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Diamonds and Jewelry in Singapore (where, who and what)

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Mercier

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Apr 19, 2003
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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
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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
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I do know some local GIA GG''s should anyone require appraisals
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and can also recommend some good bench jewellers for repairs/servicing of your jewelry
 

flowerpower

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Joined
Feb 9, 2003
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65
Thanks very much for posting all this useful information, Mercier! I'm sure that the Singapore-based users on this forum will find the information very helpful.

 

Yupi

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Feb 8, 2003
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Anyone can provide similar info re Hong Kong ??
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Giangi

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Jan 23, 2003
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Welcome Mercier!!!!!!!!!!! Great infos!!!!!
 

Hest88

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Jan 22, 2003
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Wonderful information, Mercier! It's amazing how many Singapore requests we've gotten lately. It will be nice to refer them to your thread.
 

rodentman

Shiny_Rock
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Aug 5, 2001
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I am familiar with Mercier, his fine work, integrity and spirit. I can and do vouch for him highly.

And, unlike Mercier, I look EXACTLY like my avatar. Those unfortunate enough to know me will crouch for that statement.
 

Banu

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 19, 2003
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Hi Mercier,
I am getting married soon and i am planning to buy wedding bands in Platinum. Do you know which is the best place to buy and what are the things i should note before buying. I have seen some models in Sookee, and they said they will give me 20% discount.. But i would like to know the details of platinum wedding bands before buying. Advise me..
Thanks in advance.
Banu
 

Banu

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 19, 2003
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Hi Mercier,
I am getting married soon and i am planning to buy wedding bands in Platinum. Do you know which is the best place to buy and what are the things i should note before buying. I have seen some models in Sookee, and they said they will give me 20% discount.. But i would like to know the details of platinum wedding bands before buying. Advise me..
Thanks in advance.
Banu
 

digimond

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 24, 2003
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thanks mercier,

i find your posting very helpful for diamond buyers in singapore..i realise that many here are not sufficiently informed and educated, and sellers do not spend time to explain.

i had gone around to see the other mall retailers and found that a lot of the sales people seem to not know much or bother explain about the cut of the diamonds other than the carat wt, colour and clarity


on diamond industries:
went there and saw that the uncertified diamonds are lower quality so they are definitely cheaper..some are in the H I J colour range and the yellow is noticeable..
but diamond industries had some good deals on GIA certified diamonds..

can i ask for an opinion on this 0.3 diamond..after their discount, it's S$1100 (approx US$600)..the GIA cert says the following. even though it's SI2, it looks eyeclean..is the table to big?

carat wt: 0.3
cut: round brilliant
depth:60.9%
table: 64%
girdle: medium to thick
culet: none
finish:v good
sym: v good
clarity:s12

4.28-4.32x2.62


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digimond

Rough_Rock
Joined
May 24, 2003
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3
additional info for the diamond I mentioned in the last post
it's f colour.
flourescene is none
 

nautilus

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Joined
Feb 2, 2003
Messages
13
Hi digimond,

The price is a little steep. I bought a .36 F VS1 from taka at about slightly over $1k. Recently, i also managed to find a rare H&A GIA certed rock at a steal after searching many of the taka branches. Check their inventory out. You may be surprised at the deals found there.

I agree with mercier's remarks regarding the "brilliant rose". I personally saw quite a few of those stones in the .50 to .80 range(with the idealscope) and lots of them had light leakage from the centre of the diamond. The lack of bold flashes of light found in ideal cut rocks of similar size confirmed this finding. All the time, the salesperson was just going on about how the extra facets help in making it more brilliant. In my opinion, it didn't help but only to make it less brilliant as now each of the facets are smaller due to the extra facets, thus making the flashes smaller. I would say a 1 ct brilliant rose would give about the same kind of flashes coming from a well cut .70 diamond. Moreover, the lack of credible certification from the reputable labs doesn't help too.


----------------
On 5/24/2003 9:23:40 PM digimond wrote:

additional info for the diamond I mentioned in the last post
it's f colour.
flourescene is none
----------------
 

lawmax

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Dec 31, 1999
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1,317
Hi Mercier!
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lawmax
 

FifthC

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May 27, 2003
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4
Hi I may wanna use an appraiser for my diamond.. pls recommend thks. How do they charge??
 

winyan

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Joined
May 9, 2003
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1,163
Hiya Mercier

Good to see you!

win

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AGBF

Super_Ideal_Rock
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Jan 26, 2003
Messages
22,143
I am waiting for that e-mail from an Internet Cafe you promised me, mercier! When I get it you may sell *me* some freshwater pearls! Here's hoping you are healthy and happy!!!

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PS-Mercier is a peach. Everyone knows it :).
 

FifthC

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May 27, 2003
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HI Mercier

Cld u recommend anywhere in S'pore where I can get a Sarin report on my diamond?? How much??

thks yah...
 

AGBF

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On 5/28/2003 11:42:52 PM FifthC wrote:

"HI Mercier

Cld u recommend anywhere in S'pore where I can get a Sarin report on my diamond?? How much??"

I am sure he will respond as soon as he can. He has had some surgery. I just didn't want you to think he was ignoring you.

Deb
 

FifthC

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May 27, 2003
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Alright...

waiting patiently...
 

Cassandra

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Oct 3, 2002
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123
Not really on-topic, but I just wanted to say to Mercier that I hope he is doing well.
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AGBF

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Jan 26, 2003
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22,143
Thank you, again, Cassandra for touching all the bases here. Part of me is straining to disbelieve this message, but I have *NOT* heard from mercier and he told me he would would not lose contact since he would be able to write to me from an Internet cafe in Australia soon after the surgery. It seems too, too possible things went awry.
 

RChevli

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Jun 10, 2003
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Very well job doen Mercier
 

jessica819

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 30, 2003
Messages
4
hi there!

i work for a diamond company in hong kong and we specialize in hearts and arrows cut with dossier GIA certificates. i am now trying to do some research on the demand of H&A and its availability. your post intrigued me coz you said that it's hard to find H&A with certificates. i need to know which shops are reliable. i might come and visit singapore soon. any information you can give me will be appreciated.

regards,
jessica
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Natureman

Rough_Rock
Joined
Oct 1, 2003
Messages
1
Hi Mercier,

I am organising a Xmas eve social Dinner & Dance
(200 pax) and wondered
whether those jewellers you know very well,
would like to sponsor this event.

I am organising this event as an individual
not as an Organisation. Most of those people
that I counting on, to attend are my
own network of friends from SDU & SDS.

Of course, the full advertising coverage for that sponsoring jeweller will be given such as
posters & banners.

Could we get in touch?

Thanks

Natureman
 

cypher3

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Joined
May 15, 2003
Messages
3
Hi Natureman

Just to let you know that Mercier has unfortunately passed away thi year.

cy
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jem_ezell

Rough_Rock
Joined
Jul 19, 2004
Messages
30
Hi

Really glad to have read your comments on the diamonds. I was almost going to purchase a proposal ring for my gf at soo kee. Presently I am looking for a diamond ring of this criterior :

0.5 carats
D or E Colour
VVS1 Clarity
GIA certified

I was hoping to find a proposal diamond ring of good cut and proportion. May I know how much should I be paying for a ring like this and which is the best place to look for it.

Thanks

Jeremy
 
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