Jewellery artist Cindy Chao celebrates two decades of artistic exploration with her latest creation: the Feather Brooch from the 20th Anniversary Collection.
Known for merging architecture, sculpture and nature, Chao continues to push the boundaries of jewellery craftsmanship through form, light and material innovation.
The feather motif first appeared in 2016, when CINDY CHAO The Art Jewel was invited to exhibit at the Biennale des Antiquaires in Paris. Inspired by the Belle Époque’s fascination with exotic plumage, Chao created the Black Label Masterpiece XVI Phoenix Feather Brooch, set with fancy vivid yellow and orangy yellow diamonds in titanium. The piece later sold for USD 1.21 million at Christie’s Hong Kong, cementing its place as a defining work in her oeuvre.
Since then, the feather has been reinterpreted in brooches and earrings, each designed to capture the movement of air and the passage of time. In the 20th Anniversary Collection, Chao reimagines the motif with a striking 180-degree twist, creating the illusion of a plume caught mid-flight. The brooches combine titanium with gemstones including diamonds, sapphires, tsavorites and colour-change sapphires, totalling up to 4,015 stones and over 76 carats in a single piece.
The design process began with a full-scale wax sculpture, refined over eighteen months before being cast in titanium by European master craftsmen. Achieving the brooch’s spiralling form required precise calculation of the metal’s thickness to maintain both structure and lightness. The finished work features double-sided gemstone setting, with each stone positioned to balance light, shadow and movement.
One craftsman who has collaborated with Chao for nearly two decades described the brooch as among the most complex pieces he has ever produced, highlighting her continual pursuit of innovation and mastery. The result is a technical and aesthetic breakthrough that embodies the brand’s signature qualities of architectural structure, sculptural form and organic grace.
