Sha Tin Racecourse hosted the glittering Lukfook Jewellery Raceday recently, where the theme was ‘Crowning Beauty with Love.’ Renowned actress Lynn Xiong modelled the sparkling multi-million pound jewellery collection, while Race Eight’s Lukfook Jewellery Cup was the undoubted highlight of the day.
Category: Jewellery
Dear Diamond: Tickled in pink
What makes an 18-million-dollar diamond so dazzling? In the case of this pretty pink gem that sold for exactly US$18.11 million (HK$140.5 million) at a recent Christie’s auction in Geneva, the high price tag stemmed from its rarity, clarity and colour grading.
Weighing 9.14 carats, the pear-shaped diamond has VS2-level clarity, meaning that only an expert would be able to detect minor imperfections while examining it under a microscope with 10x magnification. Succinctly dubbed “The Pink” – or more poetically, “The Light of Memory” – this nearly flawless stone also carries a “fancy vivid pink” rating, which is the highest possible grade for colour intensity.
If that’s not enough to inspire some envy for the anonymous Asian buyer who snapped up this darling diamond, the stone also set a record for the second highest price ever paid at auction for a pink pear-shaped diamond. It pales in comparison only to the 15.38 – carat rock sold last year by competing auction house Sotheby’s – with the hammer coming down on a chart-topping bid of $31.46 million.
But with higher-than-ever demand for flawless coloured gemstones driving prices up, it’s only a matter of time before the next impeccable rock breaks onto the scene and shatters records with its ice-cold aesthetic.
Changing times: Jewellery merges with watches
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Check out the latest jewellery-inspired watches from brands such as Cartier, Piaget, Van Cleef & Arpels, Omega and many more.
8 resplendent gift ideas for the Year of the Rooster
Falling on the first day of a new moon, the Year of the Rooster starts on 28 January, with festivities for the Chinese New Year running until 11 February.
And one of the best ways to spread happiness during the Chinese New Year is to shower your loved ones with rooster-themed gifts.
Luckily for you, we have compiled a list of gifts for the upcoming Year of the Rooster.
Giorgio Armani has created a special edition version of its Le Sac 11 handbags, available in white with contrasting black handles, sides and closure and black with white details. The bags come in medium and small sizes. Armani has also released accessories for the Year of the Rooster, including a red handbag, a gift box containing a reversible black and cherry belt and a red calfskin Le Sac 11 handbag.
For those who enjoy a smoky New Year, Davidoff has released luxury cigars made from flawless premium Ecuadorian Habano wrapper on top of the rarest and finest strains of aged Dominican binder and filler tobaccos. They are the same size as the cigars released in 2006 as part of the 100th birthday celebration of the company’s late founder, Zino Davidoff. A matching set of accessories has also been released, including a double guillotine cutter and a red leather cigar case. Davidoff has only released 8,000 boxes worldwide.
Johnnie Walker Blue Label has continued its tradition of releasing special edition bottles based on the Chinese zodiac — it started with the horse in 2014 and continued with the ram and monkey in 2015 and 2016 — with an illustrated and packaged bottle featuring a rooster. The 750ml bottle is just the ticket to help get your friends and family in the New Year spirit.
Not everyone ushers in the New Year with alcohol. For those who prefer to celebrate the Year of the Rooster in a non-alcoholic way, Tea WG has launched the Morning Rooster Tea, a blend of black tea and green tea. The Morning Rooster Tea has silver tips and notes of jasmine, morning rose and orchard fruit. The tea comes in an emerald-hued box.
YSL’s Chinese New Year Collector Palette symbolises wealth and joy on its outer case with vivid red lacquer and a gold YSL logo. Once you open the box, the palette has two variations of wearable peach to give your complexion a warm, fresh glow, and are synonymous with fresh starts and optimistic outcomes. The palette can be used with one big brush to blend and sweep the blush across the face, or each of the two tones can be used separately.
