Elsa Jin, a contemporary jewelry artist and fine jewelry designer, grew up in a family of architects and studied painting. She began her career by making pieces for herself and her friends. Her LIFE series is composed of winged brooches, each representing stages of the pandemic.

Photography by Vincent Peters
Styled by Vanessa Bellugeon

&ldquo;Freedom is gold,&rdquo; says <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/isabelle-huppert-elsa-jin-brooch-rome-film-festival" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elsa Jin</a>. The <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/louis-vuitton-empreinte-fine-jewelry-collection-2022-diamonds-gold" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fine jewelry</a> designer&rsquo;s meaning was on several different levels&mdash;in the physical sense, looking at the glistening yellow of gold or the sparkle of a gemstone, she meant that it allows the mind to be transported, taking the onlooker to an infinite number of imagined destinations; in another interpretation, it is a statement of rarity and preciousness. Freedom is to be valued; it can be fleeting and it needs to be carefully nurtured and cherished. As a flower in a garden, it should be treasured.
Eighteenth-century Europe saw the Enlightenment take hold in many of its cities. It showed people what freedom might look like; spiritual freedom for people and, in particular, for artists. With this in mind, when we look at jewelry, what does this freedom mean for the independent <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/bea-bongiasca-jewelry-dua-lipa" target="_blank" rel="noopener">jewelry designer</a>?
First, the designer needs to invest financially to procure the materials they wish to use. Then, creativity can begin to flow, permitting the designer&rsquo;s imagination to run amok. Thinking outside the box is as important as seeking rare <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/watches/chaumet-pierres-de-reve-collection-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gemstones</a>, and, depending on the designer&rsquo;s creative mind, the gemstones will need to have special properties, whether they are monochromatic or multicolored. Sometimes, obstacles need to be overcome, forcing the artist to be ever more creative. Would these obstacles be regarded as freedom? Freedom to find a new path and using the designer&rsquo;s own initiative to find a solution? Would this be regarded as freedom or a constraint? Then there is the freedom granted to the sales team to show and exhibit the finished jewel, the freedom to use their own special creativity to find a new client&mdash;a new home for the jewel&mdash;thus, launching the jewel onto a new path which will be determined by the new collector. This is how Elsa Jin forged her own path to create her LIFE collection art series.

By the time Jin decided to become a <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/elsa-peretti-tiffany-co-jewelry-designer-death" target="_blank" rel="noopener">jewelry designer</a>, she had already achieved the first of these freedoms: her financial independence at a young age, as a successful investor with a portfolio of real estate, luxury products, and an art collection. She has invested in historic and architecturally interesting buildings in the United States and Europe, leading her to reflect upon the relationship these buildings and gemstones have with time.
At first, Jin began collecting ancient artifacts and antiques as a means to communicate with cultures from the past. It became, for her, a form of conversation with a different time, yet sharing similar passions. Afterwards, Jin&rsquo;s interest turned to gemology; gemstones held her in awe: objects that are almost as old as the planet, and so much older than humanity. She pondered upon a gemstone&rsquo;s rarity, dwelled upon what was precious, and was reminded that it is our own humanity, our collective appreciation, that has rendered an object valuable and sought after. Jin&rsquo;s fascination turned into a profession. She studied and graduated as a gemologist, and with her newfound knowledge she began to study her gemstones under the microscope, looking deep into their secret gardens, to discover their origins. Gemstones are the memory of 10 million years, and, under the microscope, that memory is at Jin&rsquo;s fingertips. Time is a concept which fascinates the designer, and when she thinks of the past, she ponders the differing advances each period in history held for society. For example, after World War II, books were printed as paperbacks, making them more affordable to more people, bringing knowledge to their fingertips. In a similar way, chain stores brought about the democratization of jewelry, making it a popular industrial <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/nfts-luxury-fashion-collaborations-gucci-louis-vuitton" target="_blank" rel="noopener">luxury</a>. It was, for her, a time when, with all its contradictions, &ldquo;the value of wealth seemed to overshadow all the value of collecting.&rdquo;

THEY ARE ART PIECES, one of a kind. THEY ARE jewels with meaning.

