Daw Sandar Khin Mg Aye models one of the rings she designed.

AS the daughter of gem traders, Daw Sandar Khin Mg Aye has a natural passion for designing jewellery.

She is in her late 20s, but being in the jewellery business since she was a teenager has given her a mature and thoughtful air. She is the owner of Sandar Yadanar Jewellery inside Yangon’s Gem Museum (emporium), which she has been successfully managing since 1999.

“Both my mother and grandmother are gem traders, so I’ve been familiar with gems since I was very young. I spent my childhood drawing jewellery designs and it was always my dream to become a jewellery designer.

“Even before I opened my own shop in 1999, I was already designing pieces for my mother,” she said.

In the past, she added, local buyers were only interested in pieces that used a lot of gold and rarely contained gems, but just two years ago people started becoming interested in jewellery set with gems. Before that, she had to depend solely on the foreign buyers for these pieces.

Daw Yu Nwe Win, owner of Pwint Phyu Pearl & Jewellery Shop, also has a passion for designing jewellery set with gems and agrees with Daw Sandar Khin Mg Aye that the growing trend has some advantages.

“The latest trend is pieces with gems and a little bit of gold, which more people can afford to buy. These less expensive jewellery designs are also attracting buyers in the younger generation,” Daw Yu Nwe Win said.

As customers’ interest in custom-designed jewellery with gems is increasing, both Daw Sandar Khin Mg Aye and Daw Yu Nwe Win believe that it is the time for Myanmar to work on building local brand consciousness.

“In other countries branded jewellery dominates over non-branded varieties because branded shops offer a pleasant retail ambience, professional service, the stamp of purity, reasonable pricing and designs created by some of the best talents in the country,” Daw Sandar Khin Mg Aye.

Daw Yu Nwe Win said, “Designers in other countries really value their creations – they will not even allow us to take pictures of their pieces. So if we like their designs all we can do is take notes.”

Both Daw Yu Nwe Win and Daw Sandar Khin Mg Aye emphasise the need for gem design classes in Myanmar. The lack of the classes means they have to depend on catalogs to come up with attractive designs.

“I already have a diploma in gem identification, but I want to attend a gem design class, too,” said Daw Sandar Khin Mg Aye. “We have to develop most of our designs based on what we see in catalogs from other countries, such as India and France. Myanmar designs are great, but they still use a lot of gold, and we need to follow international design trends if we want to attract foreign customers.”

Daw Yu Nwe Win said she also has to refer to catalogs from Thailand and Korea in order to create stand-out designs. “Their designs are similar to ours, but we have to change them a little to reflect the tastes of Myanmar people,” she said.

Not only is design important in the jewellery business, but also how the pieces are made, and the two gem designers have different opinions on that.

Daw Sandar Khin Mg Aye said some designs need to be made by hand, while others are best to make with machines. “I find that the foreign customers prefer handmade jewellery. We also sell individual gems and if customers ask we will draw a design for free,” she said.

However, Daw Yu Nwe Win said her customers prefer jewellery made by machine because to them it looks more neat and regular.

“Actually, the pieces made by machine are more expensive to make and we get less profit from them, but as my main intention is to make beautiful designs, I always use a machine,” she said.

The way the two designers work to improve their design skills is also different. Daw Sandar Khin Mg Aye attends gem trade shows and visits gem emporiums in other countries, while Daw Yu Nwe Win polishes her skills by taking part in local competitions.

“By attending these kind of events we can learn about designs from other countries, sell our jewellery and can buy jewellery from other countries at a more reasonable price,” said Daw Sandar Khin Mg Aye.

Daw Yu Nwe Win took part in a pearl design competition held in 2003 by the Ministry of Mining and won six prizes, including one for a whole set of pearl jewellery and one for a pearl necklace design.

The lack of design classes has made it difficult to survive in this business, they agree, adding that only those who have a real passion for it can survive. But both Daw Yu Nwe Win and Daw Sandar Khin Mg Aye are optimistic that gem design classes will appear in Myanmar in the very near future.