[Sponsored Article] 15 years of the Wulu Back in 2004, Qeelin, founded by Dennis Chan, catapulted to international fame when actress Maggie Cheung dazzled at the Cannes Film Festival wearing a single Wulu earring. The elegant, undulating lines of the gourd-shaped Wulu, a symbol of good fortune and wealth, have enchanted jewellery lovers and brought fortune to the brand. Soon after the lights dimmed on the red carpet, the Wulu collection lit up in Paris at the Palais Royal, Colette and Galeries Lafayette, in Hong Kong and the rest of the world. Having a boutique on Place Vendôme has always been a dream of Chan’s. “When you think of luxury jewellery, the first city you could think of is Paris, and that’s why I started Qeelin there,” he says. “Going into the global arena of Place Vendôme is like letting everyone know what we are trying to do.” “Place Vendôme is the landmark of international jewellery and very much associated with prestige. Being the first Chinese jeweller to have a boutique there shows a certain sense of recognition and international projection. That’s very meaningful for us and very encouraging,” adds Christophe Artaux, chief executive officer of Qeelin. “The vision of Qeelin is really about bringing contemporary Chinese design to the world and offering a new vision of Chinese sophistication. Our new boutique will contribute a lot to this vision and give us a unique opportunity to share our difference and creativity to an international audience. The reception since our soft opening at the same time as the Cannes Film Festival has been very positive, and we have triggered a lot of interest and curiosity.” The décor of the cosy, two-storey boutique alone is an eye-opener at Place Vendôme. “This is more like a concept store, and we wanted to create a theme that is different from our mainstream boutiques. We called upon a French architect to realise this concept,” Chan explains. “Mixing up Chinese inspiration with a French touch is what we want to convey at the boutique since the brand is very much about East and West,” adds Artaux. Limited edition Wulu jade necklace Taking pride of place in the Place Vendôme boutique is the exclusive Wulu jade necklace limited to just 28 pieces. Evocative of the East meets West brand aesthetic, it features a natural Grade A jadeite pendant with an intricately hand-carved wildflower pattern framed with sparkling diamonds, and a handmade rose gold chain with eight jadeite beads. “The creation of this necklace is very complicated as the jade carving alone takes over one month to do. The meaning behind this design reflects the popular Chinese idiom ‘blooming flowers and full moon’ that conveys perfect happiness,” says Chan. This limited edition necklace is also available in boutiques in Hong Kong and elsewhere. The scent of Qeelin A new East meets West creation is the limited edition Wulu fragrance that Chan dreamt up with perfumer Givaudan as part of the Place Vendôme boutique opening celebrations. A sunny, scintillating fragrance with a citrus top note, it comes in a curvaceous red bottle with a black top that reflects the colour scheme of the boutique. “This fragrance captures my dream scent. When I stepped into the gardens of the Summer Palace in Beijing one early morning, I was enveloped with the intoxicating fragrance of the woods, the greens and the morning mist. It’s very inspiring and is just perfect,” Chan recalls. The fragrance also denotes the quintessence of the Qeelin woman and is only available as a gift with purchase at Qeelin boutiques worldwide.