With a passion for gemstones in their blood, tradition and innovation on their minds, and the future in front of them, three multi-generational jewellery companies in Southeast Asia discuss the most precious treasure of all: family.
THE POWER OF FOUR
Family has always been at the beating heart of jewellery house Amee Philips, entwined with its origin story. Founder and CEO Amee Philips has spent the past 30 years building her brand, having shifted her wholesale gemstone business from the German gem capital of Idar-Oberstein to her Malaysian hometown of Penang, before diversifying into designing, creating, and selling her own jewellery at her first eponymous boutique in 1999.
It was with her British engineer husband, Managing Director Drew Philips, that she was able to establish a state-of-the-art atelier for Amee Philips’ artisans, while he proceeded to refine the atelier’s craftsmanship and the jewellery house’s operations. Since then, the brand has become beloved as much for its opulent high jewellery as its ‘everyday luxury’ fine jewellery, which includes the patented V-Clip design – a striking expression of Amee Philips’ versatility, technical ingenuity, and creative innovation.
The evolution and expansion of the jewellery house goes hand-in-hand with the next chapter of Amee Philips’ story: the arrival of the second generation of the Philips family, Executive Directors Gina Philips and Richard L. Philips. “I grew up sitting on my mum’s lap while she worked, playing with gemstones,”says Gina, who leads the brand’s creative direction and communications. “Watching her passion, how she poured her heart into each piece, inspired me. My mum has always been my role model, and it was clear early on that this was something I wanted to be a part of.”
Similarly, for Richard – a certified FGA gemologist who manages Amee Philips’ atelier and hand-selects gemstones for their collections alongside his mother – joining the family business was entirely his choice. “There was never any pressure to join the business, but growing up surrounded by gemstones, it was hard not to develop a fascination. Being a part of this journey feels like the most natural thing, and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else,” he affirms.
“We’ve always believed in letting our children find their own way,” says Drew. “We wanted them to feel passionate about what they were doing. We’re very proud that they’ve both joined us and brought their own talents to the table. The business is stronger because of them.” Amee adds that her two daughters who haven’t become part of Amee Philips are starting their own fantasy football company and engaging in youth work in Ireland respectively. “For me, the most important thing is that they’re happy in whatever they do,” she says.
Working alongside one’s parents (or children) might not stand out as the most appealing aspect of being in a family company, but – despite acknowledging that creative differences inevitably arise – the Philips family makes it sound refreshingly straightforward. “My parents are very open to new ideas, and we always find a way to merge the traditional with the contemporary,” Gina emphasises. “It’s about collaboration and communication, and we’re good at finding common ground.”
“There’s a real synergy in how we work together, where different perspectives come together to create something even stronger,” Richard says of their collective efforts. “That blend of ideas, supported by trust and respect, is what allows us to consistently make decisions that benefit the business and our clients.” The dual-pronged viewpoints of experience and youth are also helping drive the company forward on a practical and conceptual level – as Drew’s description of working closely with his son to modernise their workshop will attest.
“With Rich taking the lead, we’ve embraced cutting-edge technology in our atelier, which has allowed us to enhance precision while ensuring that each piece still carries the personal touch of our master artisans,” he says with no small amount of paternal pride. “Balancing innovation and tradition has been crucial, and a key strength has been the ability to enhance our craftsmanship without losing the artisanal craftsmanship that defines Amee Philips.”
Amee, meanwhile, is quick to recognise the part her daughter has played in furthering the brand’s success, such as providing her input on collections with a stronger contemporary design aesthetic like the Rebel line and overseeing the opening of their first overseas boutique at The Fullerton Hotel in May this year. “Gina has always been very creative, and she naturally took to creative direction and managing the Singapore boutique,” she smiles. “Her talents in branding and design have really helped elevate our business.”
In becoming part of Amee Philips, Gina and Richard have revealed the business to be the most prized of jewels: a family company that revels in its independence and makes personal involvement one of its most compelling strengths. “We approach every design, every gemstone, with a lot of heart,” is Richard’s take. “Being family-owned gives us the freedom to make decisions that focus entirely on what’s best for our clients without any corporate constraints.” Gina puts it even more simply: “I love that we get to be so hands-on. Seeing the joy on a client’s face when they find that perfect piece is what drives us.”
