Meet the founder of this Singaporean jewellery brand worn by Taylor Swift, Jenna Ortega and Lady Gaga

Sep 01, 2025

Cover Lin Ruiyin co-founded fine jewellery brand State Property with her business partner—and husband—Afzal Imram, in 2015 (Photo: State Property)

Lin Ruiyin co-founded fine jewellery brand State Property with her business partner—and husband—Afzal Imram, in 2015 (Photo: State Property)

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Combining geometric innovation with good old-fashioned glamour, Lin Ruiyin’s State Property makes jewellery that lights up red carpets

State Property is the Singaporean jewellery brand your favourite celebrity is probably wearing. Its list of famous fans is genuinely ridiculous: Michelle Obama, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Gigi Hadid, Kate Hudson, Lucy Liu, Florence Pugh, Lupita Nyong’o, Nicole Kidman—and so many others.

Kidman was the first big name to wear its work, says co-founder Lin Ruiyin—and the experience was completely surreal. “I remember staring at the photo and needing a moment to process it. To see her in something we made, something that started as an idea in a sketchbook, was both humbling and electrifying.”

Sold at their two boutiques in Singapore and through retailers in North America, the Middle East, the UK and Japan, State Property’s jewellery comes with an aesthetic influenced by industrial design, but not in a harsh way. Instead, it is rather elegant and restrained, combining clean lines and geometric shapes with an abundance of diamonds and pearls.

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Lin herself comes from a jewellery design background; her business partner—and husband— Afzal Imram trained as an industrial designer. “We come from different ends of the design spectrum, and that shows in how we think, how we work and what we each value,” she says. “We don’t agree on everything, but what you see in State Property is the result of where we do align. It’s taken time, trust and a lot of conversation to get there.”

When your business partner is also your life partner, of course, the intensity can make it tricky to navigate. “In the first five or six years of the business, it was all-consuming. The pace was intense, and the lines between work and life barely existed. Every dinner, every weekend, every holiday carried a little bit of State Property with it.

“But since becoming parents, things have shifted. Our son is now four, and the rhythm of our days revolves around him. Parenthood has brought its own kind of structure, one that we didn’t know we needed. It has softened the edges and reminded us there is life beyond the studio.”

Above Lin is trained in jewellery design, while Afzal has a background in industrial design (Photo: State Property)

Lin is trained in jewellery design, while Afzal has a background in industrial design (Photo: State Property)

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The pair established the company a decade ago, immediately after leaving college, eschewing the usual routine of learning the ropes within established companies to dive straight in.

Initially, they weren’t sure what the brand’s focus would be. Reasoning that they had more room to experiment at lower price points, they tried out jewellery and even fashion accessories made from 3D-printed nylon. But they weren’t keen on the waste that lower prices encourage, nor with the way the materials aged—plus, Lin says, the work didn’t feel as meaningful.

“It quickly became clear that many clients wanted us to recreate designs from big jewellery houses. That didn’t sit well with us. Very early on, Afzal and I realised that if we wanted people to take State Property seriously, we had to define what we stood for, not just what we could make. Launching our first collection was our way of doing that.

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“In some ways, our inexperience gave us freedom. We didn’t know the rules well enough to feel afraid of breaking them.

“From there, we kept going, collection after collection, refining the language of the brand, letting it grow and take shape. It wasn’t about chasing trends or trying to go viral. It was about building trust, piece by piece.”

In some ways, our inexperience gave us freedom. We didn’t know the rules well enough to feel afraid of breaking them

- Lin Ruiyin -

Good design, she adds, is often misunderstood. “One of the most common mistakes jewellery designers make is focusing too much on the object and not enough on the context. Jewellery often enters people’s lives at moments of change, a new chapter, a loss, a celebration, a quiet act of remembrance. So we try to design in a way that honours that. The piece itself might be small, but the meaning it holds can be enormous.

“In a crowded space like jewellery, I think what makes a brand stand out isn’t noise or novelty. It’s care, consistency and a genuine connection to the people we’re designing for.”

Discover more fashion entrepreneurs on the Gen.T Leaders of Tomorrow list, Tatler’s definitive guide to young leaders shaping Asia’s future.

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State Property Jewellery Entrepreneur Singapore Lin Ruiyin

Richard Lord

Richard Lord is a Hong Kong-based freelance journalist, writer and editor, and a regular contributor to Tatler. He has been an editor at the Wall Street Journal, editorial director of Haymarket Publishing Asia and the editor of a weekly business magazine in his native UK. He is also the author of a business book. He covers most subjects, with a particular focus on the arts, culture and sport.