Singapore Jewellery & Gem Fair 2013

[Fly Girl]

icy_jade - What a gorgeous Tahitian rope you selected, and I'm so delighted that my Kamoka harvest strand was an inspiration. I love all of your choices...that gorgeous Tahitian rope with the wonderful luster...I must see more photos of the individual pearls. I see a huge pink and green peacock in there. I also love your earring choices and those goldens are wonderful. Well done!

 

[YC]

One of the other vendors which I am interested in are the ones selling natural pearls - think called "sea treasures" and "Bialonczyk". Maybe not to buy but just to admire the pearls. I suspect their pieces will cost a small fortune.

Oh ya! In the Exquisite Pavilions they have an exhibitor that have couch pearls, but I can't recall the name.

And I remember Sea Treasures and its natural pearls. I didn't even bother to check the price. Honestly many of the FWPs look better, and I am guessing that those naturals are for the rich/collectors who appreciate their rarity.

I was on the lookout for FWPs, esp Edisons but nothing that really stood out. There was this super 'atas' (aka local slang for uppity) exhibitor who carried Edisons. But I gave their wares a skip after a quick conversation where they obviously eyed me and thought that I couldn't afford their wares. So what if my typical shopping attire is jewellery-free (so that I can more easily try on earrings and necklaces DUH!!) and in sneakers (hey, shopping is hell for the feet k?).

Ahem. Angry rant over. It's a pavilion that is highly visible from the front entrance btw. Quite easy to guess which exhibitor if you have the map.

Did you say conch pearl? I love them! Think I will try to make a trip down on Tueday ro gawk at them.

I am looking for Tahitian strand, drops or rounds. And Tahitian earrings.

My colection is quite modest despite long history of buying. At b&m prices on a junior salary, there is a limit on how much I could afford. Ok one of these days, I will try to take a photo of my pearls.

My collection is quite modest, compared

 

[michellechan2211]

*deepbreath*

I was at the jewelery fair yesterday (champagne tastes but beer budget, figures) and I did lay my eyes on some of those pearls. I can attest that they're really very pretty. And I do love the strand you picked out, icy_jade <3

I was looking to buy, but I didn't have enough $ on hand (and enough knowledge to confidently make a purchase). Ah wells, at least I had great eye candy.

 

[YC]

I was able to make a trip down to MBS to see the fair, thanks to an understanding husband. The place is not really quiet. Took a look around and ended up at Golay. Maybe cos icy jade had good purchases from them and maybe cos I have heard from them from my regular pearl jeweler. I bought a pair of blue Tahitians and two Tahitian strands. Sorry, no photos. They were to be strung and so left them with him and forgot to take photos. I will post photos once I pick them up. And being able to see Tahitians r so impt. One of my strands looked just ok on display but the colours popped when I wore them! Blew my budget big time. Guess I need to stop buying pearls for a long while

 

[dk168]

Good loot, thanks for sharing.

DK

 

[icy_jade]

Guess which pendant I fell in love with?

 

[icy_jade]

@YC: Glad you got to go. What time were you there? And pls share your tahitians with us when you get them back. Any descriptions to tide us over in the meantime?
And yes conch pearls, quite a lot of them and melo melo etc. Took some pics - guess you've already seen them but I'll post it for other PSers anyway.

@Michelle: The next fair is in July'14, and then in Oct'14. Think we both can start saving up now.

 

[michellechan2211]

@Icy_Jade: I won't be around in SG for the July '14 fair- I'm going on an exchange programme which should last through August '14- but I should be around for the Oct '14 fair. XD Maybe we could go together or something XD

 

[icy_jade]

@Icy_Jade: I won't be around in SG for the July '14 fair- I'm going on an exchange programme which should last through August '14- but I should be around for the Oct '14 fair. XD Maybe we could go together or something XD

Sure. Think we can ask for a better price if we buy (more) together!

Only problem is I dunno if I can hold off until then. LOL.

 

[icy_jade]

Ok! Before I start on the Fair, I want to wax lyrical about my golden. It's a deep luscious golden red that is not apparent from the pics that I posted. These pics (taken at different times/places, including at the local kopitiam that I went to for lunch today):

IRL, it has a sharp lustre, really unusual overtone.





Actually I didn't realise how rare this colour is until I went to all the exhibitors to find matching studs and return empty handed.
Ah well... I suppose half the fun is in the chase and I probably should wait until my drops are set before buying MORE.

Good news is, I found a setting that I like:



Just a very simple ring/loop with some pave diamonds in front. Dunno the cost tho.

And another possibility from Stuller:


What do you think?

 

[icy_jade]

Ok, next the exhibitors round-up. I went to every single one to peek and think that I'll just mention those where I liked the pearls that I saw. Mmm. So my criteria is either affordability + quality, OR rarity. I.e. if it's wildly unaffordable AND no rare pearls, then it's a no-go. Or if it's cheap but nasty (or at least, not lustrous enough to catch my eye), then no as well.

