Singapore to hold JewelFest, Watch Auction 2005

Visitors to Singapore will have a special treat when over 25,000 exquisite fine jewelry pieces from around the world are on display throughout the Singapore JewelFest 2005.

The jewel fest will be held at several shopping venues in Singapore -Raffles Hotel Arcade, Ngee Ann City Tower, Parkway Parade and several jewel pavilions along the Orchard Road, from Sept. 30 to Oct. 19, 2005.

The exhibition will showcase jewelry pieces and the latest jewelry collections by the iconic and renowned jewelers of Asian and European countries, including, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Germany, Italy and Switzerland.

The festival will kick off with the highlight event, Rhapsody at Jewel Pavilion in Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza Orchard Road. The fest will be open to the public on Sept. 30 and will run through Oct. 9.

The fest will be followed by other jewel exhibitions with different themes -'Jewel Wonderland' at Parkway Parade, from Oct. 5 to 16, 'The Art of Dashi - Sculpture & Jewelry', at the Scarlet Hotel's Bold bar, from Oct. 7 to 9 and 'Expressions by Elliot & Carmen and Lotus Arts d Vivre at the Raffles Hotel Arcade, from Oct. 14 to 9. The exhibition with theme 'Inspiration' by La Putri will be held at Ngee Ann City Tower A, from Oct. 17 to 19.

Cupid, D' Meyson and Goldheart from Singapore, Giovanni Ferraris, Luca Carati and Marco Bicego from Italy and Golay from Switzerland - to name but a few - are among the world's top jewel brands to be on display under the theme 'Rhapsody' at Jewel Pavilion.

The exhibition with theme 'Jewel Wonderland' will feature chain jewelers, including Le Hwa, Poh Heng, Princess and Soo Kee.

The exhibition is expected to showcase limited edition of 'Jewel Wonderland' signature jewelry as well as the latest pre-at-proper collections.

Both 'Expressions' and Inspiration' will reveal sensuous and inspiring world of Asian couture jewelry. They will provide photographic portrayals of the essence of fine jewelry.

The Singapore JewelFest 2005 is organized by JewelFest Pte. Ltd. and supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB). The annual JewelFest was first held in Singapore in 2003.

Singapore JewelFest 2005's chairperson Gina Wham said that the festival was expected to provide an opportunity for jewelry buffs to have unique shopping experiences. "Visitors are also expected to have a greater appreciation of the fine art of jewelry," he said.

The event, he said, was also expected to help define Singapore as a jewelry-shopping destination as it offers greater choices and value.

STB's Assistant Chief Executive Chan Tat Hon said that jewelry had been consistently top three items purchased by visitors in Singapore since 2000. "This has made jewelry spending a key contributor to visitors' total shopping expenditure," he said.

Meanwhile, the long awaited Singapore International Watch Auction (SIWA) 2005 will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel on Sept. 25, at 1 p.m.

The SIWA will present 235 lots of fine timepieces.

The top highlights for the SIWA will include Lot 289, Lot 236, Lot 323, Lot 320/321/322 and Lot 335.

Lot 289 - Corum Quarter Repeater was created by Christopher Claret. The timepiece include includes automation display of moving ships, one of 40 pieces produced to celebrate Corum's anniversary and only 15 are in 18ct pink gold.

Estimated price ranges of Lot 289 are from S$26,000 to S$31,000 or from US$15,480 to US$18,450.

Other highlights are Lot 286 - Audemars Piguet "End of Days", Lot 323 - a Lange and Sohne 1815 Moon Phase in rose gold and Lot 325 - Patek Philippe 3970, .

Estimated price ranges of Lot 286 are from S$40,000 to S$45,000 or from US$23,800 to US$26,800. Estimated price ranges of Lot 323 is from S$42,000 to S$43,000 or US$25,000 to US$26,800. Price rages of Lot 325 are from S$180,000 to S$210,000 or US$107,000 to US$125,000.

SIWA 2005 is also expected to present a special guest auctioneer, Dr. Bernard Chong, a familiar figure in the watch scene.

SIWA is organized by the Bezel International Pte. Ltd, the Watch Collectors' Guild, with full support from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).