Michelle Yeoh loves high jewellery brooches – and so do men at Sotheby’s: from Cindy Chao’s single-piece exhibition, to Cartier and Tiffany & Co.’s modern twists on tradition, wearable art is officially in

Nov 18 , 2023

Michelle Yeoh wears the Pamir brooch from Cindy Chao’s Black Label Masterpiece collection. Photos: Handout

More than other types of jewellery, brooches lend themselves to the creative expressions of artists and jewellery houses, from Wallace Chan, Anna Hu and Feng J to the houses of the Place Vendôme

Van Cleef & Arpels, Le Jardin de Chaumet and Mikimoto all use an 18th century method of wax casting; Hong Kong collectors can view pieces by Munich’s Hemmerle at The Upper House from November 20

Jewellery artist Cindy Chao in September staged an exhibition at the Long Museum in Shanghai devoted to just one jewel. The displays shed light on Chao’s epic five-year creative process that culminated in the exquisite Amour Butterfly Brooch that marks the 10th annual creation in her Black Label Masterpieces series.

Made for client friends, a couple, the butterfly features an elongated type IIa marquise-cut diamond set into ox horn, with two large Colombian emeralds and numerous diamonds in the undulating titanium wings, shaped to be appreciated from every angle. From sculpting in wax to casting, polishing, matching the gemstones and finally, setting them, the creation took 15,000 hours of dedicated work.

Cindy Chao’s Black Label Masterpiece I Amour Butterfly was displayed at the Long Museum in Shanghai

This museum-calibre brooch illustrates the artistry invested in a jewel that can be worn on a lapel or a dress. The creator admits to a fondness for brooches: “My creative process starts with wax sculpting, which makes my works as highly sculptural and three-dimensional as I envision,” says Chao. “Earrings, necklaces and bracelets all have specific shape restrictions, whereas brooches offer me a greater scope for creative expression.”

The fact that Chao can use titanium means that the artwork brooches are also wearable. Remarkably, the Amour Butterfly – despite being set with nearly 3,000 gemstones – weighs less than 90 grams, and it really does feel light.

A brooch – because it doesn’t have to slide on a finger, hang from an ear lobe or encircle the neck – can really lend itself to the creative expressions of artists and prestigious jewellery houses alike, be they Wallace Chan, Anna Hu, Feng J or the houses of the Place Vendôme. Van Cleef & Arpels – which like Cindy Chao uses an 18th century method of wax casting – carves dainty figures, flowers and whimsical animals in wax, which are then cast in gold and set as brooches.

Le Jardin de Chaumet’s lifelike foliage and Mikimoto’s Praise to the Sea 2023 high jewellery collection of fish and other marine creatures are similarly sculpted in wax, then cast in gold and set with precious gems.

Hemmerle 32-carat green tourmaline, jade beads, colour changing garnets on silver and white gold

Brooches give creators an opportunity to be extravagant with their designs. For instance, the Munich-based jeweller Hemmerle is celebrating 130 years of taking an experimental approach to its materials, mixing modern metals with ancient artefacts. “Given the limited number of creations we complete each year – 200 – brooches have signposted our creativity,” says Christian Hemmerle, who runs the business today with his wife Yasmin.

“Our contemporary and progressive aesthetic has provided us with a strong presence in the appreciation of brooches,” he adds. That aesthetic can be admired when Hemmerle comes to Hong Kong from November 20 to 22 for private viewings at The Upper House.

Michelle Yeoh wears the Pamir brooch from Cindy Chao’s Black Label Masterpiece collection