I sort of started at one end of the hall and went to the other, so here we go...

1. Mitsushima Pearl (Booth 1606)

Impressions. Nice tahitian round strands, for the Fair they have on offer some slightly baroque pairs that have good lustre (affordable). And this GORGEOUS single SSP with the most unusual colour:





And I circled the trays with the specials here:


I'll admit that I was tempted by the specials but I'd already gotten a fantastic pair ytd.
Excellent service (but of course, since snotty exhibitors are off my list, and those are invariably with European or American service staff/bosses?).

 

[icy_jade]

2. Shinyu Co. Ltd (1507)

Just diagonally across from Mitsushima. Love the akoyas here. I am in love with the natural white akoyas. The pinked ones look soooo bleh in comparison. Sigh, if only I can get 3 strands for a triple.

They have multi-coloured naturals too. Enjoy the eye candy.

I couldn't resist playing with them. Sigh.


Long strands of blue akoyas


Natural whites, cream and blues


Natural multis


Of course they had loads of other 'normal' akoyas. But after seeing the naturals... sigh.

 

[icy_jade]

Ok, so I then wandered all over the halls... so this part of the exhibit has these type of booths:



So there are loads of various loose gems and finished jewellery... tried not to look at them too much (for fear of getting a new addiction or relapsing in to diamonds, LOL).

Oh and I found a jewellery supplier/Rubin & Son (1224) and finally found a travel case for my pearls. Hooray! I'll post more in the "how to store" thread (Link: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/how-do-you-store-your-collection-of-pearl-jewellery.192940/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/how-do-you-store-your-collection-of-pearl-jewellery.192940/[/URL]) but here are some pics to whet your appetite.

See the stack in the right side:


And then I saw some callipers and bought a manual one. Of course I wanted the cool electronic one but figured I should save the $$$ for more pearls.


And I already have a few scopes (back from when I had this teeny diamond thing):

 

[Fly Girl]

Guess which pendant I fell in love with?

My eyes went to the third one from the right. I love the cool bluer tone and the awesome drop shape and the wonderful luster.

Thank you for the reports and the pearly eye candy, icy_jade.

 

[icy_jade]

3. Golay (905)

Nothing that really caught my eye, and so I went back to Golay to have a look at the silver SSP strand that I tried yesterday. And they have new items! Remember those pendants from Andy Muller that I waxed lyrical about in my other thread? (Link: [URL='https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/colour-graduated-long-baroque-tahitians-from-andy-m%C3%BCller.190979/']https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/colour-graduated-long-baroque-tahitians-from-andy-m%C3%BCller.190979/[/URL])

Golay carries them. And rings and bracelets (but I forgot to take pics of those, oops).

Don't worry, I took loads of pics of the pendant. I was actually quite serious about buying if I see 'the one'. So I went thru EVERY SINGLE PEARL PENDANT. Dozens and dozens of them.



And these were the contestants for 'prettiest' and 'pearls with character' awards...



Of course I have close-ups.

And they look so much better IRL... e.g. the pearl 2nd from right is sooo pretty IRL. And the top pearl on the double? Gorgeous.


I can't recall the size, but quite a few are 17 mm in diameter. Wonderful lustre. Mmm.

 

[PearlGem]

I was able to make a trip down to MBS to see the fair, thanks to an understanding husband. The place is not really quiet. Took a look around and ended up at Golay. Maybe cos icy jade had good purchases from them and maybe cos I have heard from them from my regular pearl jeweler. I bought a pair of blue Tahitians and two Tahitian strands. Sorry, no photos. They were to be strung and so left them with him and forgot to take photos. I will post photos once I pick them up. And being able to see Tahitians r so impt. One of my strands looked just ok on display but the colours popped when I wore them! Blew my budget big time. Guess I need to stop buying pearls for a long while

Wow! 2 strands at a time. Do they charge you extra for stringing and the clasp?

 

[icy_jade]

Golay (cont)

More pics...



This pic is just cos the 2 pendants on the right are sooooo pretty. You can see the rainbow colours on the upper pearl right?
It's almost like how I'll imagine a SoC pearl to look.


And the final 3 (shortlisted based on overall prettiness and most how they look against MY skin)


And then the final 2...


And then I couldn't decide so I went for a walk around the hall to 'cool down' and mostly cos I am a lady with a mission.

 

[YC]

I was able to make a trip down to MBS to see the fair, thanks to an understanding husband. The place is not really quiet. Took a look around and ended up at Golay. Maybe cos icy jade had good purchases from them and maybe cos I have heard from them from my regular pearl jeweler. I bought a pair of blue Tahitians and two Tahitian strands. Sorry, no photos. They were to be strung and so left them with him and forgot to take photos. I will post photos once I pick them up. And being able to see Tahitians r so impt. One of my strands looked just ok on display but the colours popped when I wore them! Blew my budget big time. Guess I need to stop buying pearls for a long while

Wow! 2 strands at a time. Do they charge you extra for stringing and the clasp?

