PAST LIVES, NEW TREASURES

Heirloom or vintage jewellery will never lose their appeal, not least because of the legacies and precious memories they leave behind.

- MINDY TEH

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.