The opening of Penang-born Amee Philips here brings with it some best-kept secrets of the jewellery world

Anybody interested in watchmaking would know that Germany has always been a horological force to be reckoned with. But gemstones and jewellery making? It took the arrival of Penang-born jewellery house Amee Philips onto our shores to unveil some little-known facts about Germany’s expertise in this sphere. 

Established in 2002, the brand was founded by Malaysian Amee Philips, who discovered the little German gemstone town of Idar-Oberstein while living in Europe. After several years of shipping her gemstone finds back home for sale, she began a wholesale business upon her return and then picked up jewellery design to launch her eponymous retail business.

Together with her British engineer husband, Drew Philips, she grew the house to become one of the country’s most successful luxury brands. Now focusing on overseas expansion, Amee Philips recently launched its first international outpost at The Fullerton Hotel Singapore. The store is its third, with the second situated in Kuala Lumpur’s Bangsar Shopping Centre.

We speak to its second-generation leader, Gina Philips, who has relocated to the Lion City to oversee the 850 sq ft boutique. Among the four children of the founding duo, she is one of two involved in running the family business. She tells us about Germany’s best-kept gemstone secrets, her parents’ labour of love, and the challenges and excitement of setting shop here.

Idar-Oberstein was the reason Amee Philips was born. What’s so fascinating about it?

The ancient towns of Idar and Oberstein, now collectively known as Idar-Oberstein, have a rich history of high-precision gem cutting and carving. The art of lapidary and trading of coloured stones is still being passed down in families, from generation to generation, as it has been for the past five centuries. 

Today, with other gemstone-cutting areas burgeoning worldwide, Idar-Oberstein’s jewellers and artisans focus on highly specialised precision-cutting and unusual gemstone varieties. 

We had never heard of this German gemstone called hauyne until being introduced to your brand.

Hauyne (pronounced how-ween) is a very, very rare German gemstone that we carry. Collectors highly seek it out for its vibrance and rarity. It usually comes in brilliant blue and small sizes. Now, it is very difficult to get good-quality, large-sized hauyne. The main shades are lighter blue and cornflower blue, and we offer the latter variety, which is the cream of the crop. It really sparkles! 

Amee Philips currently stocks a 0.52-carat piece, priced at US$35,000 ($46,800), and a 0.36-carat one, priced at US$25,000, both certified by GRS GemResearch Swisslab. Usually, the quality of coloured stones depends on the colour, cut, clarity, and carat weight, and there is also certification to consider as the fifth C. We can assist with other certifications, too, should the client require them. 

What other precious stones do you carry?

Agate and jasper are also mined in Germany in large quantities and bigger sizes, but they are more for decorative use, and we do not carry them. However, we have pieces not of German origin that are carved there. For instance, a ring from our Forget Me Not collection features Tanzanian tanzanites, whose vivid blue-violet colour shines through thanks to German craftsmen. 

In fact, our specialty is showcasing the world’s rarest and most extraordinary coloured gemstones in both high-end jewellery and everyday luxury collections. We offer gems such as the mystical Brazilian alexandrite and the electric and rare Brazilian Paraiba tourmaline. We also stock many investment-worthy grades of Colombian emeralds, Burmese rubies, and Sri Lankan sapphires, among others. 

How has Amee Philips grown since its early days in Penang?

Penang is famous for manufacturing jewellery, but of course, with very different styles. However, it was the perfect place to find skilled jewellery artisans. We evolved from a wholesaler of precious gemstones 30 years ago, when my mum first started the business, to a jewellery designer and retailer. 

Amee Philips has grown from having one artisan to around 15 to 20 team members today. We are still very boutique because we want to be very hands-on. We are not into mass production — we create either one-off pieces or a few items in one design only. 

Pure collectors form about 10 to 20 per cent of our clientele today; the rest enjoy their jewellery and luxury. Many of them like versatile jewels, such as pieces from the Amee collection, and to have a hand in designing their jewellery. 

How do customers personalise their own?

We have a unique Amee collection of interchangeable jewellery pieces that sets us apart from the rest of the market. Featuring our patented, award-winning V-Clip, our clients can be their jewellery designers and have fun changing the appearance of their pieces. 

My mum also designed the Rebel collection for our customers to embrace their individuality and natural defiance. It features customisable initials as motifs that can be taken from the wearer's or loved one’s name.

How does your background as a gem wholesaler benefit your brand?

We work with gemstone suppliers worldwide who know that Amee Philips’ vision is to look for the very best at all costs. So when they have the best, they will offer it to us. Some of our customers are collectors who know the market, but we also extend our knowledge to them about the rarest stones, such as hauyne, for their investment. 

We gauge the quality of coloured gemstones from good precision-cutting, and because Idar-Oberstein has set the bar very high, we know what a perfect cutting looks like. 

