Yesterday, Saturday the 5th of February, was the last day of goldsmith Poh Kong Chye's business. They went into receivership, a victim of changing jewellery tastes, after failing to pay off a huge debt to their banks. They have been around since 1897, and after 108 years as Singapore's oldest goldsmith, they are now only a part of Chinatown's past.
One of the three brothers who owns the goldsmith, Mr Lawrence Lim, cried as he spoke to The Straits Times on the phone.
"He said: 'We put in our best and we tried to stay in business by modernising. I want to thank those who have patronised our shop. And the banks for trusting us... that we had tried our best to keep the business going. I'm very upset.' -ST
I feel for him, to have lost a family business with such a rich history, like this.
Mom and I went down on their second last day to see if there were any bargains. Jade, diamond and pearl jewellery were left. After some elbowing our way through several aggressive aunties, we managed to pick out some nice stuff. Mom got a jade pendant and I picked out some gifts for the wife (our anniversary and her birthday are coming).
I was happy to pick out one of PKC's signature pieces, a earring and pendant set covered in tiny diamonds. It is the most I have ever spent on jewellery. No expensive gadgets for me for a long time.
When Ginny and I got married, many years ago, I could not afford to get her anything too expensive for the proposal ring, because there were too many things to pay for, like the flat, the wedding and the honeymoon. But she never complained.
So I thought this would be a good time to pick out something nice for her. It is supposed to be a surprise (so don't tell her, ok?) and I was almost caught redhanded with the pieces, twice. I am not very good at surprises, I'm afraid.
My mom told me that goldsmiths with their own 师傅 (masters) and workshops are rare now. Much of the jewellery today is mass-produced, and does not have the same handcrafted quality that pieces from older shops like PKC had.
Nice to know that I will get to honour my better half with some of this old school goodness.
