“I should have asked for help sooner.”
It’s not something you’d expect to hear from a successful designer, entrepreneur and mum, but Simone Ng isn’t just any multi-hyphenate.
Despite, or maybe because of, her family’s background in jewellery designing and retail, Ng, the founder and executive creative director of Simone Jewels, has had to work hard to prove herself.
“I should have been open to more investors. I was very stubborn in just wanting to do this on my own. I started the business with a shoestring budget of only a low five-digit figure, and refused to take loans,” she reflects, explaining that she wanted to establish a strong branding and presence before working with others.
Established in 2006, the eponymous label has gone from strength to strength: from its inaugural collection of 20 pieces that launched at a private event — where half of it sold within 30 minutes — to being carried by London’s Harrod’s.
Having honed her design sensibilities since young — her paternal grandfather owned a chain of jewellery stores across Malaysia while her maternal grandparents were avid travellers who brought back gemstones from exotic locations — by watching her mother design pieces and then making her own out of “beads and affordable materials”, Ng knew what she wanted in her brand.
That is, to tell stories to grow in the present and future. Every collection she’s designed since the beginning of Simone Jewels has been based on famous events or chapters in history.
This year’s Portraits of Porcelain is inspired by three of the most talked about Chinese porcelains from the Qing dynasty that are celebrated for their historical and aesthetic significance, and for commanding astronomical prices in recent auctions.
Birds in Poetry, Simone Jewels’ 2018 collection, takes inspiration from three iconic English poems, using birds as analogies for love, hope and joy. Another collection, Victorian Vintage, celebrates Queen Victoria, drawing inspiration from her love story with Prince Albert.
“I think I should have taken more risk. I’ve been too conservative,” Ng said.
What would have been the payback?
For one, Ng said, she may have been able to expand her business internationally much sooner.
Still, as they say hindsight is 20/20 and 16 years on, she has no regrets.
“But then, you know, there’s always a price to pay for everything. My children would have been younger, and they would have been neglected,” says the mother-of-two young adult sons.
Still, one cannot say Ng has not tasted success — and it is perhaps all the sweeter that she had waited.
Despite the pandemic and its associated challenges, Simone Jewels became the first Singaporean jeweller to be showcased at London’s Harrod’s in October 2020. It also made its debut at London Fashion Week and has a permanent installation at the House of Luxury boutique in the exclusive Mayfair area.
Sincerely Simone, a second diffusion label, focusing on engagement and weddings, followed early this year.
More exciting developments are underway, including a four-month long showcase in New York and an NFT project.
But the feather on top of the gilded cap?
“My parents tell me that they’re very proud; so are my husband and children. And I truly love what I do,” says Ng quietly.
And while she still hasn’t found the right partner, she is looking… but in true ‘girl boss’ style, she isn’t holding her breath.
Videography: Marcus Lin
Photography: Mun Kong
Producer: Cara Yap
Styling: Chia Wei Choong
Hair: Peter Lee using Goldwell
Makeup: Keith Bryant Lee using Shiseido
