Fine Jewelry Artist Cindy Chao Opens Art Gallery in Taipei

Renowned jewelry house CINDY CHAO The Art Jewel, founded by Taiwanese fine jewelry artist Cindy Chao, has opened its first gallery in Taipei, showcasing the artist’s latest fine jewelry masterpieces in a new setting . This new gallery joins the other Chao boutiques in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

CINDY CHAO The Art Jewel Gallery, located in the luxury Regent Taipei Hotel, is designed to give visitors a glimpse into the world of Cindy Chao and “to create an intimate and exclusive mini-museum dedicated to showcasing the most iconic works of the House,” Chao said in a statement.

Chao’s vision for the space was realized through an international team of world-class designers. Renowned Dutch architect, Tom Postma, who has worked with Chao in the past, was the lead on the project. Renowned French designer Ingrid Donat created the gallery’s handcrafted bronze walls. Two design teams from Singapore and Belgium designed the showcases and displays.

Chao says that the atmosphere of the museum was achieved by drawing inspiration from the rules of classical architecture: “the creation of a strong central axis, bordered by specially designed display cases, distinct focal points and the use of materials designed to last for centuries”.

The four freestanding display cases in the center of the gallery feature five Black Label Masterpiece creations, each showcasing Chao’s ability to combine extraordinary creativity with exceptional craftsmanship. Weighing nearly 500 pounds each, the display cases seem weightless, finding their balance on a slender base and purpose-built frame.

One of the focal points of the gallery is the large display case set into a mirrored wall where nine of Chao’s fine art jewels float inside. The “zero-gravity showcase,” 126 inches long and 47 inches tall, is the largest of its kind in the world, Chao claims. The levitating parts are constantly in motion, their appearance changing depending on the lighting. From inside this showcase emerges a torso displaying one of the collection’s most valuable necklaces.

The combination of the elaborate concept, museum atmosphere and timeless elements sets the gallery apart, says Chao. It is a space designed to surprise and inspire both customers and the public.

The gallery will include two of Chao’s latest creations: the 2022 Black Label masterpiece “Caribbean Summer Brooch” and the 2022 Black Label masterpiece “Spring Cardamom Brooch”. The two sculptural pieces combine the use of Chao’s favorite gemstone, the emerald, with his preference for realistic displays of flora.

2022 Black Label Masterpiece ‘Caribbean Summer Brooch’

In this piece, Chao recreates the leaf of Muso, common currency in the Caribbean. Airy and realistic, the edge of the leaf with its folds and curves is made of a dusting of tsavorites that surrounds bands set with more than 2,000 diamonds of multiple sizes. This was Chao’s first time using the channel setting technique. The gems, including the center pin, are lightweight, strong, and colorful titanium. On one of the folds of the leaf stands a 3.80-carat pear-shaped Muzo Colombian emerald.

Cindy Chao says she inherited her mastery of architectural space and her sculptural abilities from her grandfather, who was an architect, and her father, who was a sculptor. To create this brooch, she used the lost-wax technique to painstakingly carve the leaf into a sculptural 3D form with ripples, bends and soft organic lines. The titanium was then molded to follow the shape of the original wax sculpture, a process in which precision is essential to maintain the realistic dynamics and beauty of the brooch.

2022 Black Label Masterpiece ‘Spring Cardamom Brooch’

This piece was specially created for the launch of CINDY CHAO The Art Jewel Gallery. Inspired by freshly sprouted cardamom pods, the brooch embodies “the vitality and hope of a new spring,” says Chao. Crafted in the shape of a budding pod, with an undulating silhouette, the brooch is a fine example of Chao’s three-dimensional craftsmanship.

The main gem is an 81.11 carat oval-shaped cabochon Colombian emerald, extremely rare in size and quality. The gem is complemented by the brown diamonds, tsavorites, demantoids, color-changing garnet, alexandrites and green sapphires that surround it.

Chao has had quite a run since opening her fine jewelry house in 2004. Among her accolades, she has had her works inducted into three major international museums, and in 2021 Chao was subsequently named a Knight in the Order of Arts et Lettres, becoming the first Asian jewelry artist to receive this prestigious French nomination.