20 Minutes With: Taiwanese Jewelry Artist Cindy Chao

Penta discusses Chao’s inspiration, her favorite gemstones, and what collectors want. 

Your father was a sculptor and your grandfather an architect. How did they help inspire you to become a jewelry artist? 

I was surrounded by creativity and spent most of my early days with two masters of their own crafts—sculpture and architecture. Their studio and construction site were my playgrounds, and I grew up with blueprints and sculpting tools. To me, holding sculpting tools felt as natural as holding a pair of chopsticks. 

What did you learn from them? 

[My father] taught me the value of observation. … My grandfather was a distinguished architect who designed hundreds of temples across Asia, many of which are now national monuments. He trained me to think outside of the box and see the world objectively in a structural and spatial way. He would open a blueprint and ask me to point out the main entrance of a building. “A main entrance for you could well be the side or back door from another’s perspective,” he loved to say. He showed me that a holistic view originates from a three-dimensional mindset. 

Did you always want to be a jeweler? 

I aspired to become an architect like my grandfather. It was my mother who encouraged me to channel my creative talent into a profession that she felt was more feminine. So instead of building with stones and timber, I chose to sculpt with gemstones and metals. Wax sculpting and lost-wax technique allow me to make miniature jewelry sculptures with precision, the same way an architect designs a building. Although my artistic medium of expression is different from my father’s and my grandfather’s, the spirit is the same. My works are a continuation of my family heritage. 

Your Peony Brooch, consisting of thousands of rubies and diamonds set in purple-colored titanium, was inducted into London’s Albert and Victoria Museum in 2021. What is its story? 

The Peony Brooch marks the completion of an emotional and technically challenging journey, which took more than a decade. An important collector and now great friend commissioned it, and I initially started creating a simple pair of ruby earrings using the rubies from the collector’s heirloom necklace. During the process, the collector suffered an unexpected and prolonged period of ailment. After the collector’s miraculous recovery, the earrings no longer did justice to reflect the critical turning point in one’s life. I created over 20 wax-model designs before actualizing the full-bloomed peony, which symbolizes prosperity of life, and ever-lasting love of family and friendship. … When I look back, these years of creation were the epitome of a life journey. 

Every year since 2008 you have created a single butterfly brooch—each a one-off piece that takes over 18 months to complete. Why a butterfly? 

The early days of my career were filled with obstacles and uncertainty. I asked myself: If I were to create one last piece of jewelry in this life, what would it be? I especially adore butterflies because even though their life span is fleeting, they have so many different facades of beauty. They are a reminder that even the briefest of lives must be lived to the fullest. Metamorphous also symbolizes [what I] undergo as an artist, transforming and pushing myself to break artistic and technical boundaries. 

How does inspiration work for you in general? 

Instead of purposefully finding inspiration, I let inspiration come to me. … The ocean’s mesmerizing blue and green colors in a snorkeling expedition in Bora Bora inspired the Aquatic collection. The splendid cliffs at sunset I witnessed in an olive yard in Majorca; the magnificently fresh snow in Gstaad. … I savor these precious memories and preserve them in wax sculptures and art pieces for ages to come. 

You use an age-old wax carving technique, which has become your signature…

I start my creation process with wax sculpting. … It’s an incredibly intricate and time-consuming process. However, the wax carving technique is the only approach that guarantees perfection as I can feel it in my hands and examine it from all angles. This [provides] an architectural and sculptural character that would not be achieved through two-dimensional sketches alone. 

Which is your favorite gemstone?

I do have a particular predilection for emeralds. … If I must illustrate nature using a single color, I would choose green. The vibrant greens seen in an emerald have always fascinated me. Its garden-like inclusion, which is never the same in any two pieces, gives me endless imagination of nature’s fathomless power and wonder. For my most recent work, a pair of 2022 Black Label Masterpiece X and XI Spring Cardamoms Brooches, I adopted the color-layering principle in oil painting and used 28 shades of green gemstones to create the natural contour and highlight of the cardamoms under the sun. 

What is the demographic of your clients? 

Besides royalty and international celebrities, they are mostly successful entrepreneurs and art collectors. … Something interesting is that 30% of my collectors are male.

Has the pandemic changed what they want?

The pandemic has pushed people to reevaluate and explore different channels of investment. High jewelry has become an attractive option for its wearability and appreciation over time. I noticed some collectors begin to collect with an investment plan in mind. … Collectors are up to date with the latest art news and innovation, and in turn value true craftsmanship. 

What do you want?

I want to create like every piece is my last. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.