All that glitters in Cebu

Singapore-based Chinese-Filipino jewelry designer Annie Chen led the viewing of her timeless jewelry collection at the 856 G Gallery recently.

With 21 years of experience in designing and creating bridge jewelry, Chen has harnessed the knowledge of silver-smithing, which is vital in executing the fine points in these wearable works of art. The innovative pieces portray elements of the past with modern touches that greatly appeal to sophisticated women.

Chen’s designs are typical examples of bridge jewelry, so-called because it is the bridge between costume and fine jewelry.

A lot of  bridge jewelry is artisan-made using gold filled or silver as the metal with semi-precious stones such as amethyst, citrine, turquoise, jade, topaz, fresh water pearls, garnet, onyx, tourmaline,  and others.

The event also marked the launch of Annie Chen’s hardbound coffee table book that features  the artist’s sketches and showcases her cherished,  high quality jewelry collection.

The Contemporary Silver Line instills new life in its creations. The mixture of gemstones and components are unusual yet compatible. The jewelry is classic, simple yet elegant. A standout is the necklace studded with multi-colored semi-precious gems — peridot, topaz, citrine, amethyst and garnet.

The Esoteric Collection was inspired by Chen’s experiences in exotic places such as Cairo, Bhutan, and Nepal. In Egypt, the artist noticed that no other civilization had manufactured such enormous variety of beads of so many materials that were used in necklaces, belts, and sandals.

Annie Chen’s interpretation of silver jewelry for evening wear is illustrated in the Noir Collection. The jewelry takes on a modernist approach in which form follows function, so the pieces themselves are never cumbersome.

The most unusual of the artist’s line is the Divine Collection. It includes hair accessories, pendants out of snuff bottles with silver and gem encasements, headbands, charms, and belts with the most stylish and classy settings and combinations. Chen deviated from her usual style to come up with the look of exquisite jewelry pieces.

The general concept of the four collections is best described in the words of the artist: Carefully using resources and materials the way a painter would use the colors in his palette, I pay careful attention to the quality and artistic balance in my craft to make the jewelry even more personal. I would never design silver jewelry I would not wear myself.”

All the jewelry collections are colorful, original, artistically creative and eye-catching.  Most definitely , wearing one of Annie Chen’s creations will set you apart from the crowd.