Founded by Frank Wu in 2002 in Shenzhen, China, TTF Haute Joaillerie is famed for expressing traditional oriental culture in contemporary art, integrating the Eastern cultural heritage with modern design and sophisticated craftsmanship. Using jadeite, Hetian jade and other materials which contain oriental traditions, the brand has brought a new perspective to expressing art via high-end bespoke jewellery.
Frank Wu told Hong Kong Jewellery that jadeite and Hetian jade possess rich oriental characteristics with deep affection of Chinese people. The fineness and smoothness of jadeite is a perfect complement to the graceful oriental women. Recognising the fact that foreign jewellery brands may prefer diamonds and coloured gemstones, TTF Haute Joaillerie has found an alternative path to differentiate their products from the majority.
The brand has adhered to an internationalised development strategy since its inception. They have exhibited at Baselworld in Switzerland, Vicenzaoro in Italy and other international jewellery fairs since 2006, and launched new collections including its well-acclaimed high-end bespoke jadeite jewellery Fleur de Lotus and Yarlung Tsangpo. They also organised jewellery design exhibitions and competitions with global designers, artists and industry organisations to expand the brand’s global presence and influence.
At the end of 2013, the brand established its headquarters in Paris that incorporates a high-end jewellery exhibition gallery, a design R&D centre and a high-end jewellery workshop where part of the brand’s jewellery is made. “The Paris headquarters is significant for our brand’s development where modern design with oriental flavour can be integrated with the French avant-garde craftsmanship for a brand-new expression of art. Paris is where we started the internationalisation of TTF Haute Joaillerie,” said Frank Wu.
According to him, their first flagship store worldwide will be opened in Paris in late 2016. Wu said that the brand conducts a strict selection of partners that they only cooperate with outstanding artists, fine jewellery workshops and brands within the industry. They have partnered up with Van Cleef & Arpels in 2014 to launch a high-end jewellery timepiece collection with oriental glamour. In 2015, they have recruited Cécile Arnaud from the French brand as creative director to take charge of TTF Haute Joaillerie’s creative development in Europe.
TTF Haute Joaillerie has an international design team and three design centres in Paris, Hong Kong and Shenzhen. “Our design team has profound traditional culture attainment and sound academic background. Most of the designers have graduated from well-known art and design institutes including Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, China Central Academy of Fine Arts and Nanjing University of the Arts. For them, TTF Haute Joaillerie’s style is to consistently explore ethnic culture and express it in a contemporary form,” Wu noted.
He thinks that China’s jewellery industry is experiencing an upgrading and transformation phase. Practitioners are paying more and more attentions to original designs, and investing more in strengthening design competitiveness constantly. Considering this, Wu established a jewellery brand design institute Frank Wu Design in 2012. With the aim of improving practitioners’ product quality and brand value, this market-oriented institute offers all-around jewellery designing and marketing solutions for domestic and foreign jewellery brands. In terms of Frank Wu Design’s future plan, Wu expressed: “By virtue of our solid design R&D team, we look forward to building a communication platform for global designers and B2B service platform for the industry’s large- and medium-sized clients.”
Regarding TTF Haute Joaillerie’s future development, Frank Wu says that the brand will expand its global network, and insist on developing high-end bespoke jewellery, with jadeite in particular. (Photo courtesy: TTF Haute Joaillerie)
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