Brand To Watch: Bao Bao Wan Fine Jewellery

Brand Founded By Wan Baobao in 2007 Although the top Western luxury jewelry brands still dominate in China, we’re starting to see more Chinese companies entering the premium jewelry segment. From the French-Chinese fusion style of Qeelin to more traditional Hong Kong brands like Chow Tai Fook, Chinese luxury jewelry has increasingly developed a distinctive, culture-infused style, and though most of China’s wealthy elite still puts a premium on famous imported brands, Chinese jewelry designers appear to be working overtime to get this lucrative demographic more interested in home-grown design. Among these Chinese jewelry designers is Wan Baobao (万宝宝), a well-known “red princess” (so called because her grandfather, Wan Li, was a vice premier and later chairman of the National People’s Congress, and her father is also a high level government Minister). Since founding her eponymous jewelry brand, Bao Bao Wan , back in 2007, Wan has emerged as one of China's most notable up-and-coming high-end jewelry designers. Fueled by her personality and knack for design -- and helped by her well-placed socialite and celebrity friends -- the profile of Bao Bao Wan Fine Jewellery has risen steadily in recent years. With designs influenced in equal measures by her childhood in Beijing and later travels in Paris and New York, Wan hopes to go beyond the at times exaggerated "Chinese-ness" seen among some Hong Kong and mainland China jewelry brands as well as over-the-top attempts at "fusion." Rendering traditional Chinese symbols like Buddhist pagodas, Ming vases, paper fans in rose gold, diamonds and sapphires, Wan insists that her aim is to create "wearable art." Soon -- following their debut in Beijing last month -- Wan is set to hit Hong Kong on August 22 to celebrate her newest collection, "And the Little Ones" at Lane Crawford ifc mall. Made up of 20 pieces, the new collection of necklaces includes several inspired by the designer's travels and training as a photographer. Priced from HK$6,300 (US$812) to HK$10,300 ($1,328), the "And the Little Ones" collection is now available at Lane Crawford Canton Road. Wan's higher-end Bao Bao Wan Fine Jewellery brand, priced from HK$60,000 ($7,734) to HK$147,000 ($18,949) is available at Lane Crawford ifc mall and Lane Crawford Canton Road.

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Brand To Watch: Bao Bao Wan Fine Jewellery