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GREEN G

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW ?

With Dancing Flowers and Shimmering Leaves and Queen Anne’s Lace, all in a row…

A relative newcomer to the fine jewelry landscape, the Hong Kong designer brand, Green G, has the proverbial green thumb when it comes to cultivating its garden of floral designs under the attentive care and creative spirit of designer Sabina Lee.

“The beautiful colors of flowers always inspire me with new design ideas. Once, when strolling along a lakeside in Switzerland, I saw a few poppies gently swaying in the breeze under the setting sun. Appearing perhaps insignificant to many, I was moved by their delicate beauty. After I returned to Hong Kong, I created a collection based on my memory of those flowers, with each piece generously decorated with colored sapphires of soft purple, vivid red, or bright blue set in 18K gold,” Sabina reminisces. 

The Dancing Flowers collection opened the door to a number of variations, all paying homage to Nature, including the original Poppy line, followed by others such as Morning Glory and Dancing Roses, where roses bounce and move, as if trying to free themselves from the constraints in order to scatter in the wind. Seemingly simple, the techniques behind this movement are actually quite complicated, and were specially developed by Sabina and her team of craftsmen. 

Movement is also seen in the Queen Anne’s Lace line. As its name implies, these delicate and very feminine pieces were inspired from the lovely flowers of the same name. Crafted in 18K gold and set with diamonds and sapphires or rubies they are made of delicate movable parts and are available in a range of lacy pendants. A wildflower from North America, the Prairie Gentian, was the motivation for her Endless Love collection, where 18K black gold petals are set with violet sapphires and black and white diamonds offering a gradual color change in the petals.

Another collection is Shimmering Leaves. “When looking at a tree, others may see a tree, but I see details in the branches and in the delicate intertwining of the veins in the leaves,” muses Sabina. Shimmering point-size diamonds move outside and alongside the border of a leaf motif crafted with perfect detailing.

In the Shangri-La line, she creates miniature gardens, always using a large lovely colored gem, such as tourmaline or beryl as the center stone. “Her gardens will never lack inhabitants,” says Paul Tsang, general manager of the Green G. “Little flowers, leaves, beetles, hummingbirds, and all sorts of other tiny creatures cry out for her attention, and sooner or later, Sabina will immortalize them in her creations.”

While adding to her contemporary floral collections, Sabina also looks back to her Chinese roots with creations such as the lovely and yet feminine Dragon line. “I love the mythology of the dragon, but in my head the dragon is gracious and friendly, rather than fierce and angry,” she says. Sabina also drew on her Oriental roots for her Love Tree bridal collection, based on a famous Chinese classical poem with the following romantic lines: “That we wished to fly in Heaven, two birds with the wings of one; and to grow together on Earth, branches of two trees as one.” Although evoking Yin and Yang, the ring is “highly stylized and sculptural, with a modern minimalist feel,” she says. The use of high quality black and white diamonds that match the black and white 18K gold adds an extra dimension to the ring’s artistic touch.

“People appreciate Sabina’s delicate sensibilities when it comes to design and craftsmanship, inspired by Nature and traditional Chinese motifs,” he adds. “It is jewelry that not only delights but endures.”

So how does the Green G garden grow? Full of colorful and creative blossoms.

By Cynthia Unninayar