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Designers will play a bigger role in forging China’s jewelry brands By Ding Ying
Diamonds are forever. So are gold, jade and gemstones. A fusion of beauty, craftsmanship and objects of timeless value, jewelry has always been sought after by those who can afford it.
The demand for jewelry has soared in China, and the country is expected to be the world’s largest jewelry market by 2020, said statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Chinese customers have also become more selective and discerning about design and brand.
Against this backdrop, a number of Chinese designers have emerged, helping Chinese brands to compete with their counterparts overseas.
However, “it might take another decade for true Chinese masters of jewelry design to emerge,” said Ren Jin, a representative of the academic school of jewelry design and Vice Dean of the School of Gem Studies under the China University of Geosciences.
Booming industry Together with another nine professional designers, Ren has his works to be exhibited at the 2011 China International Jewelry Fair in Beijing from November 23-27.
Visitors to the fair were treated to a visual feast of glittering gold and dazzling precious stones. One of the highlights of the fair was the participation of foreign jewelry companies and their high-quality stalls and exhibits.
As China’s biggest and most influential international jewelry fair, the fair has reflects the development of China’s jewelry industry, said Wang Weiwei, Deputy Secretary General of the Gems and Jewelry Trade Association of China (GAC). GAC and the National Gems and Jewelry Technology Administrative Center co-hosted the fair.
From 1992, when the fair was introduced, to 2011, the fair has expanded from a domestic one with about 200 booths, of which most are jade dealers, to an international one with 2,700 in 2011, said Wang.
China replaced Japan as the world’s sec-
ond largest diamond consumer in 2009. And given the fact that China overtook India to be the world’s largest gold consumer in the first quarter of 2011, the World Gold Council predicted China’s annual gold consumption will double before 2020.
Also, “the prices of colored gemstones have increased about 30-50 percent annually these years,” said Yin Xusheng, Chief Operating Officer of the Shenzhen-based Yuqeelin Jewelry Company. Yuqeelin, with a history of more than 30 years, sells colored gemstones like rubies, sapphires, tanzanite, tourmaline and emeralds.
“China’s colored gemstone market is maturing,” Yin said. “Chinese people traditionally bought mainly gold, which is believed to be an inflation-proof asset, but now people understand the value of gems.”
The fair served as a test market for Yuqeelin. With information collected, the company decided to open its first Beijing store in 2012.
“We found at the fair that people in north China have more diverse tastes for jewelry than those in east and south China,” said Yin.“Many of them prefer colored gems to gold and diamond to demonstrate their personality.”
However, despite the huge consumption volume and the fact China replaced Italy as the biggest exporter of jewel ornaments inlaid with gold and silver in 2010, there are few established Chinese brands for the high-end jewelry market.
“China’s jewelry industry will be doomed to a dead end, if we are relunctant to make changes,” said Wang. “We have to encourage talented designers, while refining ancient techniques.”
Growing Designers Jewelry designers are the soul of this industry. An outstanding jewelry designer must be creative, aesthetic and expressive. But designer Ren Jin said it might take another decade for true Chinese masters of jewelry design to emerge.
Becoming a jewelry designer as a career is quite new in China. Universities in China began to introduce jewelry design courses just 20 years ago.
“Most of China’s jewelry designers started their career less than 10 years ago, which has led to a gap between the supply and demand sides of the industry, because most jewelry customers are in their 40s,” said Ren.
Unlike Ren who has accepted systematic education and works as an independent designer, most of Chinese designers are now employees at jewelry producers. A new designer usually earns about 3,000 yuan ($469) a month for the first couple of years.
“These designers are more like drafters, and it’s hard for them to guide the design, production and consumption trends,” Ren said.
In addition, about 80 percent of Chinese jewelry producers are family businesses, and in many cases, the owners would rather spend more on advertising than invest in improving design.
And many of designers learned the craft from their masters at workshops. Guo Weijun, a 26-year-old jeweler, is one of them. Guo learned the traditional technique of inlaying gold with jade from a master craftsman when he was a teenager.