Inspired by lucky symbols usually associated with the Chinese New Year, Links of London has created three new charms. The Sycee charm is a symbol of wealth and prosperity. The Coin keepsake is used in feng shui and will ward off misfortune and the Happiness charm, adorned with an orchid, will hopefully bring you good luck. The 18-carat gold vermeil charms are detailed with red enamel. Links of London has also released a Dancing Lion Charm crafted in sterling silver, 18-carat gold vermeil and red enamel.
Baccarat has launched three limited edition Chevalier Rooster figurines in an art deco style. The Chevalier Rooster embodies a sense of art deco charm, while the Zodiaque collection offers red and clear versions. The figurines were designed by Georges Chevalier.
Moncler’s special edition jackets for men and women are ideal for Chinese New Year, with their fire red colour and gold highlights. The jackets also come with a tasteful tribute to the Year of the Rooster in the form of a Rooster brocade print on the women’s jacket and an embroidered Rooster motif on the back panel of the men’s design. Both jackets are reversible.
Written by Andrew Scott
Unique gems from Paris-based purveyor of bespoke jewellery
Distinctive in design, Paris-based Lorde Jewlery specialises in fine gems and unique renderings of 14-carat and 18-carat gold. Known for bespoke pieces – with no two said to be quite alike – the brand is particularly known for its diamond-sliced stud earrings and necklaces, typically fashioned in pink to gold hues and beyond. Intriguingly, facets are cut into the surface of each stone, creating a glittering, light-catching effect, while geometrically contrasting shapes add a touch of quirky decadence. Stylish, bold and undeniably glamorous, the range aims to showcase timeless elegance with a contemporary twist.
Diamonds made with Graffic designs
Established more than 50 years ago, the House of Graff has long been synonymous with the world’s finest diamonds. Famed for its innovation, excellence and quality, the company’s craftsmen are involved in every stage of the process – from sourcing to the final setting. Making headlines in late 2016, Graff Venus was acclaimed as the largest D Flawless heart-shaped diamond in the world. The company behind many of the industry’s most sought-after gems and rightly feted for the skills of its expert diamond team, Graff’s extensive collection truly offers an unforgettable range of timeless jewellery. www.graffdiamonds.com
Love token: Cartier bracelet fit for a duchess
Rumoured to have once been owned by Madonna, this menacingly exquisite bracelet is valued at an impressive US$12.4 million. In addition to its celebrity credentials, it also has a royal connection. A truly stunning item of jewellery, it was once owned by the American socialite Wallis Simpson, a lady best known for her relationship with Edward VIII. Indeed, the one-time king was so besotted with her he abdicated the British throne in 1936 in order to marry her.
Over the course of her life, Simpson was given a huge number of gifts by the clearly-smitten Edward, although this particular Cartier-created bracelet remains one of the most unconventional. The panther is composed of single-cut diamonds and a semiprecious black onyx gemstone. Strikingly, its eyes stand out due to the use of two specially cut marquise-shaped emeralds. The panther’s articulated body has also been designed to strike a stalking pose while neatly encircling the wrist.
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor – as Edward and Simpson later became officially known – commissioned the bracelet to be made in Paris in 1952. Such was the prestige of the commission that Jeanne Toussaint, one of Cartier’s most senior designers, took on the task himself.
Opulent and Dazzling: Eastern-inspired jewellery collections
Ruby and jadeite brooches…dazzling diamond phoenixes… dangling dancing lions… These exotic motifs offer a tantalising glimpse of the Eastern-inspired motifs currently beguiling many haute joaillerie labels. In a fortunately festive twist, ruby reds and emerald greens – long regarded as the most auspicious colours in Chinese cultural circles – feature prominently in these collections. Although visually varied, each item is distinguished by a touch of the ornately Oriental and a clear passion for sheer opulence. Hong Kong-based Qeelin has released a set of earrings fit for the hostess of even the most affluent of New Year celebrations. Featuring a striking dancing lion motif, these 18-carat rose gold earrings are available in both a dangle and stud style, with diamonds and onyx beautifully complementing this most precious of metals.
