CINDY CHAO The Art Jewel ushers in a new era of “3D-3” in museum-calibre works of art
- The groundbreaking craftsmanship puts the celebrated high jewellery artist in a league of her own
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Cindy Chao continues to blaze a new trail in her quest for perfection and innovation by pushing the boundaries of three-dimensionality in her miniature works of art.
Lauded for their inimitable organic, architectural and sculptural qualities, rich structural layering and 360-degree composition, Chao’s art jewels have received the highest recognition from the world’s most esteemed cultural institutions. Three of her one-of-a-kind Black Label Masterpieces now sit in the permanent collections of London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC.
Topping this feat, Chao herself received one of France’s highest honours for her significant contribution to the arts of the country by being appointed Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres (Knight of the Order of the Arts and the Letters) in 2021. She was the first founder of a high jewellery brand and Asian jewellery artist to be conferred the French Ministry of Culture award. Nineteen years after she founded her eponymous brand CINDY CHAO The Art Jewel, Chao’s perseverance, commitment, and entrepreneurial spirit in building her brand with coveted high jewellery that stands out for its artistry has paid off.
.jpg?itok=HodetNZI "Cindy Chao (right) explores how to bring the Spring Cardamom Brooch to vivid life with a master artisan at her European atelier.")
Hailing from a family of prominent creatives, Chao honed her mastery of form and colour from a young age. Growing up as the granddaughter of an illustrious architect and the daughter of a skilled sculptor, she sees the world in a three-dimensional way. She is innately attuned to the concepts of space, depth and perspective emblematic of her masterpieces.
New masterpieces inspired by nature
Taking these concepts further are Chao’s latest 2022 Black Label Masterpiece X and XI “Spring Cardamom Brooches”, which were unveiled during Paris Haute Couture Week and at CINDY CHAO The Art Jewel Gallery in Taipei earlier this year.
The newest addition to the brand’s iconic Four Seasons Collection inspired by the natural world, the magnificent pair capture amply the hopes and vitality of a new spring. A season of new beginnings that sees the rebirth of nature with flowers blooming and branches sprouting new buds.
Crafted in titanium in the shape of a budding cardamom pod with an undulating silhouette, each organically formed brooch features a spectacular 81-carat oval Colombian cabochon emerald juxtaposed with a gleaming, hollow diamond sphere - a first for the brand. Composed of thin rose-cut diamonds that enable more light to penetrate through and maximise its clarity and vibrancy, the diamond sphere aligned with the emerald is an elegant exploration of the coexistence of the abstract and the real.
.jpg?itok=3mdR-mff "A master gem setter embeds an 81-carat oval Colombian cabochon emerald into the pod using the invisible mortise and tenon joinery technique.")
The pods and leaves are set with over 5,000 emeralds, yellow and coffee-gold diamonds, colour-changing garnets, demantoids, grey and grey-green sapphires, tsavorites and alexandrites in a harmony of colours that depict the natural colour gradation of organic vegetation.
The artfully articulated leaves with tiny blurs imbue the Spring Cardamom Brooches with lightness and dynamism, allowing them to quiver ever so slightly with the wearer’s motion.
Bringing three-dimensionality to the “3D-3” level
Taking over two years to create from conception to completion, the Spring Cardamom Brooches are the culmination of Chao’s exploration to take her art jewels’ sculptural features into a new era of “3D-3”. Integrating the arts of architecture, sculpture and the colour layering technique used in oil paintings, she creates a new three-dimensionality with an accentuated undulation to her jewelled artworks.
The laborious design process starts with using the 18th-century European wax sculpting technique adopted by very few contemporary jewellery brands today. Sculpting the wax models by hand, Chao carves the curves, undulations, layers and silhouettes that she envisaged on a 1:1 scale, structuring the piece in detail from every angle and giving it a depth of richness and a wealth of detail.
Master craftsmen from her atelier in Europe then take over, forging the titanium structures of the Spring Cardamom Brooches in conformity with the wax sculptures, infusing them with true-to-life energies and dynamism. By continuing to perfect titanium metalworking, they have refined the balance between artistry and wearability with an intricate lace-like honeycomb setting that removes excess metal to minimise weight and maximise the light reflecting through the gemstones. Though each brooch is set with over 5,000 gemstones, it only weighs about 80 grams in an emulation of the lightness and agility of a real cardamom pod.
The final step sees expert gem setters bring the Spring Cardamom Brooches to vivid life with the brand’s new “3D-3” technique. Inspired by the sense of space and dimensionality of paintings created through shades of colours, lights and shadows on a two-dimensional surface, Chao came up with “3D-3”. By applying this colour layering technique onto a sculptural, three-dimensional structure, she creates another layer of 3-D on a three-dimensional base for her latest masterpieces.
Another artistic method - the invisible mortise and tenon joinery technique adopted in ancient Chinese architecture - is used to embed the cabochon emeralds and diamond spheres that appear to float on the pods.
The Spring Cardamom Brooches, exemplary of the new “3D-3” concept that marks a significant milestone in the brand’s history of continuous innovation, are the harbinger of future Black Label Masterpieces. They possibly even signify the future of contemporary jewellery arts.
A Hong Kong debut
Connoisseurs of art now have an opportunity to view the 2022 Black Label Masterpiece XI “Spring Cardamom Brooch” and other museum-calibre collectables shown exclusively by appointment at CINDY CHAO The Art Jewel Hong Kong Maison from 23 May to 9 June 2023.
