Cindy Chao The Art Jewel Presents Latest Black Label Masterpieces At Tefaf Maastricht 2020

Celebrated artist and high-jeweller CINDY CHAO The Art Jewel proudly returned to the prestigious TEFAF Maastricht 2020 to present her awaited Black Label Masterpieces. Shining bright as part of the exceptional suite of jewelled creations is the “Green Plumule Brooch” and the “Green Plumule Earrings”, two breathtaking Masterpieces from the Feather Collection.

GREEN PLUMULE BROOCH: 487 pieces of fancy-cut emeralds – total of 172.58 carats.

Seventeen of the emeralds come from Colombia, with the largest being 30.06 carats. With each setting angle and height accurately calculated, the emeralds are set in an interlacing, embossment-like manner to create a peculiar threedimensional contour for the brooch, thereby portraying the plumule’s airiness. The brooch is composed of 14 barbs, all linked to the yellow diamond-paved rachis with flexible joints that give life and motion to the masterpiece. The back of the brooch is as fascinating as the front, with the rachis painted with a layer of black enemal and paralleled with diamonds and yellow diamonds. Fifteen cm long, the Green Plumule Brooch weighs less than 49 g – truly feather light. Considering the way emeralds are set on the brooch, their carat weight, the brooch’s one-of-a-kind silhouette, and the supporting craftsmanship behind the piece, the Green Plumule Brooch can be said to be the boldest, the most crazy, and the most exquisite feather brooch in the world.

GREEN PLUMULE EARRINGS: 90 carats - pair of pear-shaped vivid green Colombian emeralds.

These are the first Black Label earrings from the Feather Collection and includes two briolette-cut brown diamonds, weighing 9.60 carats altogether, which were specially cut from rough diamonds according to the need of the aesthetic. The earrings’ hue and contour are enriched through tsavorites, alexandrites and color-changing garnets.

These Green Plumule Brooch and the Green Plumule Earrings once again demonstrate CINDY CHAO’s cutting-edge titanium craftsmanship to create the world’s lightest Art Jewels.

HIGHLIGHT: AURORA BUTTERFLY BROOCH

Butterflies are widely known as symbols of endurance, change, hope, and life – all of which are needed in such uncertain times. “My Annual Butterflies are a symbol of my artistic metamorphosis, and the advancement of my brand and innovation in craftmanship” – Cindy Chao.

2019 Black Label Masterpiece I “Aurora Butterfly Brooch”

Cindy Chao has been widely praised for her architectural mindset and sculptor savoir-faire. Chao intended to pay tribute to her family legacy by using her grandfather’s architectural drawings as inspiration behind the 2019 Black Label Masterpiece I “Aurora Butterfly Brooch”. This concept of “family heritage continuation” is additionally rendered through vein-like motifs that intertwine from the work’s front to its back. Chao also demonstrates her bold use of colour for this butterfly. The piece’s contrasting red and blue colours, comparable to red and blue northern lights which are rarely seen together, yields it name. The Aurora Butterfly Brooch features four Burmese “pigeon’s blood” rubies totalling to 8.48 carats set on aluminium, a metal even lighter than titanium. It is the very first time Cindy Chao uses this particular metal in its creation, given its ability to show a brighter and more saturated red hue than titanium’s through anodisation. The butterfly wings are a constellation comprised of over 3,100 pieces of diamonds and sapphires with seven types of cut, entirely set on titanium. Out of 6,000 diamonds, 172 rose-cut diamonds in 10 different shapes are selected and are set in a seemingly floating fashion to create a shimmering effect between the blue and white colours. On the lower wings, a pair of triangular rose-cut diamonds with a total of 10 carats are placed to accentuate the elegance, transparency and delicacy of the work. The 2019 Annual Butterfly constitutes an important hallmark of the brand’s curiosity to experiment on new material. It also illustrates Chao’s signature creative philosophy, born with her artistic DNA, that every piece of high jewellery should be a 360-degree miniature sculpture and architecture.