Editor’s Note
This story of creative evolution highlights how heritage and craftsmanship can find new expression. Clare Leung’s journey from a family-run medal business to launching the nature-inspired jewelry brand Moss & Lupine demonstrates the innovative spirit driving Singapore’s design landscape.
After decades of making medals, Clare Leong took her family business into a new creative realm with Moss & Lupine, a jewelry brand with nature-inspired designs elevated by the art of enameling.
Clare Leong’s family business is a well-established operation that has been around for over 50 years. Established in 1968, Eng Leong Medallic Industries (ELM) specializes in the design and manufacturing of medals, plaques, trophies and decorations for government and military institutions, international corporations and clubs.
In Singapore, its clients include the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) and Singapore Police Force (SPF). Notably, ELM also produced the official medals of the 2015 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.
Despite the company’s stability and success, Leong felt a creative pull to start something different. Due to the nature of the business, ELM operates quietly behind the scenes. But Leong began to wonder – what if the company’s legacy in precision metalwork could speak to a different audience?
As she pondered over the company’s strengths, one core capability stood out – its expertise in enameling.
Launched in 2021, Moss & Lupine is a handcrafted, demi-fine jewelry brand. Its pieces are crafted in nickel-free 925 sterling silver, finished in either 18K gold or rhodium plating.
What sets the brand apart is its signature enameling technique – a rare and intricate process that ELM has honed over decades of medal-making. The technique involves fusing powdered glass onto a metal surface through high heat, creating a smooth, durable and glossy layer of colour.
Although starting a jewelry brand felt like “a natural extension of who we are at ELM”, it was not the only idea Leong came up with initially, she revealed.
For Leong, it had always been “part of the plan” to join the family business. Since young, she visited the factory often, helping out with small tasks such as colour application and packing orders. She officially joined the company in her early 20s after graduating from university, and by her mid-30s, had taken over its management.
Initially, Leong’s desire to branch into jewelry was met with some internal resistance. With the company already stable, “it wasn’t quite necessary”, she admitted.
Her own personal interest in jewelry was inspired by her mother.
Her mother also created matching jewelry sets for each of her five daughters, which were given to them on their wedding day. “It’s a very nice and meaningful tradition and I have started to do the same for my two daughters.”
Moss & Lupine’s design inspiration is deeply rooted in Leong’s love for nature.
The brand’s jewelry designs are shaped by floral and botanical elements such as calla lilies, peonies, silver-tree-ferns, palm leaves, plumerias and chrysanthemums.
Moss & Lupine’s signature style evolved over time. Tapping on the brand’s roots in producing medals, early pieces were bold and statement-making, as seen in the Olivia & Odelia collection, which features a chrysanthemum flower set against an enameled guilloche base. Recognizing the need for more wearable, everyday designs, the Anelise collection was born, featuring a delicate clover motif with pastel enamel in shades of pink, turquoise and white.
As the collections matured, the in-house design team introduced more depth and texture to the pieces by incorporating pearls and white sapphires, as seen in the Fosette, Amelia and Rosalie pieces. They are now exploring the use of semi-precious stones in future designs. There’s also a growing emphasis on form and silhouette, as reflected in the sculptural shape of the Lune collection.
