Timeless traditions with Dickson Yewn

Characterised by its intricate Chinese-style latticework, Dickson Yewn’s eponymous jewellery brand YEWN has an established presence in Hong Kong. With a boutique in Landmark Atrium, the brand has featured in international art fairs and Christie’s private sales across the world. Just four years after its founding, YEWN shot to international stardom in 2011, as the first contemporary Chinese luxury jewellery brand worn by America’s First Lady, Michelle Obama. Today, it is the go-to brand for one-of-a-kind or limited edition pieces that draw inspiration from Chinese arts and culture.

It hasn’t always been like this, of course. In fact, YEWN came from humble beginnings, born out of its founder’s experimentation with different genres of the arts. Yewn started as a filmmaker, indulged in fine art and even dabbled in advertising before he found his forte in jewellery making.

“In the beginning, I did everything myself, from concept to design to actually making the piece of jewellery,” says Yewn of his foray into the jewellery industry. “As the brand grew, we became a team to realise my creative direction. But for many art jewellery pieces, I still draw and make at least a great part of it myself.”

Conceptually, Yewn wanted to revisit Chinese fine jewellery, which dates back to over 3,000 years ago. However, in the modern world, he found that the art form was fast disappearing, with Chinese shoppers looking at foreign brands instead. “I wanted to bring Chinese culture back into the contemporary design and art world,” he says.

Read more: Five jewellery designers you should know about this year

Currently, YEWN is the only remaining independent jewellery brand in Hong Kong. After the social unrest in 2019 and the pandemic in 2020, similar names such as Carnet had pulled from the retail scene and Qeelin had been purchased by Kering, a French luxury conglomerate. Rather than go down the same path, Yewn is adamant about keeping his brand as is, to focus on creating specialised pieces that celebrate China’s roots.

“Creating a piece of jewellery is not difficult at all, what’s difficult is for it to become timeless, iconic and culture-specific,” he says. “What’s even more difficult is to recreate a demand for contemporary Chinese fine jewellery, as women in the world no longer associate fine jewellery with Chinese culture anymore – at least not until YEWN came into the picture 20 years ago.”

Working with motifs like butterflies, latticework, peonies and Chinese fans, YEWN reinterprets the material and non-material culture of China with fine jewellery making techniques. Its pieces not only stand out in Hong Kong, but also around the world, as it works with elements that other brands and designers tend to stay away from – wood, squares and Chinese influences.

Read more: Investing in jewellery with Mina Miyagawa

And what about wood and squares? Yewn is more than happy to indulge. “Besides the typical precious gems and metals that most jewellers use, I like to use more than 30 species of wood in my works. Having been a wood collector for 20 years, I have much experience with the material.”

Continuing on, Yewn shares that his favourite pieces from YEWN’s collection are in fact the ones shaped like squares. “I like them because they are different. I simply don’t understand why women from 3,000 years ago until the 21st century only gravitated to round jewellery. Fingers and wrists can fit much more than just round rings and bangles.”

It seems that Yewn isn’t the only one who appreciates these elements in his jewellery – Michelle Obama appears to share his sentiments. 10 years ago, Obama was seen wearing YEWN’s iconic Chinese Lattice Jadeite Ring at the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. The ring went on to catch the eyes of many of the guests at the lavish event, which included UK Prime Minister David Cameron, English football star David Beckham, Oscar winner Colin Firth, Hollywood actor Tom Hanks and author of the Harry Potter series J. K. Rowling. It was a memorable moment, to say the least.

Looking forward, Yewn has his eyes set on China. Since diving into the jewellery industry in 1995, he has noticed two major changes: the rise of China and the rise of e-commerce. Whilst many platforms for independent jewellery designers in the US and Europe are fast disappearing and dying out, the truth could not be more different for jewellers in the East.

“What’s new in 2021 and the years to come would be my intention of looking for a partner or investor for entering the Chinese market, and at the same time finding enough funding to help nurture the next generation of independent Chinese designers and artists,” says Yewn. “I think that China is finally ready to come back to her origin after four decades of opening up to the world. I can feel that a new generation of wealthy, educated Chinese would be more prone to buy and to appreciate art and luxury that are close to their culture.”