Late in November I was visiting Singapore to see family and take a short break. I found out by coincidence that whilst there, the Singapore Jewellery & Gem Fair was exhibiting at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in the city, 10 minutes from where I was staying. This was too good an opportunity to miss and on 7th November I visited my first non-European trade fair. Of course I wanted to share the experience with our trusted customers and friends to show the lengths we go to to find the best jewellery designs.

The fair itself was buried deep in the basement of the hotel, 2 floors below the Asia Pacific National Defence exhibition. The closest the two shows came to convergence was the fact that I saw a ‘Tank' Francaise Cartier watch on a wrist. Interestingly, the fair was smaller than I anticipated. I’ve been lucky enough to visit German, Italian, Swiss and British fairs and this was probably the smallest. The mix of products on show was different to that I had experienced before. I expected more gemstones, loose for setting, however there was more finished jewellery in evidence. As is customary with trade shows, some very specialist second hand dealers attended with fabulous pieces from famous names like Chopard, Cartier, Bulgari, Kutchinsky and more. Sadly, with exchange rates being against us, I could not find any bargains. Most of the makers were Asian, with a handful of European makers seeking to expand their markets though the pieces on offer weren’t different enough to pass muster.  For the locally made pieces. the quality of the items in make, fineness and general 'feel' wasn’t as good as European makers and I didn’t unearth any treasures to return to Reading. 
A really interesting couple of hours and that drink at the (wet) bar at the top of the hotel overlooking Singapore was well earned!