[Event] Singapore International Jewelry Expo 2024

I visited Singapore's most prestigious jewellery show, the Singapore International Jewelry Expo (SIJE) 2024 which was held at Marina Bay Sands Singapore, Sands Expo & Convention Centre Halls A & B from 11 July to 13 July. SIJE is the leading trade show for the jewellery industry, connecting local and international exhibitors with key buyers in Singapore, ASEAN and beyond, facilitating business opportunities and growth. 

SIJE 2024 - Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Photo Credit: IEG Asia 

The show was officially opened by Guest-of-Honour Mr Alvin Tan, Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry & Ministry of Cluture, Community and Youth. Also present at the official opening of SIJE 2024 were His Excellency Dante Brandi, Ambassador of Italy to Singapore and Brunei; Mr Giorgio Calveri, Trade Commissioner, Italian Trade Agency (ITA) Singapore; Mr Sulistijo Djati Ismojo, Deputy Chief of Mission/Head of Chancery, Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Singapore; His Excellency Senarath Dissanayake, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in Singapore; His Excellency, Samer Anton Naber, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the Republic of Singapore.

SIJE 2024 - Opening Ceremony of Indonesian Pavilion
Photo Credit: IEG Asia 

SIJE 2024 - Opening Ceremony of Italian Pavilion
Photo Credit: IEG Asia 

The Italian Pavilion at SIJE 2024 was officially opened by Guest of Honour Mr Alvin Tan, Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry & Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth; His Excellency Mr. Dante Brandi, Ambassador of Italy to Singapore and Brunei; and Mr Giorgio Calveri, Trade Commissioner, Italian Trade Agency (ITA) Singapore. This milestone event fosters bilateral trade ties between Italy and Singapore, especially in the jewellery industry. The pavilion showcases 14 renowned Italian master jewellers, highlighting exquisite craftsmanship and innovative designs, made possible by the Italian Trade Agency (ITA), demonstrating Italy's commitment to strengthening business relationships and commercial prospects in the region. 

First look at some exceptional gemstones and jewellery from across the globe

A S$3.8 million one-of-a-kind Jade Necklace by Ivy Masterpiece. Each piece of jade in this necklace has been painstakingly curated to present this rare piece of perfection. This HKJJA-certified necklace has 47 Natural Imperial Jadite Beads and weights a total of 691 carats. 

Another piece by Ivy Masterpiece is this Natural Fancy Light Pink "Cushion" Diamond Ring with a carat weight of 4.01 carats and GIA-certified set with marquise and oval-shaped Diamonds mounted in an 18K 750 White Gold Ring. Priced at S$ 1.18 million. My photo doesn't do justice to this stunning piece. It was so dazzling and sparkles from every angle, captivating the eye no matter how you look at it.

A rare and magnificent 9-carat Pigeon Blood Ruby of Mozambique origin, set with two trapezoid diamonds in a timeless white gold ring casing by DeGem, valued at S$ 4 million. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get a photo of the actual piece. 

Unique, handmade pieces spotted in the Indonesian Pavilion

At the Indonesian Pavilion, we spotted many one-of-a-kind, handmde jewelry pieces featuring intricate designs and delicate patterns. Each piece was skillfully crafted, displaying lustrous pearls and other precious gemstone.  

Various Stage and Longue Programme

SIJE 2024 brought together jewellery enthusiasts and professionals over the four days exhibition show. There were insightful sharing sessions, stylish fashion shows, receptions and community-based activities for public and invited guests. 

XOXO

[EVENT] Highlights at the Singapore International Jewelry Expo 2019

The Singapore International Jewelry Expo (SIJE) is the largest jewelry event in Singapore which gathers leading jewelers from all over the world to showcase rare gemstones and stunning creations worth more than US$150 million. A total of more than 230 jewelers, designers and manufacturers from 26 countries participated in this year's showcase held over the four days from 18 July to 21 July at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre. 

The event was opened by Guest of Honour, Dr Lily Neo, Member of Parliament, Jalan Besar GRC. I attended the opening ceremony and would like to share some of the highlights from the show.



An interesting find according to a February 2019 report by Euromonitor International shows that the luxury jewelry scene is seeing a steady growth . Luxury fine jewellery accounts for more than 95% of the overall value sales of luxury jewellery. The demand for jewelry seems to be fueled by various factors such as the growing number of digital buyers, growing female workforce population, increasing middle class population, growing high net worth individuals population and the growth of international tourism.

An awards presentation ceremony was held for the winners of the inaugural International Jewellery Stars (IJS) Awards shortly after the opening speech was given by Mr Edward Liu and Dr Lily Neo.

Riding on the theme of 'Fantasy', the IJS Awards is held in recognition of jewellery designers and their creations and innovation across generations, markets and cultures in the region. The winning designs came to live under the direction of Michael Koh of Caratell who manufactured the winning pieces.  The winning pieces were to be auctioned during the show by HotLotz Auction House and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to charity, Mercy Relief.

We also witnessed the SIJE jewelry runway show where the beautiful models walked down the stage wearing and bringing out the beauty and life of the gemstones. The clothes wore were specially designed by Singaporean fashion designer, Alfie Leong of W.E. + studio, a past winner of the President's Design Award Singapore.

After the fabulous show, we left the sitting area for a media tour round the different exhibitors.  Thanks Gerald for showing us around.

The first exhibitor booth we went to was Simone. Love the fact that every piece of their jewellery tells a story. "BOMBSHELL" is their 2019/20 collection and it was inspired by the acclaimed documentary of the same name where Hedy Lamarr is their latest muse. Their collection features musical instruments which leds to Hedy's creation of the Wifi which is so important in our lives now.

