JEWELLERY maker Lim Foon Yan remembers how Hong Kong jewellery swept into Singapore in the early 1970s and changed the tastes of the jewellery market here.

Craftsmen like himself, who were used to making traditional Peranakan jewellery, found themselves out of vogue almost overnight.

'One by one, a lot of the older craftsmen had to find other jobs because they couldn't adapt to the style of Hong Kong jewellery making,' recalls the 66-year-old.

He, too, had to abandon his Peranakan jewellery skills, and learnt to make Hong Kong-style jewellery instead.

Today, Peranakan jewellery have become a rare item, found occasionally in a pawn shop but mostly seen on display in the museum.

One exception is Foundation Jewellers, run by Thomis and Johnson Kwan, who inherited the jewellery shop from their father, Kwan Chan Yew, who used to run Hai Suan at Joo Chiat.

Thanks to a client's request for the shop's jewellers to repair a Peranakan-style necklace, they found out that Mr Lim, who was working for them, once used to make Peranakan jewellery.

This was in the 90s, and Mr Kwan was amazed to discover this whole genre of Peranakan jewellery. Being keen to revive it, he decided to encourage Mr Lim to return to making such jewellery.

Mr Kwan realised, however, that they couldn't just recreate traditional-style Peranakan jewellery, given that tastes and dressing styles, not to mention lifestyles, have changed. So he helped Mr Lim to update the designs, getting inspiration from all things Peranakan, including fashion, ceramicware and even furniture.

Brooches and earrings were 'upsized', for example, to suit the Western female's frame. Foundation Jeweller's earrings in its Peranakan series, for example, hang down to the shoulder - a series of Peranakan design motifs derived from other jewellery parts, such as the hairpin, and the bracelet. This season, the brooches also feature certain animals in the centre such as the traditional and iconic phoenix and the deer, as well as 'modern' animals like dogs and cats.

They do make the traditional pieces still, such as the kerongsang (the Malay word for a series of three brooches used on the front of a Malay kebaya), which remains in its traditional trio - the larger ibu kerongsang (a large brooch) linked down to two smaller brooches.

The jewellery has also been given clever versatile twists. An earring could be made shorter, for example, or a brooch taken out of the kerongsang formation to be pinned by itself, or used as a pendant.

'My vision is for Peranakan jewellery to be sold overseas - this is jewellery of our Singapore heritage, and it has a distinct identity, history and aesthetic,' declares Mr Kwan.

Just like the Peranakan culture which is a hybrid of Chinese and Malay cultures, Peranakan jewellery reflects the two cultures' sense of aesthetics. The delicate and ornate curves of the floral motif reflect Malay woodcarvery, for instance, and the use of dragonflies, goldfish, and peony flowers stem from auspicious meanings the Chinese attach to them.

Peranakan jewellery is also unique in that craftsmen like Mr Lim design and make them all by themselves. Unlike Hong Kong jewellery craft which sees an assembly line model, Mr Lim does each piece by himself. 'That's what makes our Peranakan jewellery a work of art. It's not just jewellery. Especially today when no one else makes them in Singapore,' says Mr Kwan.

It's only the designs that have been updated, as Mr Lim still crafts them the way they used to be crafted. He takes a piece of solid gold, traces the design on it, and starts sawing out the lace-like patterns. After that, he cuts the surface to create a 3D effect, then sets the rose-cut diamonds into the piece and gives the jewellery the final polish. Given the affluence today, whole rose-cut diamonds are used instead of the traditional intan, which are like diamond shavings.

Mr Lim recalls when jewellery makers were majority Sei Yap yan, or Cantonese speakers from a specific region. 'They wanted to keep the secret of jewellery-making within the clan,' he explains. One of his masters was a Sei Yap Cantonese from Penang, he adds. 'They wouldn't teach the craft to Teochews or Hokkiens.'

Although he's a Hakka, he managed to get accepted as an apprentice to a jewellery maker in his early teens. 'During those days, you had to work your way up. I had to learn to draw designs for two years before I even laid hands on a piece of gold,' he says. He was 11 or 12 years old when he started apprenticing.

His pieces today start from $800 and can go up to over $30,000 for a full-diamond necklace. Mr Kwan envisions taking this Peranakan jewellery to Europe because he's confident it'll do very well. 'If you talk about Singapore jewellery, this is it,' he says.

But before that, he has to find students who're willing to learn the craft from Mr Lim. And even in the old days, it wasn't as if all apprentices could pick up the craft after slogging at it for years. 'You either have the knack or natural talent for it, or not,' he says.

Foundation Jewellers, #01-03/04/35, Holiday Inn Parkview, 11 Cavenagh Road. Tel: 6732 6141