Konnichiwa!
I am Keem from ith Singapore.
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit our workshops in Japan
to learn more about how our rings are made.
It was very exciting as I witnessed how the artisans breathe life into metal,
turning ideas into cherished rings that will accompany our customers for life.
Follow along as I catch glimpses of our artisans working their magic!
At ith, all concierges go through months of training to ensure that we're
well-equipped with knowledge to guide customers to the best of our abilities.
We're taught how rings are made from scratch and which techniques are used.
But... seeing is believing, right?
The heart of ith resides in Kichijoji, Tokyo,
where our workshop has been operating for a decade.
I visited the workshop and was given a tour by our Head of Artisan.
(what an honour!)
During the tour, he demonstrated how the different textures are applied.
I watched in awe, as every stroke was applied meticulously.
Although the strokes were swift and precise,
his movements were relaxed.
Every stroke came as naturally as breathing.
I quickly learned not to mistake 'ease' with 'easy'.
He demonstrated how to apply Stardust,
a shimmering texture that's a result of a culet of a diamond that is repeatedly struck
on the surface of the ring to create concave angles.
After he demonstrated, he beckoned for me to give it a go.
Okay, shouldn't be too hard!
Wrong.
Between controlling the speed of the machine,
steadying my hands and concentrating on my hand movement,
applying the texture was no easy feat!
It made me realise that
what the artisans could achieve in 5 days
are from 5 years of practising.
Needless to say, despite his positive encouragement,
"It doesn't look too bad!"
there was a visible difference between the outcome of
his demonstration and mine (hahaha)
Since I've returned, there have been multiple instances where
I could confidently explain to customers how the rings would be made.
They would ask
Is it possible to do this?
Which would prompt the memories of the demonstration to flood back,
allowing me to explain and demonstrate in detail how the rings would be crafted.
Before the training, despite knowing the hows of rings
there were holes in my fabric of knowledge caused by whys.
Although our artisans are in-house,
the geographical difference meant that the only way to communicate
the intentions of our Singapore customers to our Japan team
was through frequent video calls.
After meeting and interacting with our artisans and production team,
I could picture their smiling faces and warm personality.
Beyond sharing how ith rings are made,
I hope that I could share with our customers the warmth behind their rings,
crafted by the fire of their passion and forged with a sense of pride.
Thank you for reading! If we have the opportunity to meet, please feel free to ask me about our artisans in Japan. I'll be more than happy to share the memories with you!
Singapore Atelier: Keem
