RAPAPORT... The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), a government-funded organization dedicated to promoting goods and services from China, continually spotlights designers in its annual Hong Kong International Jewellery Show, the world’s third-largest jewelry fair. This year’s Designer Jewellery Galleria was filled with 49 exhibitors, both native and foreign-born. Throughout the fair’s schedule, there were fashion shows, press conferences and other events to encourage buyers to view these collections and meet the creative forces behind them.
Other annual events are the Hong Kong Jewellery Design Competition, now in its ninth year, and the Chuk Kam Jewellery Design Competition, featuring new designs in 24-karat gold. In both events, student and professional designers are invited to submit original jewelry designs and exhibiting companies are selected to produce the final pieces, which are then displayed at the fair.
Encouraging Creativity
This year’s jewelry competitions attracted more than 400 entrants. Winners, selected in each of two categories: Open Group and Student Group, were judged for creativity, marketability and wearability. The competition’s theme for 2008 was “Colour of the World,” and its aim, according to Raymond Yip, assistant executive director of the HKTDC, is “to encourage more creativity in the Hong Kong jewelry industry, as well as provide an opportunity for talented designers to demonstrate their brilliance. A thriving creative spirit is a crucial factor in Hong Kong’s continued success as a leading jewelry design center.”
Vicki Li won both a Best of Show prize and the Craftsman and Technology award in the Open Group for her multicolored flower brooch. Star Crown, earrings with diamond spheres and stars by Leung Hong Lam, captured a second Best of Show prize. The third Best of Show award went to Law Ka Kin for his interchangeable ring/pendant composed of rubies and diamonds in rose gold. The three Best of Show winners were treated to a five-day course organized by the Hiko Mizuno College of Jewellery in Japan, sponsored by the Hong Kong-Japan Business Cooperation Committee.
For 2009, the fair is planning a greatly expanded design competition open to international competitors. Entitled the International Jewellery Design Excellence Award 2009, this invitation-only event will be open to designers who have claimed first prize in other jewelry design competitions. The ultimate winner of this competition will be named Champion of the Champions. Details for entry are posted on HKTDC’s website.
Pioneer Designer Shares PhilosophyKai-Yin Lo, one of the pioneers of designer jewelry in Hong Kong, was a guest lecturer at the show. Although she told audiences she never had a single lesson in design, Lo created an iconic brand back in the 1980s with her colored gemstone collection that borrowed themes from Chinese art. “I branded myself from the beginning — I didn’t know how else to do it,” she explained. “I am a historian with absolutely no study of design.”
However, after a lifetime of studying world history and art, as well as producing fine jewelry, Lo has definite opinions of jewelry’s role. “Design has to work; art does not,” is a quote from artist Donald Judd that Lo uses to make her point that jewelry has to fit in with the lifestyles of the women who buy it. “Jewelry must go with fashion and be worn in everyday life. It must be affordable, stylish and comfortable; it is a sign of confidence for women to wear it.”
Lo sold her first collection of Asian-inspired designs to Cartier in the early 1980s. “My goal was to make ancient Chinese designs wearable and relevant,” she said. Among her signature motifs are the Chinese knot, universal symbol of bonding, and the lingzhi, a medicinal mushroom that symbolizes renewable life and good fortune.
When she began wholesaling her collection, Lo sold it to Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus. Most of her designs were asymmetrical and the earrings were often mismatched. Because typical materials were carved colored gemstones and pearls, the collection didn’t fit into the fine jewelry department, yet it couldn’t be considered costume jewelry either. Buyers liked it, but didn’t know where to put it, so Lo became known as one of the first so-called “bridge” designers who bridged the traditional divide between fine jewelry and costume jewelry.
Lo’s jewelry was sold in the United States, Europe and Japan. Today, many of her pieces can be found in museums and in private collections; she no longer wholesales her collection, but instead shows in private exhibitions.
The designer stresses to today’s jewelers the importance of creating and protecting one’s brand. “A designer must have a vision, his own identity, which gives value and personality to the jewelry. A collection must be positioned in the customer’s mind and the trademark must be protected,” she said.
New Design Association Created
To carry the design message even further, HKTDC hosted a meet-the-designers party for exhibitors and press to announce the formation of a new designer organization. The Hong Kong International Jewellery Designer Association (HKIJDA) is a nonprofit organization that was registered in Hong Kong in July 2007. It was founded by members of the Designer Jewellery Galleria and aims to become a platform for Hong Kong–based jewelry designers to raise their profile and to communicate with one another and the industry at large.Pinky Szeto, designer of Slite, her own iconic jewelry collection, is serving as chair of the new association and Seung-Hae Moon, the Gemological Institute of America’s (GIA) managing director of education for Asia Pacific, is also an officer.
The women welcomed members and encouraged other designers to join the association, which plans to assist members on the protection of their design rights, to nurture young potential designers and to provide a range of training opportunities. The new association’s website is www.ijda.org.hk.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - May 2008. To subscribe click here.