Greetings
I thought I would write something as celebrate Christmas and welcome the new year. My father Mr Tay Thye Sun was one of the first gemologists in Singapore and I have been working with gemstones for the last 15 years. The Covid pandemic has brought with it tremendous shaking and weathering. Just like what gemstones go through constantly for millions of years before getting discovered by us.
A while back, I was clearing up my safe. There were 2 lots of sapphires that I was thinking of buying as the price and size were attractive. They were about 70 carats total and 60 carats total respectively.
I spent a few hours looking through the both lots, using a loupe and tweezers under a table lamp. Using gemological knowledge to look for unheated sapphires with good colour and clarity.
Out of the 70 carats I found only 2 stones weighing a total of 1 carat that was interesting even though they were heated. Oh yes this whole lot was heated. The other 60 carats were pink sapphires and I managed to select 13 carats. I wasn’t sure if my supplier would let me buy just this.
Reflecting on this incident and the last 2 years, I realized there are a couple of things that I have unknowingly learnt and applied to overcome the challenges faced.
The lessons from the gemstone.
- Have the right tools – The loupe, carat scale, table lamp, correct tweezers, table, chair, tray, air-con and cloth.
- Have the foundational knowledge – Gemology, market (Customer needs, Museum needs), lapidary, jewelry setting, research.
- Real emotions – Love, enjoyment, fun, “heart catching colours”, accomplishment, healing, excitement
- Continuous relationships – Relationship with people around, the levels of relationship, our experiences together.
- Precious time – Time is the resource that powers almost everything.
I can go on and on. But what’s the key lesson?
The key lesson from gemstones is to reflect (no pun intended).
I wish you and your family a wonderful time of renewed hope and vision during Christmas.
Tay Kunming
Oh yes, we are moving to a new bigger shophouse and we are having a relocation sale from 21st December 2021 – 22nd January 2022 with up to 50% off selected products. We hope to see you either at Kandahar Street for the sale or at our new location at Perak Road.
