Thailand is a globally recognized powerhouse of artisanal-jewelry manufacturing, yet its goldsmiths have traditionally remained behind the scenes. Now, as a wave of young designers emerges from Bangkok, these creative jewelers are launching their own brands.
Showcasing local talent has been a key focus for the Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair in recent years. Visitors from across the globe attend the show primarily for its loose gems, unbranded jewels and access to factories ready to produce designs to any spec. Its most recent edition, in February, attracted an audience of 14,000 people from 118 countries. Those visitors witnessed a growing selection of local brands offering beautiful jewels under their own names within curated sections of the exhibition.
The biannual show has focused on empowering not only the jewelry factories for which the region is famous, but local designers who want to create as well as craft.
In addition to established brands, the fair invites local arts schools such as the College of Creative Industry at Srinakharinwirot University; Chiang Mai University; and the Faculty of Gems at Burapha University. At these stands, students display projects and finished works that are of little commercial value, but that grant some insight into the effervescent artistic culture that centers on Bangkok.
And it’s not just local jewelers who are helping create this vibrant scene. International designers such as Canadian-born Kat Florence and Italian designer Alessio Boschi are settling in this city, with its inspiring jewelry heritage, more affordable ways of doing business, and access to some of the world’s best jewelry craftspeople.
Thai design styles vary greatly, and there is no clear, unifying theme. However, many emerging jewelry designers are tapping into their Thai heritage. Kram Collection’s line of miniature blue-and-white cups and saucers dangling from earring posts references Thailand’s ceramics industry, while Porana’s stacking rings use black and white baguette-cut diamonds to simulate the country’s traditional basket-weaving. Patcharavipa, perhaps the most successful of Thailand’s emerging brands, tasks craftspeople with texturing yellow gold to achieve a look known as Siam gold.
There is also a lot of innovation within the new creative set, and a keen focus on sustainability. Hailing from one of the earth’s most beautiful but polluted spots, the next generation, unsurprisingly, wishes to make a statement through art. Piroon Jewellery has created ivory-inspired pieces that are fully recyclable, while Nympheart uses salvaged wood waste corrected with resin into smooth, gem-like shapes.
What is both exciting and frustrating about this new cohort of Thai brands is that you’ll find little about them online. Broken links, a lack of websites, and vanished social-media profiles are commonplace. While they display a high level of innovation and craftsmanship, they lack the slick sophistication of Western marketing. Buyers will most likely have to travel
to Bangkok to find them. There, stores looking to build distinctive product offerings can embrace a fresh design perspective from this emerging sector of the country’s
jewelry culture.
Here are three talented Thai designers worth watching.
Image: Hexagon hoop earrings and Round ring in Siam yellow gold; patcharavipa.com / Vela earrings with sliced tourmalines; anisachen.com / Black-diamond stacking band ring from the Weave collection 14-karat gold; poranajewelry.comArticle from the Rapaport Magazine - May 2019. To subscribe click here.