FEATURE
had. They visited the market
frequently and appreciated the
culture not just in jewellery but
as a whole, because of this they
had very intricate and subtle
designs that just worked.”
The biggest pitfall, in her view,
is when brands take a “superficial
understanding” of the culture by
trying to include a design featuring
a rooster or pig or dragon. She
recalls a few years ago when
Burberry put a Chinese lantern on
one of their scarves: “Everyone in
China laughed as it just didn’t fit
the market or their brand.
“If you look around Europe
and think of German jewellery for
example it is so different to French
or Spanish or Italian - German
jewellery is strong, simple and
geometric while Italian is very
colourful and sculptured. French
jewellery is very refined and
sophisticated - Chinese tastes are
much closer to that of the French
than any other.”
However Liu insists it is wrong
to generalise the entire Chinese
market as overall tastes are very
nuanced and can even change
depending on where in China
it is being sold. “Some people
February 2019 | jewelleryfocus.co.uk
‘‘
Her inspiration
for the twilight
collection came
when she was
travelling in
Egypt, learning
about the role
of the moon in
Egyptian religion
and its symbolism
in the Islamic
faith
‘‘
Scar is No More a Scar - Flame collection
from northern China love bigger
and more expressive jewellery and
do still shop for gold pieces,” she
explains. “While in the South they
are slightly more sophisticated in
their choices and do go for subtler
pieces. It is diverse geographically
and through my own experiences I
know which pieces determined by
how provocative or how forward-
thinking they are, should be sold
in the mass market or if they
would be better suited for smaller
niche markets.”
Importantly, Liu also advises
that it is not just important to
identify the current trends in the
market but to also anticipate them
as she says tastes, compared with
European consumers, change
quickly which she notes may due
to the recent rapid development
of the chinese market having
impacted consumers’ mentality
and their consumption behaviour.
THE CHALLENGES
For herself Liu says the biggest
challenge of launching The
Twilight Collection in China was
Twilight-Waxing Gibbous Ring and Bangle Set
JEWELLERY FOCUS
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