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Transformable wedding jewellery gains popularity as brides go bespoke

Many contemporary bridal jewellery designs can be used beyond weddings. Chopard has launched some bridal sets featuring a necklace that can be worn as a wedding tiara.

“There are also detachable parts that can be worn as a brooch and bracelet,” says Caroline Scheufele, the brand’s co-president and creative director.

Chopard’s in-house design team develops custom-made, unique bridal jewellery designs for VIP clients, Scheufele says. “Clients of a certain level like to get involved in developing bridal designs’ ideas. Many VIP Hong Kong and mainland Chinese clients enjoy being part of the process. It is like haute couture.”

Bridal jewellery pieces are predominantly mounted with white diamonds. Diamond specialist De Beers emphasises the “visual excitement” of diamond bridal jewellery that enhances a bride’s beauty. The president of De Beers Institute of Diamonds, Andrew Coxon, sees a return to the classics that never go out of fashion and to diamonds that are of the best possible cut in any colour or quality to suit one’s budget.

“Colour is not a quality, only a matter of rarity in mother nature. Therefore, people should look for beauty and size, compromising on rarity, but not on the quality of the cutting,” he notes. “It is not about what the diamond is any more. It is what the diamond does in terms of beauty, light performance and jewellery design that gives the long-lasting pleasure to the women who wear the diamond jewellery.”

It is not about what the diamond is any more. It is what [it] does in terms of beauty, light performance and the long-lasting pleasure to the women who wear [it]
Andrew Coxon, president of De Beers Institute of Diamonds

Many bridal jewellery designs are full of symbolism. Nirav Modi evokes a caress with its “Embrace” line of diamond bangles and wedding rings that were engineered to stretch and “sculpt” around wrists and fingers.

Mikimoto's brooch from Splash Collection
Designs with white pearls are also popular among brides as they symbolise purity and harmony. Mikimoto Pearl Jewellery (HK) marketing manager Crystal Leung says that more brides look for designs with diamonds and perfectly rounded pearls. “Less is more” is also the bridal trend this year. “Simple pearl stud earrings with diamonds and pearl strands with diamonds enhance the bride’s beauty with their exceptional lustre,” Leung adds. “Mikimoto’s latest ‘A World of Creativity – Splash’ collection offers a ‘less-is-more’ style and versatility. The necklace in 18ct white gold with Akoya pearls and diamonds can be worn as a double-strand necklace, ideal for business attire. The necklace’s exquisite clasp design is detachable and can be worn as a brooch.”

Engagement rings are also evolving, says Spencer Ngan of Boghossian Jewels. “Modern couples do not necessarily go after the carats of the stones but seek originality, personalisation of their stories and uniqueness – something that is meaningful and resonates,” he says. Maison Boghossian offers rings featuring yellow or pink diamonds, or other coloured stones, Ngan says. The company has also introduced the elegant layering of “kissing” diamonds, with two stones “embracing” each other, “and the intricate Merveilles technique, with diamonds set on all four sides with little or no metal visible to the eye”, he says.

Wellendorf’s Keep Me Safe ring
Wellendorff’s unique designs make popular engagement rings, according to Cecilia Fong, the brand’s managing director for greater China. “Our ‘Keep Me Safe’ ring features a tiny angel between stylised wing motifs in the different tiers of engraving in the centre of the ring,” she says. “The ring serves as a guardian angel for protection.”

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Many companies are making wedding jewellery that can be adapted for day-to-day use, and convey a couple’s life-long commitment to each other