World’s biggest amulet market: why Thais wear so many good luck charms, and why some cost so much

US$1.25 billion worth of Buddhist charms are sold every year in Thailand – not surprising when seven in 10 Thais wear amulets. Some have thousands

The most prized ones were made by venerated monks, but many are mass-produced, and unscrupulous temples pass off fakes as valuable charms to Chinese tourists

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His clothes old and frayed, Kob Ladkrabang, a Thai amulet enthusiast, looks for a new acquisition at a Bangkok amulet market to add to his collection of 10,000. “I like amulets,” he says. Photo: Tibor Krausz

Published: 8:15am, 20 May 2019Updated: 8:15am, 20 May 2019

Jitti Kongsupapsiri reaches into his breast pocket and takes out a small, off-white object. It is encased in a shiny gold locket with curved glass panes on the front and back.

“Take a look at this,” the Chinese-Thai trader urges as he cradles the amulet gingerly in his palm, as if his very touch posed a danger to it.

Jitti is in a hole-in-the-wall shop at the labyrinthine Tha Prachan amulet market in the oldest part of Bangkok, near a bustling pier on the Chao Phraya River. He’s about to offer a glimpse into the strange world of Thai amulets.

There are good luck charms as far as the eye can see, and medallions, pendants and Buddhist trinkets. They are for sale at rickety stands, wobbly stalls and stuffy old shops, laid out in neat rows or jumbled up in plastic baskets.

Amulets for sale at a Bangkok amulet market. Some, like these, are laid out in neat rows, others are jumbled together. Photo: Tibor Krausz

A customer inspects an amulet for sale at a Bangkok market. Even a mass-produced amulet demands close inspection before a purchase is made. Photo: Tibor Krausz

The amulets come in a variety of sizes: little-finger size, thumb size, palm size. They are round, triangular, rectangular, oval. And they come in a range of materials: plastic, ceramic, base metals, silver, gold, jade. Some are limited-edition; most have been mass-produced for sale by enterprising Thais or financially astute Buddhist monks.