Jade has been associated with many virtues in traditional Chinese culture, which explains its popularity in China for thousands of years. It takes at least one month for him to finish each piece of work. He first draws a draft pattern onto a polished jade article. Then he drills four tiny holes every 2.5 mm on the draft line. Next he inlays gold thread of a diameter of 0.3 to 0.5 mm or small gems into the lines of holes he has carved. Finally he moves on to polishing and after much careful burnishing a piece is finished.
“I am happy to be the heir to this ancient craft,” Guo said. From 2009 to 2011, Guo has secured orders of 3 million-5 million yuan($472,440-787,400) annually at the fair.
“It’s a career requiring diligence, experience, persistence and talent. Many designers approach 40 when they have accumulated enough experience, knowledge and money to start their own studio or business and have design freedom,” Ren said.
Ren suggested that Chinese jewelry producers place more emphasis on design, cultivating their designers or cooperating with independent designers to forging a brand for themselves.
For instance, Wu Fenghua, President of Shenzhen-based jewelry company TTF, had brought his designer team to attend a number of jewelry fairs overseas to learn the international trends and draw inspirations before his company made profits.
Yuqeelin also intends to forging a distinctive style for the brand, one that combines both Chinese and Western aesthetic elements.
“We have good cooperation with gem miners in Brazil, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Myanmar to guarantee our material quality. Now we are recruiting a large group of designers to further develop our own style.”
And some companies are going through a major overhaul as children who finished their college education overseas took over the family business from their parents. This generation of managers, armed with Western corporate management theories and marketing skills, is eager to innovate and values design, brand and the global market.
Jewelry magazines also sense the smell of spring for China’s jewelry industry. China Gems, which used to be a magazine run by GAC, adopted a more dynamic and consumer focused style.
Huo Yin, a staff member at the magazine, explained that the magazine used to be more like an academic publication focusing on professional knowledge. Now he says the magazine concentrates more on introducing general information on different kinds of precious stones and good designs to its target readership–ordinary people with an interest in jewelry.
As a result of this change, the magazine receives more advertising. The bimonthly publication currently sells over 60,000 copies per issue, and that number rises every month.
Diamonds are forever. So are gold, jade and gemstones. A fusion of beauty, craftsmanship and objects of timeless value, jewelry has always been sought after by those who can afford it.
The demand for jewelry has soared in China, and the country is expected to be the world’s largest jewelry market by 2020, said statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Chinese customers have also become more selective and discerning about design and brand.
Against this backdrop, a number of Chinese designers have emerged, helping Chinese brands to compete with their counterparts overseas.
However, “it might take another decade for true Chinese masters of jewelry design to emerge,” said Ren Jin, a representative of the academic school of jewelry design and Vice Dean of the School of Gem Studies under the China University of Geosciences.
Booming industry Together with another nine professional designers, Ren has his works to be exhibited at the 2011 China International Jewelry Fair in Beijing from November 23-27.
Visitors to the fair were treated to a visual feast of glittering gold and dazzling precious stones. One of the highlights of the fair was the participation of foreign jewelry companies and their high-quality stalls and exhibits.
As China’s biggest and most influential international jewelry fair, the fair has reflects the development of China’s jewelry industry, said Wang Weiwei, Deputy Secretary General of the Gems and Jewelry Trade Association of China (GAC). GAC and the National Gems and Jewelry Technology Administrative Center co-hosted the fair.
From 1992, when the fair was introduced, to 2011, the fair has expanded from a domestic one with about 200 booths, of which most are jade dealers, to an international one with 2,700 in 2011, said Wang.
China replaced Japan as the world’s sec-
ond largest diamond consumer in 2009. And given the fact that China overtook India to be the world’s largest gold consumer in the first quarter of 2011, the World Gold Council predicted China’s annual gold consumption will double before 2020.
Also, “the prices of colored gemstones have increased about 30-50 percent annually these years,” said Yin Xusheng, Chief Operating Officer of the Shenzhen-based Yuqeelin Jewelry Company. Yuqeelin, with a history of more than 30 years, sells colored gemstones like rubies, sapphires, tanzanite, tourmaline and emeralds.
