Christie’s teams up with Asian designers for its Magnificent Jewels Spring Sale

UPDATE: The Hong Kong Magnificent Jewels Spring Sales fetched a total HK$619 million. Together, the pieces by Adrian Cheng, Cindy Chao, Edmond Chin and Michelle Ong sold for just over HK$96 million.

Christie’s has teamed up with four Asian jewellers for its upcoming Magnificent Jewels Spring Sale on May 30.

Jewellery pieces by Adrian Cheng, Cindy Chao, Edmond Chin and Michelle Ong will be presented, with the pieces expected to fetch several millions.

But apart from sales, the auction is also a valuable opportunity to shine the spotlight on the growing prominence of Asian jewellers on an international level.

“I am very proud to be from Hong Kong, but I don’t see myself as a Hong Kong jeweller as such because I think [of myself as] a jeweller based in Hong Kong because the world is now so global,” says Michell Ong, jeweller and founder of Carnet.

Chao agrees, and says: “I think Hong Kong is also a international hub in terms of everything, not just in terms of auctions.”

“In the past century, the jewellery design industry had always been a Westerners’ industry and their platform,” Chao says. “Nowadays, we are fortunate because Asian designers have an international platform [and] they are more well recognised by the global design platform [who] appreciate their work, their craftsmanship and design. And I think this will become a strong trend in the future.”