Errant goldsmiths told to toe the line

From the Straits Times
07/12/2008

Jewellers' group takes steps to ensure purity of gold not misstated

Stung by the news that three of its members were selling gold jewellery that was less pure than claimed, the Singapore Jewellers Association is taking action.

For starters, association president Ho Nai Chuen said it has set up a hotline on 6533-4053 for the public to call if they require assistance in getting a refund from association members whose 24k or 22k gold does not meet fineness standards.

The initiative comes in reaction to a recent survey by the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case), which found that gold pieces from five jewellers failed the purity test.

Three of the jewellers - Chan Foon Jade & Jewellery, Boon Lay Goldsmiths & Jewellers and Teng Huat Jewellery - are members of the association.

The body, the only one for the jewellery trade which is worth over $1 billion, has 155 members with about 335 outlets across the island.

There are about 500 jewellery outlets in Singapore and Mr Ho estimated that 100 of them have a substantial gold jewellery inventory.

He also said that its disciplinary sub-committee is giving the three members a chance to look into their inventory to ascertain if there are any problems with their stock.

Members can be blacklisted or kicked out of the association for flouting the rules, although this has not been done before.

'We are counselling the three members involved and telling them to send large batches of their inventory to the Singapore Assay Office for strict testing,' said MrHo.

'We have also reminded them not to trust their suppliers blindly and to check their stock. It is most important that consumer confidence is kept intact,' he added.

The association is looking into getting a special X-ray device in its office that can give members an analysis of an item's gold content in minutes.

This will help jewellers overcome the backlog at the Singapore Assay Office, which is now testing every piece instead of just a sample of items sent to it, following Case's actions.

Said chief assayer Ng Siew Hua: 'I usually test a sample of three or four out of every hundred. Now I'm very careful to test every single piece.'

Association members that The Sunday Times spoke to pinned the problem of impure gold on their suppliers.

'I've had the same supplier for 30 years so I trust him like a friend...I'm now very scared, so I will get every piece that I can checked,' said Mr Wan Yu Shu, 59, owner of Chan Foon Jade & Jewellery.

Gold buyers such as housewife Luzviminda Vancapelle, 37, feel that the new moves are good for boosting consumer confidence.

She said: 'The new checks are a very good idea because I don't really check the jewellery myself.

'It's good that I can trust the association to check for me. I will look out for the sticker when I shop now.'

Another Book from Montblanc

Bought my damaged Montblanc Marlene Dietrich pen, which had its missing sapphire, back to the Montblanc Botique..

The outlet staff handled the matter well and immediately took action by sending the pen and the warranty card to their local office for analysis.

Was also told that the repairs if done locally, would take about 3 weeks. If done back in Montblanc Germany, it could take 3 months or even 4 months...

I am so glad, I do have other pens to use in the mean time..

Anyway, the staff gave me a book about the watch collection from Montblanc:

Interesting pictorial book.. but at this point of time, I shall not think of whether to get a Montblanc watch, lest I end up with dropping/faulty parts again!

Montblanc missing sapphire!

I got a shock of my life when I took out my Montblanc Marlene Dietrich pen from my pocket today!

A missing sapphire, the setting of the blue sapphire on the clip of the pen appears to have been merely pasted on.

For a pen, that I have not been using that frequently, I am rather dismayed by the fact that such high end pens would be of such a quality. Looking at the warranty that came with it, I just bought the pen in October, and it is barely even 2 months and such a thing happened!

I wonder how Montblanc will actually be looking into this matter!

Stay tuned for updates!

Tips on buying Gold Jewellery in Singapore

From Today

Tips for consumers

• Ensure the jewellery is weighed in your presence and without the price tag. Ask for a detailed breakdown on the receipt, which should show the unit price per gram, gold purity and net weight of the gold item.

• You can also send the jewellery to the SAO for testing. Each item will cost $2.40 for an x-ray test, which does not damage the item. Simple pass/fail results can be obtained in an hour, while a fuller report of the actual content of gold and alloy used takes a day.

• If an item fails the test, lodge a complaint with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, under the Consumer Proctection (Trade Description and Safety Requirements) Act. Consumers who are overcharged can approach Spring Singapore under the Weights and Measures Act.

