How can independent high jewellery artists stand out from the crowd? Luxury brands like Cartier can splurge on big events, but smaller designers must get more creative
- Contemporary Asian jewellers like Wallace Chan, Cindy Chao, Anna Hu and Feng J show their work at international fairs
- Besides Paris Couture Week and TEFAF Maastricht, their pieces also feature in permanent collections at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris
One of the main challenges for high jewellers is getting noticed and having their work presented to the right people – the few who are scattered about the world with the wealth and taste to appreciate a work of wearable contemporary art.
Large luxury jewellery brands such as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels and Bulgari can throw elaborate events and spend heavily on international marketing efforts, but independent contemporary jewellers have to rely on a more hands-on approach. This may include exhibiting at art fairs or prestigious art galleries, having their pieces offered at international auction houses or opening showrooms.
For these high jewellery artists, their approach to marketing and selling their works is as different as their approach to creating the jewels themselves.
Many of these artists exhibit at international fairs. One of the largest and most prestigious fairs is TEFAF Maastricht in the Netherlands, where Chan and Cindy Chao present their newest works each year. But there are others around the world that also attract high jewellers.
“These fairs play a very important role by opening up a lot of doors,” Chao says, who created her brand, Cindy Chao The Art Jewel, 15 years ago. “People come to your booths and they get to know who you are. If not for these international fairs my brand would not have been able to grow this fast.”