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Designers Debut Lunar New Year Jewels
Fabergé and Ashley Zhang have both released limited-edition offerings to mark the Year of the Pig.
Fabergé has released this special-edition Year of the Pig surprise locket for the Chinese New Year.
New York—The Chinese New Year festival, marking the first day of the lunar calendar, begins today, and jewelry designers are ready for the occasion.
Fabergé is marking the Year of the Pig with both a special piece of jewelry and a timepiece.
The Gemfields-owned brand updated their classic Palais Tsarkoye Selo egg locket (pictured at top), crafted in 18-karat yellow and rose gold, guilloché red enamel and set with 17 round diamonds, to reveal upon opening a sweet pink enamel pig with diamond eyes.
They also crafted a new version of the Lady Levity watch for the holiday, seen below. It showcases a platinum pig on a domed bombé sapphire crystal set on a white mother-of-pearl dial. Fabergé said that the timepiece’s unique mechanical movement, developed by Agenhor exclusively for the brand, creates more space for the design where there would typically be watch mechanics.
The limited-edition piece only reveals the pig when caught in the light at certain angles, as a special surprise to the wearer. Its overall look was inspired by a Peter Carl Fabergé-designed rock crystal, silver gilt and enamel desk clock.
Fabergé’s very first Lunar New Year creations were commissioned by the court of Siam in 1911, also to mark the Year of the Pig.
Both Year of the Pig Fabergé surprise pieces are available for order at Faberge.com.
Contemporary, independent jewelry designer Ashley Zhang has dreamed up a less literal homage to the new year with a six-piece collection that embraces jade, China’s most beloved native mineral that figures heavily in the country’s art.
The one-of-a-kind offerings feature jadeite sourced from the last of a batch of the stone that was owned by a now-closed, family-owned Chinese business. The mineral was cut from the rough material in the 1950s.
Zhang interpreted the geometric jadeite shapes in an Art Deco fashion, amplifying their bold angles with diamonds and 18-karat yellow gold.
Ranging in price from $4,500 $17,500, the collection is available through the designer’s website.
Ashley Zhang jadeite, 18-karat gold and diamond bracelet
Ashley Zhang jadeite, 18-karat gold and diamond earrings
Ashley Zhang jadeite, 18-karat gold and diamond ring
Ashley Zhang jadeite, 18-karat gold and diamond earrings
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