They did not charge extra for stringing and clasp. Clasp is a silver bean shaped type - sounds like the type that use. I did not see the clasp but sounds like it based on his description.
Yes,... walking out, I thought... 2 strands!!!! I must be mad.......But they were both beautiful and different and I wanted them both. I will just be very very good and not buy any more pearls for the next few months.

 

[LitGeek]

[quote="icy_jade|1381670872|And then the final 2...


And then I couldn't decide so I went for a walk around the hall to 'cool down' and mostly cos I am a lady with a mission. [/quote]

Both! You need both because they are so different. The wSS is so dainty/feminine and the T is so big/masculine and both are beautiful. Which did you choose???

Really enjoying looking through your photos and reading about your adventure

 

[YC]

@YC: Glad you got to go. What time were you there? And pls share your tahitians with us when you get them back. Any descriptions to tide us over in the meantime?
And yes conch pearls, quite a lot of them and melo melo etc. Took some pics - guess you've already seen them but I'll post it for other PSers anyway.

@Michelle: The next fair is in July'14, and then in Oct'14. Think we both can start saving up now.

Icy Jade: I was there at 3plus to 5pm. The pearl pair is dark blue with faint pink overtones (like a rim in the periphery). One strand is round aubergine - that strand is quite dark but the colours and overtones are intriging. The other strand was a multicolour round/off round with quite a few pistachios in them - this strand was a surprise cos the colours looked just amazing against my skin. I knew I had to get that strand the minute I tried it on. I will definitely post the pics when I collect them. I was hoping to find Tahitians with strong pink colours but could not find a suitable one.
I did not have time to check out the other pearl shops. I saw some of the Japanese stalls that you mentioned but did not really look cos their selection of Tahitians looks limited.

 

[YC]

That Mitsushima SSP - what colour is that ? Looks a bit greenish silver. Very unusual colour.

 

[icy_jade]

Ah... let me cont on my long winded adventure first, LOL.

Ok, so I already knew that the next section will have the other Japanese exhibitors, so I went to the pavilion section first, which is right on the other end of the hall. Loads of conch, melos, and GIANT pearls coming up cos I snapped whatever I thought you ladies may find interesting.

The pavilion section has nicer booths of course. E.g:



Umm... too many pics. I'll just load and post for a while.

 

[icy_jade]

More...

 

[icy_jade]

More...

 

[icy_jade]

More...



These are like 20mm each maybe? Super big pearls!!

 

[icy_jade]

More...

 

[icy_jade]

More...

 

[icy_jade]

More...



Ok. So back to actually shopping around. Remember that I was looking for deep reddish-gold SSP pairs/studs to match my pendant-to-be? So I went to pretty much every store. I like the service in these stores (the Japanese are so polite!).







I'll go back to Eiko later, but first another exhibitor...

 

[icy_jade]

Ok, so a detour to Nanko first. Btw I didnt pop by Pearl Far East just cos the designs didn't catch my eye. But based on a quick eyeball when I went past, the pearls are ok. Mmm... actually most of the Japanese exhibitors have nice pearls come to think about it... anyways...



And these are the designs that attracted so many tai-tai types yesterday. Didn't fall madly in love with any strand, tho I went a few times to look.

Didnt't manage to snap their colourful tahitians. They had a few nice strands.

 

[icy_jade]

Oki, so back at Eiko. So I first did my usual round of asking if they have studs or pairs that can match my deep golden.

Then I looked at akoyas... cos that is like such an under-represented pearl type in my collection! But the natural whites I saw at Shinyu stayed on my mind and well, I couldn't... sigh.

Then I just randomly browsed right, and saw these:



@Fly Girl: Yes, indeed, that pearl captivated me. I kinda guessed I was a lost cause when I saw it and basically just fell in love right?

@LitGeek: I called the two the tomboy and the lady. Both very different. I was actually looking for a 'tomboy' pendant but have to admit I felt for the lady one a bit more (and I was surprised by that cos I started out really looking for a tomboy pendant). Erm, pics again to compare:



VS



You can't get a sense of the size from the pics, but the diameter of both pendants from Golay are 17 mm (dunno height, but the tahitian is HUGE) and the Eiko one is 16.5 mm. And honestly, I thought the Golay/Andy Muller wSSP pendant looked better against my skin than than Eiko one. BUT, it's always a rather emotional decision whenever I buy jewellery, and I've learnt to trust my instincts, so it was the bluish SSP pendant that went home with me. IRL, it looks bluish-pink? I hesitated cos I read before that bluish overtones on wSSPs are less desirable?

Honestly as I am typing this and looking at the Andy Muller SSP I am like

But... just have to let go. Sigh.

Arrived home too late for beauty shots, so maybe more later this week...