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May 28, 2014

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Qeelin brings Chinese luxury to jewelry world

By Daniel Ng | May 28, 2014, Wednesday | Print Edition

QEELIN, a famous international jewelry brand that was acquired by the Kering Group, will hold its first high jewelry exhibition at Nanjing Deji Plaza from May 29 to June 3.

A total of six iconic collections, including more than 20 pieces of precious jewelry, will be presented at the exhibition. Each piece of jewelry will represent Qeelin’s unique craftsmanship with contemporary art design, and all of the latest high jewelry sets come directly from Qeelin’s workshop in Paris for its China debut.

Established in Paris in 2004, Qeelin developed a strong brand identity by combining Chinese elements with French craftsmanship. Its jewelry collection is assembled from precious metals and stones, such as gold, platinum, diamond, sapphire, ruby and jade.

Dennis Chan, the creative director of Qeelin, said he started Qeelin after being inspired by a trip to Dunhuang, Gansu Province.

“Along the Silk Road at the hub of cultural interchange between China and the West, the caves of Dunhuang stand out among the art treasures of the world by possessing a special geographical and cultural significance,” said Chan. “After the visit to these legendary caves, I had a revelation and decided to do my part in bringing modernity into China’s arts and craftsmanship as well as letting the world discover the best of China.”

Prior to the establishment of Qeelin, there has never been an international Chinese luxury brand. According to Chan, there was not even one Chinese luxury store in Paris — the fashion center of the world. It was because of this that he decided to embrace Chinese culture with contemporary design and international craftsmanship.

“The combination of Chinese and French elements means that Qeelin will bring creativity and modernity into traditional Chinese arts with the exquisite jewelry craftsmanship of French artisans,” said Chan.

A majority of Qeelin’s jewelry is of creatures and real objects, such as gourds, goldfishes, lions, dragons, phoenixes and more. Every piece of Qeelin’s jewelry has a special meaning behind it combined with the design roots of traditional Chinese culture.

“For example, ‘wulu’ (a bottle-gourd shaped necklace) symbolizes fortune and luck, ‘yuyi’ (a pendant shaped in a traditonla Chinese gold lock) stands for happiness and ‘qinqin’ (a pair of pendants featuring black and white kissing goldfishes) represents true love,” said Chan. “All of them reflect the unique style of Qeelin. They are not only a piece of treasure, but also a lively jewelry.”

One of Qeelin’s best creations is ‘bo bo,’ a panda made of black and white diamonds, symbolizing the harmony of yin and yang. According to Chan, this piece of jewelry combines the image of a teddy bear with a panda. Pandas represent peace and love to the Chinese, while teddy bears are good companions for children in the Western world.

“I designed bo bo and hope it could be a good friend to those who wear it and will bring everlasting friendship and good luck to them,” said Chan. “The lively panda bear with movable body set on diamonds represents the treasure of friendship.”

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