Loupe designers-in-residence series
An ardent lover of fei cui and an enthusiast for traditional Chinese jewellery-making craftsmanship, Ava Chan from Ava Chan & Jewellery is grateful for having the luxury of pursuing a career which allows her to share the austere simplicity of her designs with clients while brushing up her goldsmithing skills.
“Fei cui is an unspeakable delight to me,” said Ava Chan when expressing her natural tie with the oriental gemstone. “I’ve been attached to fei cui since young. When I grew up, I enrolled in several courses dedicated to the understanding and appreciation of fei cui which have strengthened my fondness for the gemstone,” she added.
Fei cui has always been a sought-after precious material for seasoned jewellery designers thanks to its organic shape, multi colours and unique texture. “I have a special affection for uniqueness when it comes to jewellery designs. Fei cui comes in a variety of colours including green, lavender, orange, red, etc. Once I showed a piece of black fei cui with greyish colour zones to other designer friends, they were totally amazed and shocked by its extraordinary feature,” said Chan.
Top-quality imperial fei cui in transparent emerald-green colour with fine texture and sumptuous thickness can easily command millions of dollars at auctions. When commissioned to design a fei cui piece, Ava Chan would take the valuable centre stone as the prime consideration and keep everything else minimal. “As for my own creations, however, I would go for commercial materials with the focus on the message delivered,” she explained.
Four Seasons, a four-ring collection, shall come as a paradigm of Ava Chan’s design philosophy inspired by minimalism and wabi-sabi in Japanese art. “Wabi-sabi is an aesthetic philosophy rooted in Zen Buddhism, seeing the beauty of simplicity in everyday life without excessive embellishment,” she said.
Inspired by natural, the collection rings feature a finely-crafted fei cui band with modest yet delicate elements made in 18-karat gold with precious gemstones denoting the four seasons – the spring blossom, the summer bush, the autumn leaf and the winter offshoot. As a functional twist to the design, the gold plant on the summer ring can be detached and worn as a brooch.
Crystal clusters are also the designer’s beloved material for jewellery owing to their unique and organic shapes. They are often set in 18-karat gold with simple accented gemstones to enhance their personality.
During January-April 2018, Ava Chan was a designer-in-residence of Loupe by Chow Tai Fook where she could display and sell her jewellery, meet designers from around the globe, take part in seminars and exchange with the public. “I am thankful to be able to join Loupe. On one hand we share aspirations in common – to preserve traditional Chinese jewellery-making techniques; on the other, we are opened to more opportunities by participating in seminars, trade shows and networking. In Loupe, we are like a family; I know I am not alone,” she said.
← Back