Next, we visited Caratell, one of the unique pieces here is the Art Science Museum Inspired Ring. This ring is set with a 2.04 carat Vivid Red Pigeon's Blood with no indication of thermal treatment and Diamonds of 2.32 carat in 18K White Gold. This cost S$132,800.

Adorned with colourful gems and diamonds, Summer Lily is designed as a necklace with the bouquet of lilies blooms to its fullest as it welcomes the beginning of summer. The lily symbolizes purity and refined beauty.

At Zydo Italy, we looked at some beautiful Green Emeralds from Colombia (GRS certificate) and Red Ruby.

We went back to Ivy Masterpiece and our attention was focused on the massive 27 carats diamond  ring that is worth S$3 million! It's so big I can't imagine putting in on my small fingers. 

The last exhibitor we stopped at was at Mahika. Mahika means Mother Earth in sunscript. They believe that each and every one of their customers is unique and so should their jewellery. Thus, a lot of their jewellery are exquisitely designed and personalized. They will first understand what their clients need before doing up the 2D and 3D sketch. A wax model will then be created for client to try on to get the right fit and feel. Once all is confirmed, they will produce the final jewellery piece in gold, diamonds and gems.

A single stud earring that can be paired with different "jackets" to create a different look and feel for different occasion. Same goes for their rings, one ring comes with 3 different ways of wearing it.

 Mahika also partnered with Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore for a special initiatives. All their beneficiaries have cerebral palsy which is a physical disability that affects movement and posture. Mahika will take the art piece of them and come out with the mould before crafted them into fantastic jewelry. This meaningful initiatives encourages them to pursue their personal development and all proceeds from the sales of these pieces are channeled back to their beneficiaries.

After visiting this exhibition, I found a deeper meaning to the jewelry. Beside wearing them to glamour up for a special occasion, most of them also have an interesting story behind them. Was definitely an eye opening and dazzling show.

See you next year, SIJE 23 - 26 July 2020

www.sije.com.sg | www.facebook.com/SIJE.page

XOXO

[EVENT] Singapore International Jewelry Expo 2016

The Singapore International Jewelry Expo (SIJE) is back again this year with more than US$150 million in exhibits by 200 exhibitors from 25 countries over the world, making this the region's largest consumer jewelry show. This year, SIJE 2016 celebrates the love of jewelry, stunning gemstones that make a statement - 'beauty inside out' and the beautiful women of substance who adorn these stunning creations.

SIJE 2016 opened its doors at the Marina Bay Sands Convention Centre to the public from 21st July to 24th July 2016 and I went down on Friday evening. So yes, let me share some of the intriguing and beautiful pieces I saw there. 

Simone Jewels is a Singapore based brand and has been around for 10 years. They specialized in coloured gem stones and they are inspired by leaves, floral, etc. 

Just imagine wearing one of these.

A double ring in which the carriage is movable and can slide across. This is under the One Thousand and One Tale - Jasmine Kingdom series.

A super beautiful necklace charm that doubles up as a ring. Thank you Janice for sharing and be my hand model.

Famosi Singapore, established since 1984 in Valenza, Italy. Each of their jewelry is a unique piece and is like a piece of art work.

Exquisite pieces. Look at those tiny details inspired by the nature.

It started off from a basket of flowers.

And we have this, a bracelet of insects, birds, animals, fruits and flowers. We had a fun time spotting the number of frogs in this bracelet as well as identifying the different fruits. Really interesting.



One series is more items spotted in a garden while the other is more on items you can find at a seaside. 

Caratell is the last booth I went to due to time constrain and is also my favourite booth. I had a really long sharing session with Ms Achillea, a Senior Design Consultant there. When she share on the stories behind each unique pieces, I can totally feel her passion in this industry.

This beautiful necklace was inspired by the water lily and is to portray the cause and effect of life with the ripple in the middle and coloured sapphire as the droplet below. 

This piece which is just created, hot from the oven was inspired by the Spanish Dancer/Sea Slugs and it represent the marine life. Try google a sea slug and you will understand the pattern of this piece.

  

This red beryl ring is made up of the top 10 rarest stone or known as bixbite. This is not for sale as it's her own collection and she has been searching for this for about 20 years and found it at Utah. Guess not many miners are mining this stone now as the chance of finding it is so low.  

Another rare piece is this scallop pearl. It will takes about 30,000 scallop to find one of this pearl. 

Pink ring flourish under light. 

This amazing piece is a 2-in-1, from a ring, it can expand to be a bangle with an adjustable size!! I just watched in awe as the lady demonstrated the whole process. This design has been patented too meaning you can only find it at Caratell.

Some of the pieces are inspired by the architecture. This ring is a miniature of Singapore's Garden by the Bay - Flower Dome. 

This ring is known as the Star Sapphire. Ms Achillea shared that usually, they would come out with the design based on the stones itself and they have kept this stone for 5 years before deciding to make it into a galaxy ring.

Literally wearing a gift box on your finger. The gift tag on the box can be carved with your name. Quite interesting gift to give.

Ms Achillea also shared how they would personally traveled down to mining places to look at the stones and ensure the quality. Thus, there is no need for a middle person. Thank you for also giving me this book of Caratell Jewellery Collection which has so many beautiful pictures of the jewellery. If I ever get very rich next time, I would definitely want to own one of the pieces from Caratell. 

When I exit from the exhibition, I spotted this cute Italian Doll Necklace that cost $150 each. This is one of the special buys, limited pieces that cost below $1,000.

Lastly, a selfie to end this post. Jewelry is the one little thing that has the power to make you feel unique. Thank you for the invitation and also for all the nice stories behind the jewelry pieces. I learn how to appreciate those pieces other than from the face value. 

XOXO