Celebrity Life

With seven decades of expertise in high jewellery, there’s no doubting King Fook when it comes to sourcing the most desirable jewellers to introduce to Hong Kong. Feiping Chang, a jewellery connoisseur herself, takes on a few exclusive collections to show us how it’s done.

Chang has always been a woman of style, poise and good taste, with a penchant for jewellery that's cause for envy worldwide. King Fook, established in 1949, has long understood the tastes of Hong Kong and our hunger for quality and fine craftsmanship. It was only pertinent then, that we sought to photograph Chang, a socialite and a local legend in her own right, adorned in jewellery that matched her sophistication and spoke to her heart.

Since its early days, King Fook specialised in the trade of jade, silver and gold ingot pieces, an area they still claim unparalleled expertise to this day. As their business expanded, King Fook set about discovering and curating unique jewellers around Europe to bring their unique creations to Hong Kong, satisfying its customers' increasing desire for one-of-a-kind jewellery.

Hence, a dedicated brand called "masterpiece by king fook" was born, becoming the exclusive retail partner for several of Europe's most prestigious brands. Available exclusively at masterpiece by king fook, the European brands include Annamaria Cammilli, Mattia Cielo and Palmiero from Italy, and Stenzhorn from Germany.

To time with the opening of the latest masterpiece by king fook boutique store on Pedder Street this month, we set out to discover more about the four exclusive brands, as well as its own bespoke service, which offers discerning clients – such as Chang herself – unique tailor-made designs, gemstone combinations and motifs that suit their needs.

masterpiece by king fook’s Bespoke Jewellery Design Service

Bespoke jewellery is inherently special – there’s only one existing piece in the whole world, encapsulating in every detail and gemstone, an origin story that resonates with the owner of the creation. Having amassed over seven decades of professionalism and experience in high jewellery – from stringent gemstone selection to a passionate pursuit in excellence for gem-setting and craftsmanship – masterpiece by king fook was naturally a trusted partner for many in the city searching to create their own bespoke jewellery pieces.

For masterpiece by king fook, luxury is in the details. Clients will begin the process with the company’s band of experienced designers who will propose unique tailor-made designs, gemstones combinations, settings and engraving motifs based on their story, preference and needs. Any jewellery piece can be created: rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, even modular designs can be achieved to give the client unlimited possibilities to wear their jewellery in different styles.

The gemstones used in the pieces are of the utmost highest quality. the brand sets itself an exceedingly high far when it comes to the gemstones used in its products – the diamonds, coloured diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, jades and pearls are all sourced and directly hand-picked by its own jewellers to ensure that the gemstones are on par with the company’s own standards. Diamonds, for example, have to be at least VS to VVS in clarity and G in colour.

At the request of the client, masterpiece by king fook will also look for gemstones of a particular grade, source, shape and colour – if it is a pigeon blood ruby from Burma that you’re looking for, the company will do their utmost to find the suitable stone. On our cover, Chang wears an all-diamond ensemble from the masterpiece by king fook Diamond Collection. The spectacular necklace is beautifully set with layers of brilliant-cut diamonds for a three-dimensional effect, using over 442 diamonds totalling 57.09 carats. The earrings feature 48 diamonds totalling 7.31 carats while the ring features 19 diamonds totalling 4.03 carats.

Stenzhorn

In his youth, Klaus Stenzhorn was an avid traveller and animal lover – it was on one of his many adventures that he found himself visiting an emerald mine in Colombia, thus throwing him into the fascinating world of jewellery and propelling him to found the Stenzhorn House of Jewellery in 1979. Stenzhorn was utterly smitten with the art of invisible setting, which became an important signature in many of the brand’s quintessential creations.

The art of invisible setting is mastered by very few jewellery houses today and ensures that the metal setting is completely hidden so the pave-set gemstones can shine unencumbered. Today, the Stenzhorn brand is still family-owned, and the vision of Klaus Stenzhorn still stands firm: to make the world’s finest jewellery that stands on part with the world’s finest works of art.

Mattia Cielo

Jewellery making is in Mattia Cielo's blood – he grew up in Italy playing with diamonds that his father left on the kitchen table after work. His jewellery creations today have won him numerous international awards and there's no doubt why: Cielo has a way of with jewellery that allows them to be at once pure and simple, and yet non-conforming and technically complex.

His most signature piece is a flexible spiral bracelet – the Rugiada Diamanti – a design that can be easily twisted and manipulated to be worn as a bangle around the wrist, or extended to become an accessory that adorns the entire arm. Mattia Cielo's creations have always been admired for its simplistic styles – the circle is a constant motif that appears in all his works – and yet, the engineering process and the innovative use of materials render his designs some of the most futuristic jewellery pieces we've seen.

Palmiero

Valenza, a small town of Piedmont in the northern part of Italy, has traditionally been famous for its goldsmith tradition, while Carlo Palmiero himself has always been intrigued with gemstones and the way these stones can be used to bring different depths of colours to his pieces. At his atelier-laboratory, founded in 1979, Palmiero has adamantly shied away from trends and a traditional way of designing jewellery around an important centre stone, instead, turning his attention to the object as a whole. His jewellery creations are like sculptures, with details even on the underside of a brooch or on the ring shank, allowing the entire creation to become the protagonist.

Annamaria Cammilli

There's something truly artistic and sculptural about Annamaria Cammilli's jewellery creations, which doesn't come as much of a surprise considering the Florentine jeweller's background as a sculptor and painter. Her jewellery creations are known for its meticulous designs, inspired by organic shapes found in nature, as well as the brand's signature shades of gold, a remarkable palette of 18K gold colours that range from natural beige, ice white, black lava, lemon bamboo yellow, orange apricot, champagne pink, yellow sunrise, to this year's newest addition – a rich shade of chocolate brown. There's no other jeweller quite like Annamaria Cammilli in the world who has mastered the technique of creating different shades of gold in a consistent manner, allowing her to colour her gold jewellery pieces with the same flourish a painter would with a brush and ink.

(HERO IMAGE: RINGS, NECKLACE AND EARRINGS IN GOLD WITH DIAMONDS PALMIERO AVAILABLE AT MASTERPIECE BY KING FOOK, DRESS KALITA AVAILABLE AT LANE CRAWFORD)

Feiping Chang Adore Cover Story

PHOTOGRAPHY KAUZRAMBLER
STYLING GENNADY ORESHKIN
HAIR AND MAKEUP REGHAN WONG
ASSISTANTS KOKO POON AND LEONA CHAN
FLOWERS MOHLIA

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