IN RARE FORM
A burning desire to innovate seems to be very much in the DNA of Johnny Lam, Director at The Canary Diamond – which might go some way to explaining why he’s a third-generation family jeweller. His grandfather worked as a smithy adept at handling gold, while Johnny’s father William – whose talent for jewellery design quickly became evident – began as an apprentice at Chow Tai Fook before moving on to design for Hong Kong-based Larry Jewellery.
“I learnt a lot observing his work,” Johnny reminisces. “Growing up, I remember running around in Larry Jewellery at Orchard Towers. My father was an avid designer who won many design awards, and through that, I found his work interesting as he was able to come up with jewellery people would love and buy.” Propelled by his determination to pour stories and emotions into jewellery that could be experienced, rather than merely being worn, William founded The Canary Diamond in 2000.
“It was extremely nerve-wracking for my parents as this was their first ever time running their own business – and at that time, I was still attending college. The bills and uncertainty definitely played a huge factor,” Johnny states candidly. “However, they had very good and loyal customers who really supported them and their work, so they were gradually able to build The Canary Diamond up from scratch.” His own path also led him further away from Singapore to China’s diamond industry.
“I spent 10 years running my own business there, and it was very tough for me to decide to come back. I was thriving there – seeing China making its revolutionary transition into an economic powerhouse between 2003 and 2013,” says Johnny. There were, admittedly, a few push factors: having recently married and become a new father, he was aware that only seeing his parents three times a year gave them few opportunities to bond with their grandchild. Additionally, his wife wasn’t particularly fond of living in Hong Kong while he spent most of his time at his factory in Dongguan.
“For the sake of my family, I thought it would be best if I moved back. It was time to do my duty,” he says firmly. Although his brother was in charge of The Canary Diamond at the time, Johnny swiftly took the reins (“I guess it’s a game of tag!” he remarks) and guided it along the not-always-easy balancing act of staying true to the company’s roots and forming plans
for its future. In many ways, long- established traditions remain ever- present: The Canary Diamond continues to source the finest investment-grade stones worthy of becoming cherished heirlooms, while maintaining their responsibility towards ethical sourcing and treating their clients as part of their extended family.
As Johnny explains it, “Every jeweller has their own niche and specific clientele. In terms of design, we always base it on our customers’ style, and we’re best known for our bespoke pieces. Our clientele require that very personal touch,
which allows us to have these personal connections. A significant number of our customers are regulars, and the bonds we form with them are quite unique.” Far beyond building up a good rapport, The Canary Diamond has always sought to offer unwavering customer service, care, and exquisite craftsmanship.
“The trust is equal to the trust you’d place in your family doctor, because they sometimes bring us pieces of their heirlooms to repair or repurpose. They really need to trust us when they’re giving us something that I would consider priceless.” Being able to deliver exactly what his clients want – or even going beyond their expectations – brings an incredible amount of satisfaction to Johnny on a professional level. “Hunting down rare and valuable things is what gets me excited. We pride ourselves on being able to source the hardest-to-find gems and deliver them to our eager customers.
“Most importantly, it’s about getting that rare item at a good price, too. Our customers are usually high-net-worth individuals who can shop everywhere around the world, but we find the best and bring them to their doorstep.”
Johnny has also diversified The Canary Diamond’s offerings to cater to a younger, more tech-savvy clientele with the launch of sister brand ByCanary, which was unveiled in 2019 as a digital-first jewellery brand. He explains his decision: “Traditional retail is dead, and retail really needs to innovate”.
“This company is our trust and our legacy for future generations to come,” he says, citing ‘innovation and the willingness to change’ as being crucial to the survival of a family business like The Canary Diamond. “Just like that Patek Philippe advertisement where you never really own one – you’re just taking care of it – that’s what I am: the steward taking care of our company for the next generations.”
