The Crown Jewels of Asia

These female jewellery designers are defying creative norms to leave an indelible mark of their culture on the world using precious stones and one-of-a-kind techniques

- Francesca Fearon

In 2006, the Burrell Collection in Scotland was the first museum in Europe to stage a solo exhibition devoted to a contemporary Chinese jewellery artist—a female one. Jewellery exhibitions were relatively rare then, but this was early recognition of the remarkable creativity emerging from Asia. The exhibition was dedicated to Michelle Ong, co-founder of jewellery house Carnet, whose exquisite jewels signalled not only a new movement in jewellery design, but also the arrival of a group of gifted Chinese female creators into a sphere long dominated by Parisian maisons.

Ong was the first Hong Kong-Chinese designer to fuse east and west, incorporating both influences in her jewels, translating Chinese themes and motifs, such as the dragon or floating clouds, and using refined, sophisticated European craftsmanship. “I think this was the start of the huge influence of China and Asia generally on western aesthetics and consciousness,” Ong, who grew up in Hong Kong, studied in Toronto and spent a long time in Europe, tells Tatler. “It coincided with the opening of China to the west, and the creation of new wealth in Asia.”

Other creators followed her lead, including Cindy Chao, Anna Hu and most recently Feng J who, like cultural ambassadors, have brought a new eastern aesthetic to high jewellery design. “They have introduced fresh cultural references, dipping into their roots and heritage, and combining these references with a western refinement in terms of craftsmanship and form,” explains jewellery historian and author Vivienne Becker. They come without familiar preconceptions and boundaries, she says, and “dare to try new ideas and, in particular, new techniques”.