The Singapore Jewellers Association (SJA)

On 7 May 1939, The Singapore Gold & Silver Merchants Association was established on the third floor of the Four Seas Communication Bank after the notion of forming an Association was discussed.

It all began in 1942, when Singapore was captured by the Japanese. The Japanese have categorized jewelry as a luxury item, taxing and registering all jewelry at a rate of one hundred percent.

The Japanese government’s Special Financial Department charged the Association with collecting monthly luxury goods taxes from all of its members.

In 1948, after the war, the British colonial authorities reinstated civil administration and tightened financial controls in Singapore.

It was decreed that there should be a quota on gold bars, and their availability was severely curtailed. Therefore, in addition to buying trade-ins, we had to import gold bars from Hong Kong, Macau, Switzerland, Lebanon, and France. After a lull, the economy began to pick up speed, and enterprise expanded.

Fast forward in April of 1984, The Singapore Jewellers Association were successful in obtaining authorization from the Registrar of Societies to change their name from the Singapore Gold & Silver Merchants Association to the The Singapore Jewellers Association.