After Hong Kong to Orchard Road, next stop: Milan and Paris

ETHEL NEO, 32
Eclat by Oui founder 

Who would've thought a five-figure diamond engagement ring left in a massage parlour in Hong Kong will soon take this couple to Italy? 

Enroute with them will be a set of HeartWear Link accessories that have been handpicked to debut on the runway of Milan Fashion Week next month.

Ms Neo beams with pride as she shares the exciting news, one that her husband Peter Lau dismissed as "scam e-mail" when they first received the invite.

Mr Lau, 39, defends: "With all kinds of scams evolving, you just have to be careful."

The couple have two boys, three and five. Some also know Ms Neo as the eldest child of home-grown film-maker Jack Neo, who has three other sons with wife Irene Kng.

Back to the almost-lost one-carat solitaire ring that took Mr Lau a few years to save up for. A "traumatised" Ms Neo headed right away to the jewellery district in Hong Kong to find a replica.

The ring was found but that incident in 2017 sparked "another new idea" for the entrepreneur who had dabbled – and failed – in other businesses.

This current success is Mr Lau's to claim too, he says in jest: "I tell her it's because I wasn't involved in all the others."

But he confesses: "I respect Ethel's tenacity and determination to follow through even during the times she has failed, and now I feel she has something that works."

From Milan, the couple head up to Paris to launch Eclat by Oui's pop-up that will run for three months.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do. What drew you to this path?

I wore the replica ring for a few months and no of my friends knew until I told them, and they got quite excited at the idea of getting travel rings.

One order turned into two, and then more, but it was like a sideline as I was still teaching then.

But I'm not a very organised person and I'd get orders from my friends mixed up. Peter felt it was time for me to set up a proper system to track orders that were coming in from friends and friends of friends.

We started a website but operated from home. Then it got kind of real and we realised we had customers that don't know who you are, except what you are selling.

Peter and I quit our jobs to focus on this by end 2017, with 12 designs of diamond simulant jewellery.  People liked it and that gave us the confidence to set up a pop-up at 313 @ somerset in 2019. It is now a permanent store since 2022.
 

What's the biggest challenge you face in your day-to-day work?

I think the challenges were more steep when we first started out, like realising belatedly men (our original target audience) were not repeat customers; for them, it's a one-off purchase. But we also found that their partners actually returned to buy other accessories, like necklaces and earrings, so it turned out well eventually.

Then Covid hit, suddenly there were no weddings to hold, no events to attend, so our business dipped. I thought I'd have to close shop again.

Interestingly, we found that our orders for earrings shot up. We figured it was because people still had to do Zoom calls, and even when you had to wear masks, the earrings served as pretty accessories, so we shifted our supply to meet the demand.

What's the most rewarding aspect of your work?

One day, two ladies walked into the store, and one of them was wearing a bandana.

Her friend was smiling and telling me, "Today is my friend's last chemotherapy session and I want to give her something to remember that."

At that point, it hit me that my jewellery is not just a piece of metal or gemstone. It holds real meaning for a person, for her loved one or a friend.

It touched me a lot, I teared. Other than feeling happy for her, I got my answer to the purpose our work – that rings are not only for spouses or partners.

This ring held a totally different significance for a friend, for someone overcoming a challenge.

How do you see your work contributing to the Singapore landscape?

We provide an alternative for Singapore consumers to affordable luxury, to be able to be confident about themselves. It's about women empowerment and the choices that they can make.

It doesn't have to be a stigma if, as a guy, you can't use a diamond ring to propose. In this generation, even the girls will tell their fiance, their boyfriend, not to spend so much, "we save the money, go on a honeymoon, spend on experiences".

We offer this target audience more choices, and to make wiser choices with their money if budget is limited.

What’s your favourite Singapore dish?

Nasi lemak from Ponggol Nasi Lemak!

What makes you the proudest about being Singaporean?

Singaporeans are resilient, I feel it has to go back to our education system where we are taught to keep pushing even when we fail.

It's not just the academic part but that grinding process of learning and failing, then improving and say we can be better the next time.

What is your hope for Singapore?

It's more for my kids, I hope that Singapore will always maintain peace and stability. The last thing I want is for my kids to grow up in a place where there is no peace and there is no purity.

Also, that Singapore will continue to be strong as a country in the eyes of the world, so that we have our own social standing.