Singapore is a peculiar city because nothing ever stays the same; businesses are constantly opening and closing, and you can find new surprises almost every day. Even around Clementi, I've seen fast food joints spring up and shut down; shopping centers be destroyed only to be replaced with other shopping centers; dubious massage parlors opened and closed and open again; pirate CD-ROM shops spring up and disappear the next day; and entire schools be razed and reconstructed in a matter of months. It is like the whole neighborhood is schizophrenic, never making up its mind exactly what it is meant to be. Navigating the city can almost seem like urban spelunking, the country's strict and safe laws protect you from most danger, but anything possible could pop-up around the bend.
Sometime at the beginning of last year, I turned a corner near my flat and saw that right next to an old second-hand shop and a used furniture store there was an incredible new shop selling a dazzling array of precious stones and minerals had just appeared out of no where. The name of the place, located at block 352 Clementi Ave. 2, is Crystal and Craft.
The huge stock of expensive gems overwhelms you as you walk in the door. Most of them sell between $300 and $3000. There are carefully cut quartz crystals, gigantic geodes, sparkling minerals, an entire table cut from a gigantic geode and surrounded by petrified wood stools, and (most surprisingly) cave artifacts.
The shop is run Siow Ngeok Hiang, an older man who whiles away his retirement days looking after his gems and making presentations to customers. He was friendly enough to have a conversation with me. I got to tell him all about the school where I work, and he showed me all of his favorite gems. I asked and he was even kind enough to allow me to take pictures around his beautiful shop. I explained that most of his wares were too expensive for me, but at Christmas time I may consider purchasing some of the more inexpensive geodes as gifts.
The one thing that does trouble me is that he is selling stalactites, stalagmite, and other ancient cave artifacts. I'm from the state of Missouri, an area that has rich limestone Karst topography and over 4,769 recorded caves. Missouri has a plentiful water table and many people use water that has been filtered through caves, sink holes, and springs for drinking. As a boy, I have memories of going through caves with by Boy Scout troop and observing bats and endangered cave salamander species. I've ridden through Fantastic Caverns and walked through Silver Dollar City's Marvel Cave. And, while we do enjoy our caves, Missouri takes cave preservation very seriously. The state protects many caves and locks them to prevent intruders from entering there are also certain seasons when entering caves is forbidden. Even accidentally defacing a cave could result in a $10,000 fine.
I did ask Mr. Hiang about my concerns. He assured me that he only sold stalactites and stalagmites of caves that naturally dropped or fell, and that they all came from legitimate sources. I'm glad that he said this and I hope that I can trust him. Caves serve as functioning ecosystems, natural purifiers, and stunning gems. If you do buy parts of caves, please make sure that they do come from legitimate sources and don't support smugglers. Caves are older than mankind, and though their features are brilliant and beautiful, sometimes the most beautiful thing that you can do is leave something for the next generation.
2 comments:
Was very interested to see this posting, as I've been following the sale of speleothems in Malaysia. Many of the pieces for sale are believed to have been acquired illegally, some from Philippines. Other pieces supposedly come from China.
Mr. Hiang said he only sold stalactites and stalagmites of caves that naturally dropped or fell,
I find this hard to believe. There are more speleothems for sale than could possibly drop naturally.
And how did he afford to buy such pieces, or is he acting as a storage for some bigger owner?
There was a lot of mining in the Four state are which started in Joplin, MO. During mining a lot of formations were removed from underground. You can find these formations in museums all over the place.
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