Chinese Luxury Brand Qeelin, Independent Designers Incorporating Jade And Rare Jadeite Into Unique, East-Meets-West Designs
Chinese luxury brand Qeelin hopes to popularize jade and jadeite jewelry both at home and abroad (Photo courtesy Qeelin)
Articles on China’s jewelry industry often focus only on the country’s booming demand for gold and platinum (although we too are guilty of that) or diamonds and other precious stones. But what many observers of China’s jewelry market rarely notice is the country’s growing demand for traditional Chinese materials like jade. Jade, coveted in China for thousands of years, and its much rarer cousin jadeite, are making a comeback among women of China’s “me generation” in top tier cities who are looking to differentiate their style and set them apart from less discriminating conspicuous consumers.
As these younger women increasingly want to be seen less as “brand slaves” and more fashion-forward, jade is shaking off its stodgy reputation and, hewn by up-and-coming designers, is taking a dramatic, more youthful turn. The mix of Western and Chinese style in the new jade and (to a lesser extent) jadeite jewelry being produced by Mainland brands indicates that the future of Chinese luxury might resemble a more seamless blending of Western and traditional Chinese style.
This week, the Wall Street Journal looked into the future of jade in China — and outside the country as well, as home-grown jewelry brands like Qeelin (who we’ve written about before) develop plans to spread to Western and other Asian markets.
As Chinese luxury brands struggle to find their niche outside their home market and differentiate themselves from other major brands in Asia and elsewhere, jade jewelry could prove a pathway to non-Chinese luxury consumers, many of whom have had little exposure to jade outside of old-fashioned antiques or museum exhibits.
From the WSJ:
The article explains that jadeite — far rarer and more expensive than the more common nephrite that is plentiful throughout China and some parts of Southeast Asia — is being incorporated by more adventurous designers to create contemporary styles that call attention to the traditional qualities of jade and jadeite while featuring a more dramatic streak that reflects the changing cultural and aesthetic forces at work in China:
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