SooKee

Was at Sookee Jewellery's event, You're a Star that was held outside Ngee Ann City in the afternoon.

There were more staff then visitors thought, which could probably be due to the fact that it was in the afternoon. More people buy jewellery at night?

Anyway, there were some nice designs like those from Versace at the booth!

Case finds errant jewellers in random test

From Business Times

Some overcharged in the consumer association's survey

IN a survey of 30 jewellery retailers here, the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) has found five that failed its test for gold fineness and eight that overcharged customers.

The body said yesterday that it had randomly bought a piece of gold jewellery from each retailer, about half of which are located in Little India and Chinatown and the other half, mostly in the heartlands.

The gold jewellery included rings, bangles and pendants.

'All 30 test items were 22K or 916 gold articles, and hence it meant that the gold articles should contain at least 91.6 per cent by weight of gold,' said Case.

The articles were tested by the Singapore Assay Office for their fineness standard, using fire assay cupellation.

Five fell short, with gold content ranging from just 85.94 per cent to 91.04 per cent.

In the other test to see if retailers charge more than the actual value of the gold jewellery based on the weight and price at the point of purchase, eight were found to have overcharged.

Ho Nai Cheun, president of Singapore Jewellers' Association, said in Case's report that Singapore has developed a reputation as one of the best places worldwide to buy gold jewellery, because members of the trade uphold standards of reliability, quality and integrity.

Errant or unscrupulous jewellers who sell gold jewellery below the specified fineness tarnish the hard-earned reputation of the trade and they should be taken to task and dealt with by the authorities, he added

How did diamond fall out of ring?

This article was orginally by:
Elaine Yeo
544 words
21 November 2008
The New Paper

Couple upset because engagement ring bought only last year

LADIES, beware. Without tender loving care, diamonds may not always be a girl's best friend.

Mr Alex Ng and wife Ng Guo Sijia, both 26, found this out recently.

The couple were looking forward to their first wedding anniversary next month.

Instead, they made a surprising discovery - the diamond on Mrs Ng's wedding ring had fallen out.

The couple were collecting movie tickets at the Golden Village cineplex in Jurong Point Shopping Centre on 2 Nov, when she noticed that the 0.05 carat diamond on her wedding ring was missing.

They never found it.

Mrs Ng last saw it in the late afternoon that day while waiting for husband to pick her up to go to the cinema.

With a discount, her white gold diamond ring cost $484.

They had collected their pair of $790 rings from the Suntec boutique of Lee Hwa Jewellery on 10 Nov last year.

They bought them as engagement rings, but Mrs Ng's ring was the only one with a diamond.

'Embedded'

She said: 'It's not the type that protrudes, but the kind that is embedded in the band. How can it fall out?'

Two days later, they took the ring to the Suntec boutique.

After investigation by the quality control department, a staff member informed the couple that the diamond had fallen out due to 'wear and tear'.

But Mrs Ng, a product development executive, objected.

She said that although she had worn the ring every day, she had a desk-bound job that involved typing on a computer keyboard.

She said: 'I don't work with machines or chemicals the way my husband does as a senior technical officer, so how can this be due to wear and tear?'

It will cost the couple an extra $240 to replace the diamond with one of the same size, colour and clarity.

A similar case was reported on the Straits Times online media portal Stomp on 5Jul.

In that case, a woman allegedly lost the diamond from her ring six months after her wedding.

Lee Hwa Jewellery said in a statement that the cause was probably mishandling. It offered the woman some form of redress.

Delicate due to setting

On the case of Mrs Ng's ring, Lee Hwa Jewellery's senior brand manager, Ms Irene Ling, said that the way the diamond was set into the ring (called the gypsy setting) made it more 'delicate and sensitive to any physical contact that comes with daily wear'.

She recommended extra care for rings with such settings. (See report below.)

Added Ms Ling: 'Even accidental rubbing or light knocks may cause damage over time.'

Mrs Ng said it was possible she had hit the ring by accident when she knocked on doors at work.

She said: 'Still, I can accept that explanation if the diamond fell out two years after we bought it, but it hasn't even been a year.'

The couple are now deciding what to do.

Their formal wedding ceremony is next year.

Said Mrs Ng: 'We don't really want to spend on a replacement diamond, so we may just get new rings.'