“China’s colored gemstone market is maturing,” Yin said. “Chinese people traditionally bought mainly gold, which is believed to be an inflation-proof asset, but now people understand the value of gems.”
The fair served as a test market for Yuqeelin. With information collected, the company decided to open its first Beijing store in 2012.
“We found at the fair that people in north China have more diverse tastes for jewelry than those in east and south China,” said Yin.“Many of them prefer colored gems to gold and diamond to demonstrate their personality.”
However, despite the huge consumption volume and the fact China replaced Italy as the biggest exporter of jewel ornaments inlaid with gold and silver in 2010, there are few established Chinese brands for the high-end jewelry market.
“China’s jewelry industry will be doomed to a dead end, if we are relunctant to make changes,” said Wang. “We have to encourage talented designers, while refining ancient techniques.”
Growing Designers Jewelry designers are the soul of this industry. An outstanding jewelry designer must be creative, aesthetic and expressive. But designer Ren Jin said it might take another decade for true Chinese masters of jewelry design to emerge.
Becoming a jewelry designer as a career is quite new in China. Universities in China began to introduce jewelry design courses just 20 years ago.
“Most of China’s jewelry designers started their career less than 10 years ago, which has led to a gap between the supply and demand sides of the industry, because most jewelry customers are in their 40s,” said Ren.
Unlike Ren who has accepted systematic education and works as an independent designer, most of Chinese designers are now employees at jewelry producers. A new designer usually earns about 3,000 yuan ($469) a month for the first couple of years.
“These designers are more like drafters, and it’s hard for them to guide the design, production and consumption trends,” Ren said.
In addition, about 80 percent of Chinese jewelry producers are family businesses, and in many cases, the owners would rather spend more on advertising than invest in improving design.
And many of designers learned the craft from their masters at workshops. Guo Weijun, a 26-year-old jeweler, is one of them. Guo learned the traditional technique of inlaying gold with jade from a master craftsman when he was a teenager.
Jade has been associated with many virtues in traditional Chinese culture, which explains its popularity in China for thousands of years. It takes at least one month for him to finish each piece of work. He first draws a draft pattern onto a polished jade article. Then he drills four tiny holes every 2.5 mm on the draft line. Next he inlays gold thread of a diameter of 0.3 to 0.5 mm or small gems into the lines of holes he has carved. Finally he moves on to polishing and after much careful burnishing a piece is finished.
“I am happy to be the heir to this ancient craft,” Guo said. From 2009 to 2011, Guo has secured orders of 3 million-5 million yuan($472,440-787,400) annually at the fair.
“It’s a career requiring diligence, experience, persistence and talent. Many designers approach 40 when they have accumulated enough experience, knowledge and money to start their own studio or business and have design freedom,” Ren said.
Ren suggested that Chinese jewelry producers place more emphasis on design, cultivating their designers or cooperating with independent designers to forging a brand for themselves.
For instance, Wu Fenghua, President of Shenzhen-based jewelry company TTF, had brought his designer team to attend a number of jewelry fairs overseas to learn the international trends and draw inspirations before his company made profits.
Yuqeelin also intends to forging a distinctive style for the brand, one that combines both Chinese and Western aesthetic elements.
“We have good cooperation with gem miners in Brazil, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Myanmar to guarantee our material quality. Now we are recruiting a large group of designers to further develop our own style.”
And some companies are going through a major overhaul as children who finished their college education overseas took over the family business from their parents. This generation of managers, armed with Western corporate management theories and marketing skills, is eager to innovate and values design, brand and the global market.
Jewelry magazines also sense the smell of spring for China’s jewelry industry. China Gems, which used to be a magazine run by GAC, adopted a more dynamic and consumer focused style.
Huo Yin, a staff member at the magazine, explained that the magazine used to be more like an academic publication focusing on professional knowledge. Now he says the magazine concentrates more on introducing general information on different kinds of precious stones and good designs to its target readership–ordinary people with an interest in jewelry.
As a result of this change, the magazine receives more advertising. The bimonthly publication currently sells over 60,000 copies per issue, and that number rises every month.