Diamond Hunting Expeditions – Borneo
Our company has been welcoming international diamond enthusiast for several years into the Borneo diamond fields. We work to connect the local diamond miners with international buyers to assist in providing a market for their traditionally recovered diamonds. We are able to take groups of up to 4 people on a 3 night / 4 day expedition into the remote diamond fields of Borneo.
During the expedition you will spend several days visiting the traditional diamond mines and villages around the diamond fields and have the opportunity to view and purchase many rough and cut diamonds. You are assured to come across many diamonds of great quality and unique fancy colours at prices that can be a bargain. With intermittent breaks trying the local cuisine, sightseeing around the diamond fields and socializing with the friendly locals, you are bound to have a very unique experience enjoyed by very few people, which you will talk about for years to come.
Itinerary
The expeditions are ideally completed over 4 days in either the west Borneo or south Borneo diamond fields. We will meet and greet you at Jakarta international airport and then escort you across to Borneo on a 1.5 hour flight. Once in Borneo a hire car with driver is arranged and we travel overland to a local hotel near the diamond fields, for check in and commencement of the expedition.
In the diamond field region there is plenty of opportunity to walk around the traditional diamond mining operations, taking photographs, meeting the local native miners and of course viewing many hands full of diamonds for sale. Many of the poverty stricken locals will approach you, while walking around the dirt tracks in the diamond mining areas with diamonds for sale, and some good bargains can be found.
There are several different diamond miner cooperatives, that work their own mining areas, who’s leader is responsible to find buyers for all the diamonds that they discover. After viewing many diamonds, both rough and locally cut, from the people on the village streets, you are then invited to attend the traditional homes of the various diamond mining cooperative leaders. In their homes you will sit politely and meet many of the diamond miners working in each cooperative, who will pull from their pockets many packages of diamonds to view. It is common to have 10 to 15 diamond miners lined up showing you their diamonds.
You will need to take your time to assess each package of diamonds making note of diamonds that are of interest to you. This process may take several hours and requires weighing each stone of interest, examination by loop and taking pictures and making notes about each diamonds carat, cut, colour and clarity etc. Once you have purchased all the diamonds of interest from this group, or taken the contact phone numbers for diamonds that may be worth a second look, it is time to move onto the traditional homes of other diamond mining cooperative leaders.
After several days of sightseeing around the diamond mines, enjoying the local cuisine, socializing with the friendly locals and visiting traditional homes to view and purchase diamonds, the expedition will be concluded. We will assist you to check out of your hotel, travel overland to the airport and then fly the 1.5 hour return trip to Jakarta where we will say farewell.
Tips
Many of the diamond miners can speak only the local dialects and very little English. Your expedition guide speaks German, French, Spanish, Italian and English languages as well as the local Indonesian language, and will assist to translate between your self and the diamond sellers. However it is common that much of the negotiations for purchasing diamonds is done in broken English and using calculators or pen and paper to indicate and bargain prices.
The majority of the traditional miners selling diamonds only work in the local Indonesian Rupiah currency. So when you are bargaining prices make sure you know what the exchange rate is. Some diamond mining cooperative leaders will accept US$, but not many.
All diamond purchases are on a cash and carry basis with no receipts given. If you are unable to carry enough cash for your purchases, we can assist through an arrangement with the local bank to except foreign currency transfers, but please allow around 3 days for money transfer to go through.
When negotiating price for the diamonds you will need to be very patient as the bartering system is alive and well in this region. Don’t expect the diamonds to be as cheap as dirt but don’t except the first price offered to you. As a guide, expect to pay around $3000 for a good quality 1 carat diamond, although the opening price from the diamond miner could be doubles this. You will even get lower quality diamonds for half this price. When viewing rare natural colour diamonds in colours such as pink or blue, the prices will naturally be more expensive.
Please note that we support the principles of Fair Trade diamonds so that the prosperity of the region can be improved by increasing business and trade. The majority of the people are living in very meagre conditions in complete poverty and the money from all diamond sales filters down to the poorest family, to help with a better life. It is for this reason that we do not barter the price for diamonds that we purchase down to the very bottom, as a price 50% cheaper than the flashy jewellery outlets in developed countries is cheap enough.
Expedition Price
The price to carry out this diamond hunting expedition is fairly low as costs in Indonesia are quite cheap. The price quoted is based upon a local standard hotel accommodation of around 2 star and local food (as there are no international hotels or international food available in the diamond field region).
You will be required to make your own way to and from your country of residence to Jakarta international airport. The expedition commences from our guide meeting and greeting you on your arrival at the Jakarta international airport, and is completed after arriving back from the diamond fields at Jakarta International airport, where our guide will bid you farewell and safe onward travel.
- Hotel Jakarta airport for 1 night (per room): US$145
- Flight Jakarta to diamond fields (per person): US $200
- Hire car with driver 4 days (per group up to 4 people): US$600
- Local hotel accommodation for 3 nights (per room): US$150
- Meals at local restaurants for 4 days (per person): US$285
- Flight diamond fields to Jakarta (per person): US$200
- Expedition fee (per group up to 4 people): US$800
Total: US$2,430
Note
These expeditions into the Borneo diamond fields are not for the faint hearted. Although the local native population are passive friendly people and there is no personal danger, you will experience very hot humid conditions and basic facilities. The location is right on the equator where the tropical heat and humidity is at its maximum. There are no air-conditioned restaurants and only local food available. The hotel accommodation is basic, generally with no hot water or western style bath room.
Bookings
You are cordially invited to send enquiries, regarding our Fair Trade Diamond Expeditions for the Borneo diamond fields, by contacting us directly on email: owen.henderson@natural-colour-diamonds.com.au
