Tayma Page Allies says Hong Kong is a great place for her Tayma Fine Jewellery business

Hong Kong is an amazing centre for jewellery, said Tayma Page Allies who started Tayma Fine Jewellery in 1990 to fill a niche for handmade European style jewellery.

Competition is stiff but the city is filled with people who love jewellery, said Ms Page Allies. "Most of my pieces are one off and unique so I rely on Hong Kong craftsmen to turn my designs into hand-made high quality pieces."

The showroom in Central's Prince's Building is complemented by a studio high above the stylish bars and restaurants in Central's Lan Kwai Fong area. Both locations are a glittering showcase for her "classical design style with a modern twist". Gemstones like aquamarines, sapphires, south sea pearls and tourmalines are turned into unusual and inspirational pieces. Ms Page Allies describes her cosy retail outlet as "an intimate place catering to people's dreams."

Good place for SMEs

Hong Kong is a good place to set up a business especially a small medium sized enterprise (SME) like Tayma Fine Jewellery, said Ms Page Allies. "Taxes are low, the bank system is good and running a business in a 'can do' society in Hong Kong is easy. People are helpful and efficient and all the suppliers and craftsmen I have been dealing with for 15 years are still with me. When you have a crisis, everybody pitches in to help."

Like many Hong Kong companies these days, she is into branding and has registered her brand name "Tayma". Her next level of expansion, she said, would be selling "Tayma" brands in retail stores in other countries.

Ms Page Allies said she probably would not have been able to start and thrive in the jewellery business if she had not been in Hong Kong. "Hong Kong is such an incredibly flexible place. It has allowed me to change directions."

She was trained as a language teacher in the UK and when she arrived in Hong Kong in 1985, she formed a company working in public relations, marketing, events organisation and jewellery. "In those days, my public relations work paid the rent but my passion had always been in jewellery."

She took classes in gemology and started in the jewellery business with HK$10,000 (US$1,285) and 3 pieces of jewellery. "By chance I met the Hong Kong craftsmen who transformed my designs into jewellery pieces which I then sold to friends. That was the beginning of my jewellery business and these craftsmen are still my friends and we still work together occasionally."

Hong Kong with its international lifestyle and cosmopolitan outlook has provided her with an expatriate clientele and "women clients who love unique creations."

"The jewellery business has looked after me very well and I'm still here 20 years later doing something I love," said Ms Page Allies.

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