I have just joined the forum and realized that there are many Singaporeans here on this forum who are looking for a good diamond and may not be entirely comfortable with purchasing over the Internet..
I am involved in the jewelry industry here, and although my own sister did go with her e-ring diamond from Jim at www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com I can totally understand "kiasu" mentality about whether our diamonds will ever GET here
I would like to offer my help to any Singaporean who needs assistance in locating loose diamonds. I do not do internet business but I have several contacts/sources for reasonably priced, GIA certified stones.
There is a common misconception/vilification of several local jewellers that I would like to address:
TAKA Jewelry- they definitely do have a focus on lower priced jewelry, principally using cast made mountings produced in China (but then a lot of people are) with diamonds of lower color and clarity (hence pendants for $59, rings for $189)
Such stuff is fine, if you are just buying it for "fun" wear and as accessories. Granted that some people have a *thing* about quality, but others do prefer *quantity* and a larger collection of jewelry- in which case TAKA is absolutely unbeatable in price.
They also do have a good range of certified loose diamonds (their boss used to be in the diamond wholesale business and is able to get very good prices most of the time) and you CAN bargain for further reductions in price-expect at LEAST 10% if not more. I can recommend a salesman at the Jurong Entertainment Centre branch of TAKA by the name of Christopher- very decent guy.
Diamond Industries- developed a "bad" reputation in the late 80''s early 90''s when they sold a lot of lower quality jewelry to people who then got upset when they found out what they had bought. Their fault was in not fully "educating" the customers on the cost/benefit relationship in the price factor of their jewelry purchases. Of late, there has been a very distinct move intitiated by the boss there to improve upon the quality of their stock, and they have also built up an impressive stock of GIA certified/HRD certified/EGL certified diamonds that would probably be one of the largest retail sources in Singapore. I can recommend a guy named Dominic there- very patient guy and willing to negotiate on price wherever possible (theirs is a controlled discount)
I also strongly recommend;
Huen''s Diamond at Far East Plaza (Look for either Benny or Mark) they have a very good range of jewelry, with a moderate amount of loose diamonds, and good selections on the colored stone jewelry and also some H&As
Felin Jewelry at Lucky Plaza (Look for Dora, the manageress there)
Felin has been excellently supplied by a foreign diamond wholesaler and has one of the best priced diamond inventories in Singapore- particularly on the 1 carat diamond range, GIA certified stones and a good selection of H&A cuts. If you are interested in purchasing diamonds from here do let me know and I can arrange for further discounts (where possible) as I know the boss/owner personally)
Richard Hung (at Lucky Plaza look for either Alice or Cahterine) has an excellent range of ready made jewelry, but more specially their selection of ring MOUNTINGS is one of the best in Singapore- very good quality and large selection, plus they have ready made platinum mountings which most other jewellers do not carry.
Canary Diamond (at Orchard Delphi)
This being run by the former GM of Larry Jewelry- he specializes in custom work and is very talented at designing jewelry also- definitely a good source for mountings/custom jobs
Larry Jewelry (Ngee Ann City Branch-look for a girl named Judy)
They carry the Lazare diamond range in Singapore as sole agent- and also have a huge selection of high quality items and are able to obtain practically any item you wish to view. Their prices tend to be a bit high, but this is to be expected as they do serve a very upmarket clientele. During their annual Larry''s Sale, there are some good bargains to be had
I *would* stay away from the TianPo,Sookee,Aspial/LeeHwa,GoldHeart for the simple reason that they are very overpriced in their products- which is unfortunately not a corresponding reflection of quality of the gems/jewelry. Most of their stuff is commercial grade (G/H VS/SI stuff) but not at commercial graded prices
As with many of the other shops in Far East Plaza/Orchard Towers/Lucky Plaza (you need to be careful about the integrity issue/quality matters).
The H&A cuts which many of you look for are definitely overpriced as the HOF at LeeHWa and the Aurias at Tianpo... Sookee''s "Brilliant Rose" is NOT a H&A and is way overpriced for the quality of the diamond. I have had the chance to examine 2 of the stones thus far and am not convinced that they are anything *special* over an ordinary well cut diamond.
I personally work from a shop in Far East Plaza- mostly doing custom work and pearl items.. I do not do internet business but have made some exceptions for personal references from my forum friends.
