us at service@sinarinsilver.com.
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| Our Products |
A prakeuam bead is made from at least 95% silver, which is softer and purer than 92.5% sterling silver. The silver is first beaten into a thin sheet, cut to the required shape, and inscribed with the design. The bead's core is then formed from pitch, a resinous substance obtained from pine trees, and the silver is applied around the core. Finally, the bead is oxidized to darken the pattern.
Please remember that our beads are made entirely by hand. No two are identical, so there will be slight variations in size, pattern, and hole diameter. If necessary, holes can be enlarged to the full diameter of the flange by heating a metal rod and slowly passing it through the bead, which will melt the pitch filling material.
We have assayed a representative sample of the original beads in our collection and verified that the purity of the silver is at least 95%. In comparison, the purity of sterling silver is 92.5%. Our new beads are made from 99.9% silver with 97% silver used for the hole flanges. The beads are not hallmarked.
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| Our Guarantee |
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Our product guarantee is very simple. If we ever ship you a product that doesn't meet your expectations, we'll either issue a refund or arrange for a replacement at no cost to you. (Refunds are issued at the discretion of management.) We do have have one request in this regard - please make sure that you understand what you are ordering. Prakeuam beads are not solid sterling silver!
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| Pricing |
| All prices are shown in United States Dollars. Because our beads are made by hand, we normally do not offer quantity discounts; however, if you are considering placing a very large order (over $2,000), please email us at service@sinarinsilver.com. |
| Minimum Quantities |
| There is no requirement to order a minimum quantity of any product. |
| Minimum Order Amount & Sample Orders |
| The minimum order amount is $50.00 (not including shipping), but our website automatically waives this minimum for your first order. So if you want to place a sample order to evaluate the quality of our beads, please feel free to do so. |
| Lead-time to Ship |
| Your order normally will be shipped approximately 1 week after we receive payment, as we check every bead individually before packing. Large orders may take up to 2 weeks to prepare. |
| Shipping |
| If you have questions or special requirements with regard to shipping, please e-mail us at service@sinarinsilver.com. |
| Shipping Methods |
We ship to all locations worldwide from Bangkok, Thailand using either Registered Air Mail or Express Mail Service (called Global Express Mail in the United States). Both methods have tracking numbers and are very safe and reliable.
- Packages sent by Registered Air Mail normally take 10-14 days to be delivered. If your postal service has an online tracking system, the package usually can be tracked after it arrives at your local customs authority.
- Packages sent by Express Mail Service normally take 5-7 days to be delivered. Your package can be tracked on the Thailand Post website at Thailand Post Track & Trace.
Our Customer Service Department will send you the tracking number for your package as soon as it has been shipped.
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| Clearance Fees, Duty, and Taxes |
Every package we ship has complete documentation for correct and efficient processing by your local customs authority.
- For customers in the United States of America, there is no clearance fee because your package is cleared by the US Postal Service, and there is no duty or tax because this product is imported duty-free under the Generalized System of Preferences.
- For customers in a member country of the European Union, the duty rate for this product should be 2.5%. In addition, you may be charged a clearance fee and/or value added tax, the amounts of which vary from country to country.
- Outside the USA or EU, please contact our Customer Service Department for information specific to your country.
Please note that you are responsible for paying any clearance fees, duty, or taxes, as these are not included in our shipping fee.
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| Payment |
| If you have questions or special requirements with regard to payments, please e-mail us at service@sinarinsilver.com. |
| Payment Methods |
| We offer 4 payment methods: PayPal, Credit Card, Bank Check, and Bank Transfer. |
PayPal - This method allows you to remit payment by American Express, Discover, Mastercard, Visa, e-Check, or PayPal funds. Credit Card - This method allows you to remit payment by Mastercard or Visa via WorldPay, our secure payment gateway. WorldPay is operated by the Royal Bank of Scotland, one of the largest commercial banks in the world. Bank Transfer - We maintain bank accounts in the United States and Thailand. Both accounts can receive SWIFT transfers, and our USA account can also receive Fed Wire transfers. If you choose this method, we'll send you full information as soon as we receive your order. In addition, our system automatically will give you a 3% discount on the total amount of your order, including shipping. Due to the relatively high cost of transfer fees, we do not reccommend Bank Transfer unless the total amount of your order is over $1,000. Bank Check - You can purchase a bank check or money order (we cannot accept personal or company checks) and send it to our USA bank for deposit. If you're located outside the USA, please note that the bank check or money order must be denominated in United States Dollars. If you choose this method, we'll send you full information as soon as we receive your order. In addition, our system automatically will give you a 3% discount on the total amount of your order, including shipping. Please note that bank checks and money orders will be held for 10 business days to ensure collection, which will delay the processing of your order.
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Which is the best method for you? It depends on the amount of your order and where you're located. Send us an e-mail and we'll be happy to advise you.
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