Group CEO of Habib Jewels, Dato’ Sri Meer Habib
By Noor Amylia Hilda
As recent events have shown, gold may not always prove to be totally immune to price fluctuations, but one thing remains clear: despite today’s economic and geopolitical uncertainties, the precious metal is still a favourable option for long-term investment.
Even more so now that the Basel III banking regulations are set to classify physical gold as a Tier 1 asset beginning July 2025, making gold equivalent to 100 percent of its market value.
For the Group CEO of Habib Jewels, Dato’ Sri Meer Habib, he sees the current climate as a unique time for the business. “I’ve never seen these kinds of things happen in such a short time,” he says. “So, there has been a little bit of a concern because these are all unprecedented.”
Demand for gold has been as strong as ever, proving that when it comes to times of uncertainty, there is confidence in gold.
“Back then, I used to see customers coming to my father’s shop, all these ladies dressed up in their best Kebayas, they really believed in buying gold items,” says Dato’ Sri.
“When they need money to go perform hajj or to send their children overseas to study, they’ll come back and sell. And when they have the money, they will come and buy more gold. This is where we’re almost like a bank,” he adds.
Gold Takes Hold
Since the beginning of the company’s journey, Habib has always had a knack for doing things differently. When its late founder Datuk Haji Habib Mohamed Latif opened the first Habib store on Penang’s Pitt Street, the business stood out from all the other jewellers by focusing on diamonds rather than the mainstay at the time – gold.
“Originally, our main business was fine jewellery such as diamonds and precious gems, but we also turned our focus to gold,” says Dato’ Sri.
Specifically, during the pandemic when diamond prices began to drop and the trend of synthetic diamonds began to take hold globally, Habib Jewels turned its focus on gold.
While diamonds and precious gems remain a major part of Habib Jewels, gold remains in high demand. To meet this demand, the company has come up with an ingenious new collection of gold collectables at accessible price points.
“Frankly, we sold out the moment that we launched it,” says Dato’ Sri as he shows an array of gold wafer collectables, which range in design from tropical plants, traditional Malay crafts and even cats.
These fun collectables have won fans over with its beautiful packaging and quirky designs. It has also created an interest in gold investment, especially among the younger generations as the collection serves as a good entry-level purchase.
High Value Craftsmanship
HABIB Oro Italia 916 Collection
But being Habib Jewels, design and craftsmanship run deep in the family business. They take great pride in their designs.
“One of our biggest challenges in gold is that people buy it not just as an investment but also for adornment,” says Dato’ Sri. “So traditionally, what happens is that people focus a lot on the value of gold and they don’t think so much about the design.”
Contemporary design was a primary consideration to take into account. To solve this, the company looked at fusing skilled craftsmanship with high-quality materials. After years of research and development, the brand’s Oro Italia 916 range was born.
“Normally in Italy, they make 14 karat or 18 karat jewellery and they don’t use a high percentage of gold,” he says.
The collection is crafted in Italy exclusively for Habib and demonstrates Italian craftsmanship with Malaysian gold traditions using only 916 gold or 22 karat gold. Today, the Oro Italia 916 collection remains one of the brand’s most bestselling lines.
The People’s Jewellers
Habib Jewel’s strategy of making high quality pieces such as the Oro Italia 916 ones, often times goes against the high demand they receive from customers. But one thing the company has consistently managed, is how they keep their prices based despite the volatile market conditions.
“We can only produce a limited quantity, and sometimes we have 10 people waiting for a specific piece. The reason why we have that is because we refuse to increase our price,” says Dato’ Sri Meer Habib. “The price of gold is already very high, but we also want to think about our customers.”
This approach of catering to everyone is clearly working. It’s no surprise that Habib has remained Malaysia’s premier jeweller after all these years. “Our focus is more on catering to what our customers want. Of course, at the same time, we are big into innovation and we always come up with something exciting.”
Looking Ahead
Though Dato’ Sri Meer Habib acknowledges that the jewellery business is one filled with unique challenges, he remains optimistic of the future. “When there were uncertainties and we didn’t know what was going to happen, it has always been the nature of our business and in our brand itself to remain optimistic. It’s very much part of our core value.”
He has his staff’s agility to thank for this, highlighting how the business overcame the challenges during the pandemic, another pivotal time of heightened global uncertainty that affected the jewellery industry.
“Everyone is very flexible here. This is what in today’s management, they call it agility. So, we are very agile.”
