2018 BLACK LABEL MASTERPIECE XII and XV EMERALD FEATHER BROOCH in titanium, silver and yellow gold set with emeralds, diamonds and tsavorites “Here we have traditional materials of really marvellous quality backed up by intellectual integrity and imaginative exciting design which unify in a way that makes these pieces of jewellery transcend their function. They are great, beautiful works of art” MASTERPIECE LONDON Chairman, Philipp Hewat-Jaboor
ADVERTORIAL THIS PAST JUNE, THE INDUSTRY’S BEST AND BRIGHEST DESCENDED UPON THE BRITISH CAPITAL FOR MASTERPIECE LONDON, THE WORLD’S LEADING CROSS-COLLECTING FAIR ANNUALLY, HELD IN THE ROYAL HOSPITAL CHELSEA. Still, stealing the show this season was undoubtedly CINDY CHAO The Art Jewel, who made a glittering debut with its striking Black Label Masterpieces Collection. A multidisciplinary exhibition of the finest works of art and design, from antiquity to the contemporary, Masterpiece London has become, since its inauguration in 2010, an unmissable date for collectors as well as connoisseurs. And among the 160 carefully selected exhibitors from around the world present at the highly anticipated event this year, CINDY CHAO The Art Jewel stood as a representative of a larger whole as the only Asian high jewellery brand in attendance. It marked yet another significant achievement for the Taiwanese artist, who founded her eponymous label in 2004, and whose creations have since highlighted the most prestigious auctions worldwide along with being exhibited at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and Tokyo Mori Art Museum. The London fair was the perfect setting for Chao to unveil the extraordinary jewels from her 2018 Black Label Masterpieces collection, an extravagant range of museum-calibre, one-of-a-kind miniature works of art created annually by Chao and inspired by nature, architecture and her voyages. A quintessential expression of Chao’s spirit as a sculptor and designer, her Black Label Masterpieces encapsulate the very essence of her approach. Merging the rarest gemstones and precious materials with innovative design, she creates wearable pieces of art, stunning from every angle and as vibrant as the nature she strives to emulate. More than two years hard work and dedication are required to achieve the organic shape and free-flowing effect that characterise each one of these sculptural jewels. The painstaking manufacturing process required to achieve this level of perfection is an art form that Chao has been perfecting since a very young age. Granddaughter of an architect and daughter of a sculptor, her artistic skills – innate or acquired – could not have met a better familial match. From her grandfather, Chao learnt to look at the world in a three-dimensional way, observing the world through angles and shapes – a lesson that now forms the basis of her creative process culminating in her three-dimensional jewellery pieces. By observing her father, on the other hand, working with heart and soul to transform his perceptions into forms, she learnt the various sculpting techniques she would later explore further to develop her own style. It was during this explorative process that Chao discovered the ancient lost wax casting technique, also known as cire perdue. Widespread in 18th-century Wax sculpture 2018 BLACK LABEL MASTERPIECE VII FLOWER BUD BROOCH in titanium set with emeralds, diamonds and tsavorites