LEADING BY EXAMPLE
It’s no stretch of the imagination to picture Saagar Mehta and his elder brother Saahil as children frolicking in piles of glittering gems, given that their father Bhavik Mehta founded the diamond trading company in Singapore in 1982. Saagar, however, sternly insists nothing of the sort was ever allowed: “My father always told us to be careful with the products – and if we weren’t, we’d get a scolding!”
His childhood experiences were more educational than punitive, and summer holidays were spent at his father’s office. “I watched him quality-checking diamonds through an eyeglass, listened to him communicating and dealing with his clients, and observed how he grew his business and made it into the empire it is today,” says Saagar. “From a young age, it was fascinating to understand what a unique business this is – how the product shifts from the mines to diamond cutting, and the way it moves globally according to the requirements of different cultures and regions.”
Despite his early immersion in the back-end operations of Diastar, Saagar didn’t enter the company immediately. “Saahil had a passion for business and joined my father right after completing Singaporean military service, but I went to the United States to study business management and organisational communication before going into solar leasing,” Saagar relates. “My family was very supportive, and I always wanted to return to the family business and give it my full focus.
“When managing my solar business required too much of my time for me to juggle both commitments, I had to be fair and let go of one.” There was little question which company would emerge as Saagar’s top priority. “I’m very committed to seeing that the family business grows, and that my father’s dream of expanding the brand comes into reality. I know my family will always be supportive if I want to venture out to do other things as well, but I’m more than happy to be here.”
Fortuitously, his working relationship with Saahil – who is four years his senior – turned out to be so effective that it brought them even closer together, leading to the inception of Infiniti Jewels in 2013. “My brother and I have always enjoyed starting a business from scratch, and both of us thought, ‘Let’s add more long-term value to the family business.’ So we decided to diversify, go downstream, and set up our own jewellery brand as we believed there was a future in brand-building and brand management,” says Saagar.
There was understandable hesitation on Bhavik’s side, with concerns over the risks involved in moving Diastar’s business-to-business model to Infiniti Jewels’ business-to-consumer setup, along with the fact that establishing their own brand essentially meant competing with Diastar’s clients. “He was a little taken aback, but after a year of discussion, my brother and I convinced him that we would be able to change this business – one that had been run a certain way for a long time. It was a big step for him, and we’re very grateful he took it.”
As the Co-Founder and Director of Infiniti Jewels, Saagar’s primary responsibilities include client communications, planning the brand’s ever-packed events calendar, and seeking out retail jewellery markets to enter. Saahil, on the other hand, takes charge of the majority of sourcing, rough gemstones, and dealing directly with their network of mines. “I’m more of an extrovert – a people person – and he’s more of an introvert. The blessing in disguise is that we have different strengths, which means there’s a lot of synergy and no clashes,” is the way Saagar describes their fraternal dynamic.
“It’s a nice balance where I’m good at the front-end and he’s better with the back-end. If we were too similar, there’d be a lot of clashes: the business wouldn’t be seamless or grow so quickly because there’d be an excess of strengths on one side, and too many weaknesses on the other.” Although Saagar and Saahil’s roles remain unique and separate, the relationship-driven nature of their work requires them to be constantly in touch with each other, their clients, and their father.
In doing so, over the course of a decade, Infiniti Jewels has built up a reputation for the quality and value of their ethically acquired stones (especially their rarest investment- grade gems), quick turnaround times for customisation and alteration, and the exquisite craftsmanship of their pieces. Their by-appointment- only flagship store at Paragon on Orchard Road regularly hosts brand activations and events for new and loyal customers, while the brand’s international presence is currently in the process of expanding from Southeast Asia and India to the United Arab Emirates.
It bears asking Saagar: how much of Infiniti Jewels’ success comes from his father leading by example? “I’ve definitely picked up key skills that I still use,” he agrees. “One is transparency: educating clients and stakeholders involved in helping the business grow, and to be honest with them. Second, to always think long-term. But the most important one is to appreciate and value these rare materials in our showroom – that passion for gems has, of course, come from him!”
By Renyi Lim
Photos Courtesy of Amee Philips
