We started with a stone.
We still do.

Kinchos is a Singapore fine jewellery studio built around natural coloured gemstones. A gemologist designs the pieces. His sister handles everything else. Between the two of us, we have opinions about almost every stone we've ever picked up — and we're not shy about sharing them.

"Most Singapore jewellers in the mid-90s sold diamonds and almost nothing else. Then Basil saw a blue star sapphire. That was it."

Basil grew up in Singapore going to jewellery stores with his parents — not to buy, but to look. The jewellers they met noticed his curiosity and taught him how to use a loupe. He learned to read stones the way other kids learn to read books. By the time he was an adult, he already knew what he wanted to do.

The turning point was a blue star sapphire at an art and antiques exhibition. He'd never seen anything like it — a stone that showed a six-rayed star that appeared to float across its surface. The rest of the display was full of rubies and emeralds and sapphires in colours that most Singapore customers had never considered. The world of coloured gems opened up, and it didn't close again.

After years of formal training — GIA Graduate Gemologist — Basil built Kinchos as the brand he wanted to exist. Not a brand that sells jewellery. A brand that shares a world.

The studio

Two siblings. One obsession.

Kinchos is a family business in the most literal sense. Basil designs the pieces, sources the stones, and knows more about what's in the ground than most people will ever learn. His sister — that's me — handles the words, the brand, and the conversations that happen before someone becomes a client.

We don't have a showroom full of staff trained to close a sale. When you come to us, you're talking to the people who made what you're looking at. That's not something we planned — it's just what a two-sibling operation looks like.

What it means in practice: we're honest with you because we have to be. There's no one else here to soften the message if something doesn't suit you. We tell you directly, and then we show you what does.

How we work

The things we don't compromise on.

Natural stones, always

No lab-grown diamonds. No synthetics. Every stone in a Kinchos piece is natural — formed in the earth over millions of years, not in a reactor over a few weeks. That's not a marketing position; it's a founding principle.

Full disclosure

Some of our sapphires and rubies are heat-treated. We always say so — because heat treatment affects value, and you have a right to know what you're paying for. "Always disclosed" is the baseline here, not a selling point.

Comfort first

Every ring we make is engineered to disappear on the hand. No thick shanks, no prongs that catch on fabric, no settings that force you to keep your fingers slightly open. If it doesn't wear well, it doesn't leave our studio.

Honest consultation

If something doesn't suit you, we say so. We'll tell you which stone works for your colouring, your lifestyle, your budget — and which one doesn't, even if it's the one you came in wanting. This is the thing our clients mention most when they refer someone new.

Stone-first design

Basil doesn't design settings and then find stones to fit them. He starts with the stone — its actual geometry, its colour, the way it holds light — and builds the setting around what the gem is asking for. Calibration standards don't come into it.

Made in Singapore

Every piece is fabricated locally. Computer design, resin model, casting, setting — all done here. We know exactly who is making what and at what stage. Which means we can also tell you when something isn't ready yet.

Looking for something more?

Maison Kinchos

High jewellery. Natural, untreated, singular stones — chosen specifically for one client and built into one piece. By appointment only. If you already know what you're looking for, Maison is where that conversation lives.

Visit Maison Kinchos How bespoke works

We started with a stone.We still do.

Two siblings. One obsession.

The things we don't compromise on.

Maison Kinchos

We started with a stone.
We still do.