Love, eternity, happiness: which of these Chinese bridal jewellery pieces would you pick?
Family heirlooms are being set aside in favour of modern Chinese jewellery which incorporates traditional symbols of love, eternity and happiness
Chinese bridal jewellery is usually equated with family heirlooms but, thanks to growing demand for modern pieces, some brands are using appealing designs to reinterpret traditional motifs and auspicious symbols.
With limited variations for engagement rings – most are simple designs crowned with diamonds – jewellery designers have more room to complement wedding and evening gowns, in addition to traditional Chinese bridal dresses.
Brides in traditional Chinese culture wore jewellery items that were family heirlooms included in the dowry, says Hong Kong jeweller and artist Dickson Yewn of contemporary luxury Chinese jeweller YEWN. “The pieces incorporated auspicious concepts ubiquitous in traditional Chinese decorative art. They include ‘luck, prosperity, longevity, happiness and wealth’. Some designs [featured] motifs, characters and flora and fauna that carried the auspicious symbolism.”
As the bejewelled reinterpretations of Chinese tangible and intangible artistic and cultural heritage, YEWN’s limited-edition designs often subtly incorporate auspicious symbolic significance. For instance, many clients include a gem-set bangle from the Garden line as bridal jewellery. “Walk in a traditional Chinese garden and you are surrounded by auspicious symbols, such as the motifs in the ceramic stools, the tiles and the latticework.”
Other favourites include designs showing peony (it symbolises prosperity and nobility) and chrysanthemum (whose pronunciation in Mandarin is close to the word jiu, meaning forever) in the Paper Cut collection, which reflects his reinterpretation of Chinese folk art, Yewn says. “Many paper-cut designs are used to celebrate nuptials in rural houses.”
Most of Yewn’s clients are professional women who prefer their own style. “To complement white wedding gowns, they choose gem-set pieces with an antique look. The pieces may be set with pearls, diamonds and coloured gemstones,” he says. For evening gowns and traditional Chinese bridal dresses embroidered with multicoloured, gold and silver threads, pieces in the Manchurian collection look harmonious. Items reinterpret the glamour of Manchurian court jewellery, with butterflies, locks and sacred flowers among the motifs.
