White Nights
With the White Label Collection, Cindy Chao The Art Jewel brings the beauty of nature to the red carpet
A standard-bearer for high jewellery, Cindy Chao The Art Jewel is renowned around the world for exquisite craftsmanship and elegant design. Testament to the high regard in which this Asian jewellery artist is held internationally, Chao’s works have been inducted by the Smithsonian in Washington DC, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, and London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.
The apex of the maison’s offering, Cindy Chao’s Black Label creations have broken auction records and won numerous awards at leading fairs dedicated to artisanal luxury, including Masterpiece London.
Of course, due to their myriad gemstones, precious metals, superb craftsmanship and aesthetics—not to mention the countless hours that go into their creation—black Label Masterpieces are rare gems: between ten and twelve one-ofa-kind masterpieces are created annually and unveiled exclusively at international art fairs. For those who dream of an entrée to the world of Cindy Chao, the high jewellery artist offers her White Label Collection.
Chao describes the White Label as a gateway to collecting and exploring her artistry. While White Label works are constructed with the same painstaking attention to detail and uncompromising precious metals and stones as her museum pieces, they take a more insouciant approach and are suited to both everyday settings and formal occasions.
Aesthetically, they embody the same qualities and explore many of the same themes as Chao’s Black Label Masterpieces—the ever-changing face of nature, flowing ribbons, architecture, fantastic creatures, and art nouveau among them.
The Star Sapphire Floral brooch is one of the newest highlights in Chao’s White Label collection. Shaped like a flower, as its name suggests, the brooch is centred upon
a stunning oval-shaped, cabochon, unheated Sri Lanka star sapphire of 25.39 carats, accompanied by emeralds, purple garnets, tsavorites and diamonds with a total weight of 88.26 carats, all housed in a setting of 18k yellow gold and uniquely light, strong titanium. This diamond-studded floral brooch from the White Label collection shares the same sophisticated craftsmanship as Black Label Masterpieces, depicting the vibrant life forms in nature with the organic and sculptural sentiments that are always found in Chao’s art jewels.
Another eye-catching creation from the White Label, the Dragonfly brooch was inspired by pointillism, an artistic style developed in the 19th century. For this piece, Chao says, “I have used more than 1,400 diamonds with different cuts, like marquise, cushion, oval and rose, to create a blending and dynamic reflection of light.”
“In addition, I have used emerald, tsavorites, greyish green sapphires, alexandrites and colourchange garnets to create alluring shades of green,” she explains. “By meticulously juxtaposing the diamonds in different cuts and green gemstones in different hues, I connect the distinct dots of colour from diamonds and gemstones and form an image and bring out the three-dimensionality of the piece.”
Looking upon these works of bejewelled art, it’s no wonder Cindy Chao White Label pieces have been worn to gala events by celebrities including Li Bing Bing, Zhang Ziyi and Charlize Theron.