Student venture promises unique, personal and top quality diamond jewellery for discerning clientèle.
The Guild of Storytellers is a bespoke jewellery business venture based in Singapore which was set up by an entrepreneur currently studying on Cambridge Judge Business School’s Postgraduate Diploma in Entrepreneurship (PGDE). The company offers a highly personalised design service coupled with the top tier of natural diamonds in terms of colour, clarity, carats and cut.
The founder, Kai Joo Jason Ho, is a GIA-Certified Jeweller and business consultant in the industry. He decided to raise the standard in bespoke jewellery by engaging a pool of 15 international jewellery designers – each with individual styles and cultural orientation – to develop unique, one-off designs. Customers are invited to commission designs from up to three designers which capture a personal story or mark a chapter in their life whether this is an engagement, the birth of a child, the memory of a grandparent or the celebration of a business achievement. Following this three month customised design period, experienced craftsman based in the Indian state of Gujarat are then employed to hand-make the customer’s chosen design using top quality, GIA-Certified diamonds.
Jason is combining the investment potential of diamonds with the human desire for capturing memories in jewellery as a celebration of life. Prices begin at £20,000 for a one-carat piece and range upwards from there. He says:
The result of this type of service is that no-one will ever have the same design. Each one has a unique reference number. We are in effect creating modern heirlooms and the quality of diamonds used means they will retain value over time.
The company believes there is a ready market for this sort of jewellery among wealthy consumers in Asia and beyond. Singapore itself has around 1300 people classed as ultra high net worth (UHNW) with an estimated total wealth of c.$155 billion, according to intelligence provider Wealth-X (2014). This compares with nearly 43,000 ultra-rich individuals with combined wealth of close to $6.3 trillion in Asia as a whole. For these people, diamonds are not just a status symbol but also an investment delivering consistent and stable returns.
Jason believes the PGDE programme provided the theoretical grounding and practical business know-how for his venture which he launched at the end of 2014. He says:
The cross-fertilisation of ideas through a mix of mentoring groups, peer discussions and input from experts enabled me to visualise, shape and develop the business. I very much appreciate the insights, support and general encouragement gained from tutors, mentors and experienced entrepreneurs in Cambridge. I was never alone on my entrepreneurial journey.
Given his association with Cambridge, Jason is hoping his jewellery service will also strike a chord with people in the UK so they can enjoy, as Jason describes it, “the very highest quality diamond jewellery, personally for you.”