The artisans pour gold into a tank where it is heated until malleable. The softened metal is pounded until it reaches the appropriate thickness, often determined by a client's special order. The met-al is shaped into a ring or necklace and boiled for two minutes until clean. A gem then is placed on a the ring as the crowning touch.
Hort Sengkhim said she imports some types of gold from the United States, since there is not enough Cambodian gold to fill her orders. Three types of gold may be found in Cambodia:. Meas kilo is the highest quality gold found in the country, while meas deign and meas kao brahm are

99 percent and 95 percent gold respectively. Working at her workshop at 51AEO Sangkat Phsar Depo II in the Khan Toul Kok district of Phnom Penh, from 7am until 11pm, Hort Sengkhim earns enough to pay her workers $5 a day. In previous years, goldsmiths could earn as much as $10 dollars a day, she said. She explained that between 1988 and 1998 the demand for gold was much greater in the international market. "Even though my job earns me a low income, I still do it to support my family," Mao Mengsreang said. "This little money is enough for my family. I can survive from day to day, but no money is left."

A Khmer goldsmith likely will not become rich from his or her job, but the hard work and dedication of Hort Sengkhim and her team prove that the pride derived from good craftsmanship is invaluable.