The Collectors: Shanya Amarasuriya Shares Her Most Beloved Jewels And Watches, Including A Rare Vintage Audemars Piguet
Local jeweller Shanya Amarasuriya’s spectacular collection is a simple story of family and love.
By Brandon Chia - published
As the creative director of B.P. de Silva, dazzling gemstones and stunning creations surround Shanya Amarasuriya. Still, the pieces she holds closest to her heart are not dictated by rarity or price. From the first ring she ever designed for her mother to the heirloom cocktail watch gifted by her grandmother, Amarasuriya shares the heartwarming stories that make each jewel in her collection truly one of a kind.
What is your most treasured piece of jewellery?
Creative director Shanya Amarasuriya trying on B.P. de Silva’s latest jewellery collection.
Definitely my engagement ring because when my husband and I first got together 14 years ago, he asked me to be his partner through a little love note within a kaleidoscope. He referenced this and Art Deco, which I love, to design this ring and tie it back to our love story. The ring is also connected to my team because they put a little diamond at the back of it and said, “This one’s on us.”
Besides the design, my husband proposed to me before a difficult work trip and every time I look at it, I feel loved. And, Art Deco has a certain strength to it, which reminds me of who I want to be.
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What made you want to pursue a career in the jewellery industry and the family business?
I was in Sri Lanka with my dad for a holiday and one of the housekeepers at the hotel had heard about our family, because B.P. de Silva has been around for over 150 years, and he invited us to visit his father’s moonstone mine.
In the true random nature of my dad and myself, we went down and that was one of the first moments when I felt inspired by the way Mother Nature creates all these gemstones; and the mine is family-owned, which reminded me of my roots in Sri Lanka as well.
You are very close with your dad—he gave you his Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch. Why did he give it to you?
From left: A yellow gold Audemars Piguet Royal Oak with a grey dial and a quartz movement that originally belonged to Shanya’s father. A yellow gold, ruby and seed pearl vintage Audemars Piguet cocktail watch from her grandmother.
Firstly, it fits well on me because it is a thinner Royal Oak and it suits my personality. But I think he gave it to me because I am very sentimental and this watch means something to him. It was his first big purchase when he started working in 1972, the same year Audemars Piguet introduced the Royal Oak model, making this one of the first quartz Royal Oak to ever exist. So he knows that it is safe with me—that sentiment is safe with me.
Related article: The Newest And Hottest From The World Of Watches
Speaking of sentimental value, what other pieces have a special meaning to you and your family?
From top: A rose gold, diamond, beryl and pink sapphire ring designed for Shanya’s mother. An array of rings featuring art deco influences in white and yellow gold set with diamonds.
The first ring I ever designed, which was for my mum because she kept saying that she had nothing to wear with her saris—I got the hint. So, I saved up for this greenish-blue beryl, her favourite colour, and designed a ring with a double halo of white diamonds and pink sapphires that symbolise my mum’s loving and compassionate nature. Now, I borrow it half the time.
My grandmother gave me this vintage Audemars Piguet watch with rubies and little seed pearls six or seven years ago and it was originally a gift from my grandfather. My grandfather came to Singapore from Malaysia, looking for a job and he found one at B.P. de Silva, where he was the gentleman who cleaned the glass of the display cases.
He was very determined to grow in his role and sure enough, step by step, he got promoted to manager. Eventually, he saved enough money to buy that jewelled watch. It’s sentimental to me because when my grandma passed it on, you could see the emotion in her eyes and she said: “Shani, I know you will enjoy this, it means a lot to grandpa and me.”
It’s striking and totally outside of my regular style but it is something I would wear for a special occasion.
How would you describe your sense of style?
I like a timeless look with a twist and I don’t like to over-accessorise. For example, if I want to wear a lariat necklace, I would wear a long black dress that’s open in the back and then wear the necklace backwards.
I’m getting a bit obsessed with a good white shirt too and I’m looking at different white shirts—baggy shirts and extremely well-tailored ones with darts in the front and the back. I might end up with 12 white shirts.
People in this industry will approach jewellery in different ways and for myself, I am led by the stories, the sentiments or even the technical aspects behind the jewellery. I appreciate the opulence of jewellery but it is the intrinsic value for me.
Related article: Renu Oberoi On Her Creative Process And How Gemstones Lead Her Jewellery Designs
Throughout the years as creative director, do you have a favourite design?
White gold and diamond Old World Charm necklace that converts into a functional wax seal.
Right before COVID, a gentleman by the name of Richard Whittington who is 95 years old and lives in Queensland, wrote to me that his wife had lost her wedding band, which he had bought from B.P. de Silva on High Street generations ago.
He asked if we had the archive and if we could recreate the ring. We don’t have receipts from back then so I asked him to send photographs and I would gladly make it based on that reference. I think we had written 10 to 12 letters back and forth, and it was something I really looked forward to.
It reminded me of our brand’s history because the founder used to write letters to clients and I felt a connection to that. I wanted to bottle up this sentiment but make it modern. That’s when I had this idea to make a seal necklace, called the Old World Charm, inspired by the old seal hanging on our archive wall at the B.P. de Silva boutique and our hexagon emblem, which is the shape of a sapphire crystal form.
It’s like wearing your sentiment on you and it really captures that feeling of human connection, which I think is so important, especially as time and technology move faster, people are being less interactive with each other and more with inanimate objects.
Photographer: Lawrence Teo
Creative Direction: Daphne Tso
Content Producer: Brandon Chia
Production Assistant: Larissa Wong