How Singapore became a magnet for independent jewellers

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In a quiet street opposite Singapore’s Peranakan Museum, in a white art deco building, is the boutique of Singapore jeweller State Property. The business is owned by husband-and-wife team Afzal Imram, an industrial designer, and Central Saint Martins-trained jeweller Ruiyin Lin. They founded it as a local fine-jewellery brand, and it is one of the few with an international profile, thanks to expansion into North America.

Across town, in a high-rise block, is the very discreet showroom of Simone Jewels, which was established 18 years ago by Malaysian-born Simone Ng. In 2020, she became the first Singapore jeweller to be stocked in London department store Harrods and has retail clients in Paris and the US.

She is better known in Singapore and around the region, though, for her one-of-a-kind artistic high jewellery. Her colourful masterpieces are inspired by her love of history and architecture — currently the palaces of Istanbul — and, last year, she debuted a gender-neutral collection called Tattoo with symbol-shaped pendants and cocktail rings.

And what they all show is that Singapore has no shortage of creativity or high-spending clients to support a local jewellery industry — even though the island state is not a big manufacturer, like Hong Kong or Bangkok.