By Cynthia Unninayar
With Dancing Flowers, Shimmering Leaves, and Queen Anne’s Lace all in a row, designer brand Green G will present its Nature-inspired creations in Las Vegas at JCK, LUX1101A, from May 30 to June 3.
| Sabina Lee carving a wax mould at her work bench. |
One of the more talented designers to appear on the fine jewellery landscape, the Hong Kong designer brand, Green G, has the proverbial green thumb when it comes to cultivating its garden of floral designs under the attentive care and creative spirit of designer Sabina Lee.
| Left: “Poppy” rings in orange and red sapphires, with white and black diamonds in 18K gold. |
| Right: Rings from the “Dancing Roses” collection in diamonds and 18K yellow and white gold. |
“I love colours, and the beautiful colours of flowers always inspire me with new design ideas. Once, when strolling along a lakeside in Lucerne, I saw a few poppies gently swaying in the breeze under the setting sun. Appearing perhaps insignificant to many, I was moved by their delicate beauty,” explains Sabina. This inspiration resulted in the “Poppy” collection, with coloured sapphires of soft purple, vivid red, or bright blue set in 18K gold.
| Left: “Love Tree” wedding ring in white and black diamonds and 18K gold. |
| Right: “Endless Love” earrings in purple sapphires and black and white diamonds in 18K gold. |
Soon to follow were “Morning Glory” and “Dancing Roses,” where the roses are bound by well-defined shapes. Within these forms, small roses bounce and move, as if trying to free themselves from the constraints in order to scatter in the wind. Seemingly simple, the techniques behind this movement are actually quite complicated, and were specially developed by Sabina and her team of craftsmen.
Sabina drew on her Oriental roots for her “Love Tree” bridal collection, based on a famous Chinese classical poem. Although evoking Yin and Yang, the ring is “highly stylized and sculptural, with a modern minimalist feel,” describes Sabina. The use of high quality black and white diamonds that match the black and white 18K gold adds an extra dimension to the ring’s artistic touch. The “Love Tree” ring attracted the attention of Ursula Ilse-Neuman, the curator of Contemporary Jewelry at the Museum of Arts & Design in New York, who selected the ring for publication in the 2008 book, 500 Wedding Rings (Lark Books).
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| “Shangri-La” ring in green beryl, diamonds, and 18K gold. |
| “Queen Anne’s Lace” pendant in rubies and black and white diamonds in 18K gold. |
This year, Sabina has created unique miniature gardens in each design, always using a large lovely coloured gem, such as tourmaline or beryl as the centre stone. Her gardens of “Shangri-La” will never lack inhabitants, as little flowers, leaves, beetles, and hummingbirds cry out for attention.
Green G catapulted onto the international scene when it became the first Hong Kong designer brand to be invited to participate in the designer sections of both Inhorgenta in Germany and BaselWorld in Switzerland in 2003. As a result, Green G jewellery is now carried by fine retailers around the world. “We consider ourselves to be a branding partner to our customers. We collaborate closely in terms of displays and image presentation support as well as management of the brand’s presence in the stores at all levels,” Sabina explains. Clearly, her garden of precious jewels continue to blossom.
www.greengjewelry.com
