Fook Kuan using his late father’s apparatus to mould gold into fine wire to produce jewellery at the family’s workshop in Johor Baru. — Photos: THOMAS YONG/The Star
Four brothers run JB workshop started by their father and use hand-me-down equipment
SHAHIDAHYU Bakri did not expect that her bad reaction to coffee while pregnant about 11 years ago would turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
She had been working at a coffee factory in Johor Baru for a few years before being pregnant with her first child.
“I experienced bad reactions to the smell of coffee and had to quit my job as the dizzy spells and nausea were too much for me to handle.
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“I had no choice but to look for work elsewhere to help my husband, as we were about to start a family.
“That was when I saw an advertisement on job vacancy at a jewellery workshop and decided to give it a try despite having no prior experience in the field,” Shahidahyu told StarMetro.
The job involved producing handmade gold jewellery, which required her to handle tools such as pliers, tweezers, chisels and files.
Shahidahyu inspecting various tiny parts before assembling them into gold jewellery.
“Besides rings, my boss, who is also my mentor, taught me how to make movable fish pendants.
“The pendant consists of several different parts assembled together to make it move as if it was swimming.
“I never expected that I would one day become a goldsmith.
“I like the fact that I get to learn new skills,” she said.
She added that through her job, she has learnt about Chinese culture including why dragons and fish are symbols of good fortune in the community.
Some of the handcrafted pieces produced at the shop.
In turn, she would also share about her own culture with her colleagues.
Shahidahyu is one of the oldest-serving employees at the workshop, and she also guides and trains newcomers who join the company.
The mother-of-two said she hoped to see more young people joining the industry as they could bring fresh ideas and innovations.
The workshop where Shahidahyu works is run by four brothers who took over the business from their late father.
All in the family
Owner Yuin Foo Seng said the family business was passed down to him about three decades ago.
He recalled that he, too, was working in a different field before joining the business.
“In my teenage years, I worked at my maternal grandfather’s restaurant.
“One day, my father asked me to help out at his jewellery workshop as he was short of workers. And so began my journey in the gold business.
“I learned from my father and eventually became a full-fledged goldsmith,” said Foo Seng.
(From left) Brothers Foo Seng, Fook Kuan, Fock Heng and Fook Yung at the second-generation goldsmith business.
He added that his father first opened a gold jewellery workshop in Penang, relocating several times before settling down in Johor Baru.
Foo Seng, who is the eldest sibling, said he first ran the business with one brother, before his two other siblings switched fields to join them.
“My brothers Fook Kuan, Fock Heng, Fook Yung and I each take on a different role – from producing gold jewellery to managing our 13 employees and quality control,” Foo Seng said.
He recalled the industry’s peak in the 1990s before the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
“At that time, we were getting a lot of orders even during non-festive periods.
“Our workers had to work overtime and on weekends to cater to the orders.
Soh: There is still a market for traditional and handmade gold jewellery.
“During Chinese New Year, buyers who are jewellery shop owners would come to our workshop to buy whatever stock we had left.
“The demand for gold jewellery is still there but it is lower now.
“We also cannot take as many orders, as we have fewer workers now compared to before.”
The goldsmith said their products were for local and overseas markets such as Singapore and India.
Pick of the bunch
Foo Seng said the shop also produced toothpicks and earpicks, which come in a slim container, all made entirely of gold.
“It was in great demand back then. Now, I believe we are the only gold workshop that still produces the item upon order.
“We make mostly gold pendants with elements such as carp, arowana and dragons that symbolise auspiciousness and good luck in Chinese culture.”
Youths, he revealed, were not interested in being goldsmiths as it was labour-intensive.
“They are required to sit for long hours and use their hands and eyes.
“A lot of skill is required to produce jewellery with intricate details.
Cheng: Young people are influenced by luxury brands and will look for similar gold products.
“Previously, we had workers who left after a week as they could not stand the long hours,” he said, adding that his own children had pursued other interests after completing their tertiary education.
Foo Seng is grateful that his niece and nephew had joined the family business and learned to become goldsmiths.
He admitted that he was concerned about the future of the industry as many jewellery makers had adopted mechanisation.
At his workshop, they still use apparatus that used to belong to his father to mould gold into fine wire to produce jewellery.
“Our father had always wanted to pass down the craft to his children. He worked until he was 86.
“I took over the family business not to become rich but to keep our father’s legacy alive.
“We aim to continue offering traditionally-made jewellery pieces as I believe there is still value in them,” said Foo Seng.
Updated with tech
South Johor Golden Ornaments Trade Association chairman Soh Lip Sim said traditional and handmade gold jewellery still had a market in the 21st century.
“Most of the gold jewellery makers in the state are small and medium-sized enterprises, while the major producers are in the Klang Valley and Penang.
“There are only about 200 traditional gold jewellery makers left in Johor, which is much fewer than before as many have closed down due to the lack of successors,” he added.
Soh said traditional methods might be phased out in the years to come as more jewellery producers move towards mechanisation and modern technology.
“With machines, gold jewellery pieces can be made in a shorter period, involve less manpower and offer a huge variety of designs that are lighter in weight.
Fine work: Goldsmith Yuin Foo Seng's holding up an intricate handmade gold dragon pendant produced at his family's workshop in Johor Baru. — THOMAS YONG/The Star
“This means consumers can purchase jewellery designs at cheaper price because of the weight and they will not be charged a high craftsmanship fee,” he said.
Soh said current market trends were for lightweight jewellery pieces as well as trendy items such as the Labubu doll, with K-pop star Lisa’s social media post featuring it sparking mass interest across Asia.
“Thanks to technology, gold jewellery such as pendants can weigh as light as 0.2g per piece, making them very affordable for the younger consumer.
“People used to think that gold jewellery catered to the more mature market but these days, many young people prefer to buy gold probably because of the wide variety of designs,” said Soh.
Sought-after items
Cheng Ching Nian, who runs a 98-year-old gold jewellery shop in Pontian, said young customers could easily spend thousands during a visit to his shop.
“I think they are influenced by luxury brands as they will usually come looking for similar designs for pendants and bracelet charms.
“They spend between RM3,000 and RM5,000 on jewellery each time,” he said, adding that 3D designs featuring cartoon characters were also popular.
With Chinese New Year coming at the end of January, Cheng said he was preparing to stock up on designs featuring Chinese zodiac signs.
He added that his products were usually sourced from local jewellery makers but trendier designs would come from China and Hong Kong, where modern machines could produce intricate designs at an affordable price.
Cheng, who is the shop’s third-generation owner, said it was tough for locals to compete with foreign gold jewellery producers in terms of cost.
