This Singaporean jeweller finds beauty in imperfections with salt-and-pepper diamonds

Despite their imperfections, imperfect diamonds become jewellery with character in Twomorrow’s Evelyn Chung’s hands, who is inspired to share this love with like-minded people here. Diamonds – in the traditional sense, at least – are highly regarded for their sparkle and clarity. The most sought-after diamonds are colourless and inclusion-free, according to international gem-grading standards, which is supported by the fact that these qualities are priced higher.

How about if we told you that there’s another type of diamond that is becoming more popular than these?

A salt-and-pepper diamond is a diamond that is speckled with heavy inclusions that are so large that they are visible to the naked eye. Some might be startled at the first sight of them, because they look nothing like the diamonds we are accustomed to seeing. Others, however, find themselves fascinated by their unique appearance.

Fans of these unusual gems love them because of their “cosmic” appearance, resembling stars in a galaxy. They shouldn’t be viewed with the same “eye” that is applied to regular diamonds. While they don’t sparkle like diamonds, they still have a shine and depth and are uniquely individual since each one will be marked with its own pattern of inclusions.

A Singaporean jeweller, Evelyn Chung, was immediately captured by these diamonds when she saw them on social media. “I was fascinated by how different they are from the diamonds we usually see, and eager to own them,” she said. Since most Singaporeans are unaware of unconventional diamonds, it was difficult to find them locally.

She pursued her second calling as a gemologist and is now a GIA graduate of the Diamonds Program and a Fine Jewellery Design diploma holder.

Twomorrow, a jewellery brand she started in 2022, specializes in unconventional diamonds. “We emphasize not just salt-and-pepper diamonds, but also other variants like rust diamonds, champagne diamonds, to name a few,” she said. “We believe that people should embrace their flaws and show who they really are,” she continued.

The way she alludes to our emotions with diamonds is intriguing, but it’s not uncommon, since jewellery is something people find meaning in constantly.

“These unconventional diamonds are often set aside in search of ‘perfect’ diamonds, and are compared to extremely high standards. This feeling of constantly being compared to sometimes arbitrary standards set by society is something that many people can relate to. It was something that really resonated with me — and thus inspired Twomorrow.”