While ostensibly taking its inspiration from the biblical tale of Noah and his ark, Van Cleef & Arpels’ new collection of gem-encrusted animal brooches leaves enough open to interpretation to intrigue any true Sinophile. Rich in more local folklore association, the Phoenix brooch – with its stunning white gold, diamonds, onyx, mother-of-pearl and ruby inlaid clip – will have a particular appeal to many Chinese purchasers.
Similarly steeped in Sino-symbolism is Cartier’s seal watch-brooch, with its emblematic image of a Buddhist lion and stunning use of many of the gemstones that characterise traditional Asian jewellery. These most notably include jadeite and rubies, but not without a generous sprinkling of onyx, enamel, gold and diamonds. Concealed neatly within a 19th-century Chinese jade seal, the piece forms part of the Jade – From Emperors to Art Déco collection.
Rounding out the collection with a more understated hymn of praise to the wonders of the East is the Ballon Bleu de Cartier Orchids motif watch. The centerpiece of the watch is a beguiling recreation of three rare orchids, flowers native to Asia and widely regarded as symbols of perfection and nobility. Given the timepiece’s 18-carat yellow gold, mother-of-pearl and diamond housing, the symbolism couldn’t be more apt.
Get linked in with these cuff links
Get connected courtesy of the most stylish of cuff links by designers such as Tom Ford, Montblanc, Piaget, Chopard, Van Cleef & Arpels and many more.
Andrea Buccellati discusses keeping jewellery in the family
As one of Italy’s most prestigious jewellers, the Buccellati name is synonymous with exquisite gems and watches.
The company’s president, Andrea Buccellati, spoke to Gafencu recently about how he got started in the family business, why Buccellati never uses outside designers and how his daughter is moving the brand forward.
Describe a typical day for you.
I don’t really have a typical day because I cover the business worldwide. When I have the time, however, I follow the production of new designs day-by-day, including any prototypes we have.
My role as president also takes me across the world because it is important for the Buccellati brand to be close to its clients. Travel takes up a lot of my year.
You started working with your dad when you were 16. Did you explore any other career options or were you always destined to join the family business?
I think it was destiny in a certain way to join the family business. I have always loved to create and use my hands, even when I was a little kid. Thankfully, I had the perfect opportunity to develop this with my family.
When I was 12 years old I knew I wanted to work in the family business and at 16 I started to work in the office with my father after school.
At the start it was just to learn how the business worked. But once I turned 18, I started the serious full time work every day.
The Buccellati tradition is to keep creative skills within the family and not use outside designers. Why is this?
It is a very important tradition because the history of the Buccellati family is to have designers from each generation.
The logic for this is very simple: you keep the style and tradition within the family. By sticking to this tradition, you don’t have a lot of influence from outside markets which means you don’t copy other products.
Also, it is not enough to just design, you have to know how to create jewellery. And in order to create jewellery for us, you have to live Buccellati.
My daughter has followed in this tradition and she is the future of Buccellati.
How do you and your daughter, Lucrezia Buccellati, work together to design the jewellery?
We see each other in Milan and New York, where she lives. We spend time together working on designs and coming up with ideas.
Inspiration is very important and when I am in New York I am in contact with a different world. It is a more dynamic world than in Italy.
How has working with your daughter helped to move the brand forward?
Lucrezia is the first woman to ever have this role within the company (creative designer) so she comes in with a lot of new ideas and she helps us take a different approach. Her input is for a product that is wearable, young and fresh. She is the perfect person to move Buccellati forward.
What do you draw inspiration from when you’re creating jewellery?
Sometimes I will see a beautiful painting and imagine jewellery. Sometimes I look at a beautiful woman or nature or architecture. It is a mixture of many things.
How do you view Hong Kong as a jewellery destination compared to the US and Europe?
The mixture of different cultures makes Hong Kong a very interesting market. Our Asian clients are more concerned about the details of a piece and understanding the background of the jewellery. It is not just about buying.