PAST LIVES, NEW TREASURES
Prestige Singapore|February 2024
Heirloom or vintage jewellery will never lose their appeal, not least because of the legacies and precious memories they leave behind.
MINDY TEH
PAST LIVES, NEW TREASURES

My love of vintage or heirloom jewellery began with a Peranakan parure of a large intan or diamond pendant, a pair of diamond dusters, a gold bracelet and a diamond-encrusted ring. The set came in a design that was popular with the Peranakan community at the time, crafted from 18K or 24K gold into intricate filigree and inlaid with precious or semi-precious stones.

This parure was handed down to me on my 16th birthday when I was deemed old enough to be responsible for it. It was given to me by my mother who inherited it from my grandmother, her mother-in-law. There were lots of other notable pieces that she inherited for years she also wore, on occasion, a large emerald-cut diamond ring, a tennis bracelet and a set of diamond earrings. From her mother, there was a locket with her picture as a baby and my maternal grandmother as a young woman in the 40s, set in ivory and framed in gold.

Also, a rose gold ring in a mid-century South-east Asian motif of a round sphere, pieces of jade crafted into dragons, Buddha, a peach tree and more.

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