Things are going quite well for Cindy Chao these days. Now in her 15th year of business under the brand name Cindy Chao The Art Jewel, she has become one of the most important high-jewelry artists of the 21st century.
This is especially impressive considering that she and her family had no background in the jewelry business. Her father was a sculptor and her grandfather an architect — a heritage she honors by creating one-of-a-kind jewels with sculptural dimensions, artistic flair and an intense attention to detail. Being from Taiwan meant she was also far from the high-jewelry hub of Europe, and on top of that, she is self-funded: She started her business in 2004 with just $100,000.
Her pieces feature nature-inspired motifs, often combining Eastern influences with old-world Western jewelry-making techniques. She creates her designs in Hong Kong and Taiwan and has them crafted in either France or Switzerland, depending on the type of work they require. To make her casts, Chao has adopted an 18th-century artisan technique known as la cire perdue (lost-wax casting), which is done by hand and produces sculpture-like jewels. Her pieces sparkle with thousands of colored gems and diamonds in elaborate pavé and prong settings.
These techniques are time-consuming: Some of her pieces can take up to three years to complete. As a result, she produces no more than 36 jewels per year.
Chao attributes the international character of her designs to her constant travels and her contacts with a wide variety of people.
“I’m a global citizen, and my pieces speak to people whether Westerner or Easterner. So in order to make pieces like that, you need to first have an international, global mind-set. Then you need to have a certain life experience to understand the structural difference and the color differences of different cultures. The lifestyle [of each region] is extremely different, and the mind-set is different.”
‘Nothing can stop me’
Chao has always described her style as “architectural, sculptural organic.” And indeed, her designs, craftsmanship and materials have evolved over the years.
“I think I’m now at my best age,” says the 45-year-old artist. “I’m certain of my life experience and the creative process. I’m much more mature, and I know what I’m capable of and what I’m not capable of. But what’s most important, if you look into the progression of my work, is my confidence level. I am so brave now. Nothing can stop me.”
The best example of this is her annual butterfly brooches, which have progressed from small two-winged artworks to immense depictions of the flying insect with four bejeweled, layered wings. They have become her signature statement.
Her latest is the 2019 Black Label Masterpiece I Aurora Butterfly brooch in titanium and aluminum. Its body consists of four pigeon’s blood Burmese rubies totaling 8.48 carats, as well as ruby pavé; the four wings feature clusters of rose-cut diamonds in near-invisible prong settings, layered with deep blue sapphires and streaks of yellow diamonds. At a hefty 15 by 13 centimeters, it has strength despite its delicate appearance.
“The color combination is very challenging, because I made the rubies the center of the body and there was a blue wing with brown veins,” she recalls. “My craftsman said, ‘Do you know how dangerous it is to put red and blue together and show it elegantly?’ I said, ‘This is the challenge we are facing, and it will show how good we are at making it balanced and beautiful.’ This is an example of my progression. It’s not just hard skills, but also the soft skills such as the coloration.”
Titanium and aluminum are Chao’s favorite metals, because they are light and hard and can be produced in many colors through anodizing. Among gems, she has a fondness for emeralds. “I love emerald and always use a lot of emeralds in my collections,” she says. “I like to use new materials. We’ve used titanium for many years, but now we are trying to use aluminum, and there are more new materials that we would like to try to discover and experience.”
Customers of taste
Chao is in an enviable position as a jewelry artist. Most of her jewels sell before she makes them, and she now selects who will buy her pieces. About 60% of her clients are from Asia; the remaining 40% are international clients, spread out through the Middle East, Europe and Russia.
While they come from different backgrounds and different cultures, she says, they are the crème de la crème. “They have to be sophisticated enough to appreciate my work,” she elaborates. “Not just wealthy. Just because you have money, it doesn’t mean you have taste. I also think it requires people who have a certain life experience of their own. They come to Cindy Chao not just for the stone value, but also because the aesthetic will bring an extra value of beauty to the pieces. We don’t have enough pieces to sell. That’s why we select clients.”
Her clients find her through auction houses and at art fairs such as TEFAF Maastricht and Masterpiece London, where she exhibits. She also has showrooms in Hong Kong and Taipei, Taiwan, and will be opening new ones in London and in Shanghai, China.
“This will be the Cindy Chao business model,” she says. “We will not open retail stores, because my jewelry is not for everyone. It’s for the people who appreciate my work and make an effort to come and see it.”
Images: Cindy ChaoArticle from the Rapaport Magazine - April 2020. To subscribe click here.