Today, independent jewelry designers who have always been a part of the jewelry world either as workshops or as successful businesses see their works becoming the charmed consignments of <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/princess-diana-royal-portrait-dress-1991-sothebys-auction" target="_blank" rel="noopener">auction houses</a> worldwide.
Jin grew up in a family of architects and studied painting. She began her jewelry career by making pieces for herself and for friends. Her reputation spread by word of mouth, and it was not long before she was being approached by capital investors who wished to be a part of her adventure. They sensed a uniqueness about her work. Flattered, but also wary of these advances, Jin decided to remain independent. Investment can come as a double-edged sword&mdash;it meant that she would no longer have artistic freedom. Her work is a bridge between the cultures of the East and that of the West; it is haute joaillerie, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/fendi-spring-summer-2023-haute-couture-show-runway-collection" target="_blank" rel="noopener">haute couture</a>. They are art pieces, one of a kind. They are jewels with meaning.
She continued quietly making jewelry pieces for herself and her friends over the next decade, until a friend of Jin&rsquo;s suggested she feature her designs in a fashion magazine. After speaking with the editor of one such magazine, Jin soon saw her work featured in their jewelry artists&rsquo; section.
The jewelry world began to take notice of Jin when she started to win awards at some of jewelry design&rsquo;s top shows. She entered and won jewelry design competitions on both sides of the Atlantic, and, with her accolades, her anonymity came to an end. The designer&rsquo;s first jewelry collection to gain traction was her award-winning &ldquo;Dunhuang: The Colour of Paradise&rdquo; collection, inspired by Dunhuang&rsquo;s history and whispering sands.
In 2020, life changed dramatically. Jin found herself confined in an apartment with her two daughters, contemplating subjects such as health and, one of her favorite themes, time. Time was long and never seemed to change and it was this perspective that made her imagine her LIFE series, which documented the trials of this period.

Jin&rsquo;s LIFE art series is composed of four winged brooches, each representing stages of the pandemic&mdash;the aquamarine, emerald, Padparadscha sapphire, and garnet are central to the journey of contemplation and discovery that the designer has embarked upon. LIFE 2020 symbolizes the shock and severity of the pandemic, LIFE 2021 is about regaining dignity. LIFE 2022 represents courage and the recovery of strength, and the fourth brooch, LIFE 2023, is about triumph and hope. The series is a delicate tour de force of workmanship in titanium, white gold, and <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/louis-vuitton-launches-new-lv-diamonds-collection" target="_blank" rel="noopener">diamonds</a>. Each brooch has its own special qualities, creating jewels which are a celebration of skill and beauty.
The jewels from the LIFE series are light and comfortable to wear. This is the essence of Jin&rsquo;s craftsmanship; she strives to persuade her collectors to wear their jewelry art pieces, so that their children may remember them wearing each special jewel. Thus, in a small yet distinctive way, the jewel gets passed on to the next generation in their memories. The collection becomes more than about rarity and gemstones; it goes beyond the physical world to become a collection about emotion and love.
Her jewels are about the present. They bear witness to the tragedies happening around us and yet are also a celebration of the soul&rsquo;s capacity to face adversity and to see beauty in the most unlikely of places.
LIFE is a means by which Jin&rsquo;s two daughters and others will be able to remember the pandemic era in the future. Each of the designer&rsquo;s LIFE jewels have made an appearance on the red carpet at major film festivals worn by celebrities and artists.

A few years ago, Jin found a stunning 22-carat Paraiba tourmaline from one of the original Brazilian mines, which was purchased by her friend and investor, Maggie Shao. To enhance its beauty further, Jin made it the focal point of her jewel No.01 of the LIFE Treasures. The individually numbered jewels of this special and unique series await new collectors to launch them on a new path and a new passage through time. Such gemstones crafted with the originality of an individual jewelry designer will surely become the stars of future auction house sales worldwide.
Jin&rsquo;s next artwork, entitled &ldquo;Fireworks,&rdquo; will document the ravages of war in 2022. It is already in production.
Today, Jin lives in a small <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/beauty/european-botox-injectables-anti-aging-good-skin-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European</a> town. She considers herself lucky to be surrounded by all those special to her: her family and her friends, her creative work, and her gemstone collection. They are all worth even more to her today than before the pandemic. The four jewels from the LIFE series will remain with Jin so that they may be displayed in a museum, and her more compact unique LIFE Treasures will be made individually for collectors around the world.

HAIR David Delicourt MAKEUP Christina Lutz PRODUCTION Anja Sophie Prilhofer and Joshua Glasgow PHOTO ASSISTANTS Florent Christmann and Kader Bennacer STYLIST ASSISTANT Irene de Premonville LOCATION Atelier Elsa Jin, Florence

Elsa Jin on Forging Her Own Path in the Fine Jewelry World

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