Visiting Hong Kong from the UK or Ireland? What British and Irish Buyers Ask Us About Jewellery
Most conversations with British and Irish visitors start the same way: a message on WhatsApp, a few weeks or months before a trip, with a photo attached. "I'm coming to Hong Kong in September — could you make a ring like this?" Or: "I'm looking for a Colombian emerald, around two carats, good colour. Do you have anything?" The questions that follow are what this guide is about — the ones people ask once the conversation is under way, and honest answers to each.
"Can you make this, and can it be ready while I'm there?"
Usually yes to the first, and it depends on timing for the second. For ready-to-wear pieces and loose stones, a message a few days ahead with your dates and budget is enough — we pre-select options so a single visit shows you real choices side by side rather than starting from nothing. For a bespoke piece designed around a stone, get in touch four to six weeks before you travel; tell us your dates and we'll say plainly what fits inside them and what doesn't. If a piece can't be finished before you leave, we complete it after you've gone and ship it to you fully insured.
"Is it heated? Is it oiled? Will you tell me?"
Yes, always, and before you decide. Heating is routine for sapphires and rubies; oiling is normal for emeralds and graded by degree, from none to minor to moderate. None of it is a problem as long as it's disclosed and the price reflects it. If a stone has a laboratory report, the treatment is stated on it; if it doesn't, we'll tell you what we know and what we don't.
"Can I see a certificate first?"
For any significant stone, yes — from independent laboratories such as GIA, GRS, SSEF or Gübelin, confirming identity, natural origin and treatment. If you'd like to see the report before you fly rather than at the counter, ask and we'll send it. Pawanya trained at the Gübelin Academy, so she's also happy to walk you through what a report does and doesn't tell you.
"We're here on holiday — does it make sense to buy jewellery in Hong Kong?"
For many visitors it does, and not mainly for reasons of price. You're in one of the world's gemstone trading centres, with access to stones and cutting that are hard to find at home, and a piece chosen on a trip carries the trip with it — the sapphire from that week in September. That's true whether it's your first time in the city or you grew up here and are back to see family. Practically, it fits easily into a day: our studio is in Central, a few minutes from the Mid-Levels escalator and the Tai Kwun heritage compound, and we work by appointment so an hour with us is unhurried. You don't need to know anything about gemstones to start; tell us what you like the look of and roughly what you'd like to spend, and we'll explain the rest in plain English.
"Can I claim the tax back when I leave?"
There is nothing to claim, because there is no tax. Hong Kong charges no VAT or sales tax on jewellery, so there is no refund scheme, no forms and no airport queue — the price you're quoted is the price you pay. It's one of the structural reasons prices here compare well with the UK's 20% and Ireland's 23% VAT, and it's worth knowing so you can compare properly. Our guide for Australian visitors covers how to compare like for like in more detail, and it applies equally to you.
"What happens at customs when I get home?"
Plan for this honestly. Both the UK and Ireland give returning travellers a personal allowance for goods bought abroad; above it, you're expected to declare the item, and VAT — possibly duty — applies. The thresholds change, so check the current figure on the HMRC or Irish Revenue site before you travel. We give you a full invoice and the stone's certificate so a declaration is simple. Run the numbers for your own piece rather than taking a jeweller's word for it — including ours.
Ask us anything else
If your question isn't here, it's probably one we've answered before. Message us on WhatsApp — and we'll tell you the truth, including when what you want doesn't exist at the price you hope for.
— Pawanya