In Malaysia, we do the design and setting. Our team has very experienced artisans who have been with us for a long time, some for 20 years, so we just had to train them with our know-how of the ideal designs and settings for coloured precious gems. 

Our brand is focused on timeless designs that don’t have to be re-set or re-designed over generations. We don’t want overly fancy designs to steal attention away from the quality and beauty of the prized gemstones. We also travel around the world to benchmark ourselves against others.

Amee Philips sounds like a lovely all-hands-aboard family outfit. What are your father’s and brother’s contributions?

Dad had consulted a very experienced English goldsmith to set up the atelier during the founding. They decided to create a modern, British-style atelier that was very new to Malaysia and considered state-of-the-art. From the start, we designed our equipment and made our polishing machines and workbenches. 

Whenever we faced challenges in production, my dad, given his engineering background, would design and add new tools to overcome them. As technology moved on, my dad introduced laser soldering machines to our atelier, where previously, the artisans did their work by hand-soldering. 

My older brother Richard, a certified gemologist, has introduced 3D design and printing. However, the designs still require human input, and our artisans still finish them by hand. He is also building a digital library of Amee Philips’ designs and parts, such as instructions on creating claws.

What about your own experience?

I’ve been immersed in the world of jewellery-making from an early age — my earliest memories were those of myself sitting on my mum’s lap while she was designing various types of gems. Every day when she wakes up, she looks at them; before she sleeps, she still looks at them. I dare say it’s almost a family obsession.

This early exposure to the world of gems and jewellery helped me hit the road running when I joined the business full-time in 2018. For instance, some of the pieces from our Rebel and XO collections feature styles that I have my input on, building on the base design that my mum came up with.

I’m thankful that she is very receptive to new trends and ideas and willing to incorporate my perspective of creating more wearable, smaller pieces that are en vogue.

Why did your family decide to expand to Singapore?

Being located in Penang and KL, where lots of Singaporeans visit, we've always had interest from Singaporean customers. Also, given Singapore's vibrant culture and discerning clientele, we strongly believe that our pieces will be able to resonate well with the market.

That said, my mom has always loved the exquisite elegance of The Fullerton Hotel and the charm of it being a heritage building preserved from an old post office. So we knew we would only set up in Singapore when there was a retail space available there. This is why we’ve waited until now to open our first boutique here. 

Take us through your role and career milestones so far.

I am in charge of the brand’s global expansion. I’ve been in Singapore since day one for the boutique's setup and day-to-day operations. I am also the brand custodian for Amee Philips and manage all marketing and communications matters. 

I take a personal interest in the customer journey — in how our brand is represented to them, right down to the finest of details. From the alluring scent of our boutiques to the rosy tinge that lines the edges of our vitrines and furniture, these are some of my personal touches. 

I’m really proud to count members of royalty and celebrities as part of our group of discerning customers. We’ve been involved in show business too. In the recent Malaysian movie The Experts, in which five siblings carry out their biggest heist yet, Amee Philips pieces are featured! 

Tell us more about your local customers.

The Singaporean clientele is sophisticated, and there are quite a number of collectors. Having travelled widely and used to purchasing diamonds and gems from international brand names, they are very well-informed and recognise quality. 

Many experienced buyers have moved on to rare stones and know about the investment-worthy ones, such as tanzanites with their depleting sources and even rare Brazilian Paraiba tourmalines. Many established brands stock Mozambique Paraiba tourmalines, which are much more commonly found.

These customers are open and keen to discover other collectible gemstones that will make for a good private collection and a special inheritance to pass down. They place a special emphasis on the quality and rarity of gemstones, and many are willing to pay a premium for them regardless of their sizes. 

What is the scope of the Singapore boutique offerings?

For our everyday luxury pieces, some examples include bangles, pendants, and rings from our Rebel collection, as well as earrings and chokers from our XO collection. We stock wedding bands that cost around $1,500, and bangles from our Rebel collection are priced from $9,500 onwards. 

Our most exquisite pieces come from our high jewellery category — from the Flor de la Mar collection, which showcases rare, unheated Brazilian Paraiba tourmalines that dazzle with their neon-blue hues, to the Tsavo set, which features tsavorites, a gemstone cherished for its vibrant green hues and rarity. The Tsavo mine in Kenya is the source of the Tsavo set.

What have been your challenges in setting up the Singapore boutique?

It has not been easy to run a business in Singapore for someone who looks young. People don’t realise that I have almost 30 years of experience because I grew up in the business. 

One key challenge is that, while being a perfectionist and very detail-oriented, I have to remind myself to not be switched on 24/7. I need to put aside me-time and not talk about business at the dinner table with my family. I know that I need to pace myself as an entrepreneur, as it is a marathon and not a sprint. Still, I’m looking forward to taking our brand overseas to more countries worldwide.