Garden of Impressionism Tiara

Tiara with silver metal base. It has several floral design pieces which are set with double-cut stones in various pastel shades of pink, blue and purple. The stones have organic shapes in between ovals and circles. There are diamond-tipped stamens in the flowers and also diamond-studded leaves.

Isn't this tiara just so pretty? I love the pastel hues and how they look like watercolors. The way the stones are cut give it an almost organic feel which is not something I've seen before in modern tiaras. According to Tiara Mania, the stones are pink, purple and white sapphires; pink spinels; aquamarines and diamonds set in white gold.

Feng J, a Chinese jeweler, is the designer of this tiara. She studied furniture design at the China Academy of Art before moving to the University of the Arts in London to study jewelry design. She also trained at the Haute École de Joaillerie in Paris.

This tiara is representative of the look of all of her jewelry pieces. She created a new method of setting stones called the "floating set." Not only does she use stones that are very thin (1mm-1.2mm) and faceted on both sides, she uses a minimal amount of very thin wire and tiny prongs to set the stones. This allows her to use a lot of stones while keeping the piece from becoming too heavy and also makes it look like the gems are floating. I'll link to an article in the rabbit hole where she explains her methods.

Another look at the tiara. In front of a workbench you see one hand holding the tiara while the other is placing a clear gem on the tiara with long-handled tweezers.

source

image of a white rabbit popping out of his rabbit hole, looking around, and going back in. His rabbit hole is surrounded by grass and some carrots in the ground.

Interview with Chinese fine jewelry designer, Feng J - Feng J discusses what she feels she had to offer to haute joaillerie and explains her "floating set" method. Even if you're not particularly interested in the interview, there are lots of photos of her other jewelry to look at!
Modern Masters: How Feng J Originated the Floating Set for Painterly Style - Another interview from the same site but a year later. More discussion with Feng J and more lovely photos of her other jewelry.

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