I will try to help with any jewelry matters in Singapore where I can
I do know some local GIA GG''s should anyone require appraisals
and can also recommend some good bench jewellers for repairs/servicing of your jewelry
I am involved in the jewelry industry here, and although my own sister did go with her e-ring diamond from Jim at www.dirtcheapdiamonds.com I can totally understand "kiasu" mentality about whether our diamonds will ever GET here
I would like to offer my help to any Singaporean who needs assistance in locating loose diamonds. I do not do internet business but I have several contacts/sources for reasonably priced, GIA certified stones.
There is a common misconception/vilification of several local jewellers that I would like to address:
TAKA Jewelry- they definitely do have a focus on lower priced jewelry, principally using cast made mountings produced in China (but then a lot of people are) with diamonds of lower color and clarity (hence pendants for $59, rings for $189)
Such stuff is fine, if you are just buying it for "fun" wear and as accessories. Granted that some people have a *thing* about quality, but others do prefer *quantity* and a larger collection of jewelry- in which case TAKA is absolutely unbeatable in price.
They also do have a good range of certified loose diamonds (their boss used to be in the diamond wholesale business and is able to get very good prices most of the time) and you CAN bargain for further reductions in price-expect at LEAST 10% if not more. I can recommend a salesman at the Jurong Entertainment Centre branch of TAKA by the name of Christopher- very decent guy.
Diamond Industries- developed a "bad" reputation in the late 80''s early 90''s when they sold a lot of lower quality jewelry to people who then got upset when they found out what they had bought. Their fault was in not fully "educating" the customers on the cost/benefit relationship in the price factor of their jewelry purchases. Of late, there has been a very distinct move intitiated by the boss there to improve upon the quality of their stock, and they have also built up an impressive stock of GIA certified/HRD certified/EGL certified diamonds that would probably be one of the largest retail sources in Singapore. I can recommend a guy named Dominic there- very patient guy and willing to negotiate on price wherever possible (theirs is a controlled discount)
I also strongly recommend;
Huen''s Diamond at Far East Plaza (Look for either Benny or Mark) they have a very good range of jewelry, with a moderate amount of loose diamonds, and good selections on the colored stone jewelry and also some H&As
Felin Jewelry at Lucky Plaza (Look for Dora, the manageress there)
Felin has been excellently supplied by a foreign diamond wholesaler and has one of the best priced diamond inventories in Singapore- particularly on the 1 carat diamond range, GIA certified stones and a good selection of H&A cuts. If you are interested in purchasing diamonds from here do let me know and I can arrange for further discounts (where possible) as I know the boss/owner personally)
Richard Hung (at Lucky Plaza look for either Alice or Cahterine) has an excellent range of ready made jewelry, but more specially their selection of ring MOUNTINGS is one of the best in Singapore- very good quality and large selection, plus they have ready made platinum mountings which most other jewellers do not carry.
Canary Diamond (at Orchard Delphi)
This being run by the former GM of Larry Jewelry- he specializes in custom work and is very talented at designing jewelry also- definitely a good source for mountings/custom jobs
Larry Jewelry (Ngee Ann City Branch-look for a girl named Judy)
They carry the Lazare diamond range in Singapore as sole agent- and also have a huge selection of high quality items and are able to obtain practically any item you wish to view. Their prices tend to be a bit high, but this is to be expected as they do serve a very upmarket clientele. During their annual Larry''s Sale, there are some good bargains to be had
I *would* stay away from the TianPo,Sookee,Aspial/LeeHwa,GoldHeart for the simple reason that they are very overpriced in their products- which is unfortunately not a corresponding reflection of quality of the gems/jewelry. Most of their stuff is commercial grade (G/H VS/SI stuff) but not at commercial graded prices
As with many of the other shops in Far East Plaza/Orchard Towers/Lucky Plaza (you need to be careful about the integrity issue/quality matters).
The H&A cuts which many of you look for are definitely overpriced as the HOF at LeeHWa and the Aurias at Tianpo... Sookee''s "Brilliant Rose" is NOT a H&A and is way overpriced for the quality of the diamond. I have had the chance to examine 2 of the stones thus far and am not convinced that they are anything *special* over an ordinary well cut diamond.
I personally work from a shop in Far East Plaza- mostly doing custom work and pearl items.. I do not do internet business but have made some exceptions for personal references from my forum friends.
I will try to help with any jewelry matters in Singapore where I can
I do know some local GIA GG''s should anyone require appraisals
and can also recommend some good bench jewellers for repairs/servicing of your jewelry
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