Chow Tai Fook To Launch High Jewelry Collection In Hangzhou

Chow Tai Fook, the 96-year-old Hong Kong jewelry group, is breaking new ground with the launch of its first high jewelry collection.

Sonia Cheng, heiress to the group and the head of its family-owned Rosewood luxury hotel chain, is the driving force behind its “transformation journey.”

“Launching this high jewelry collection is really a pivotal moment. It really signifies the capability, the legacy of Chow Tai Fook jewelry, and the rare expertise and craftsmanship that we have,” said Cheng, who’s currently vice chairman and executive director of Chow Tai Fook.

“In the world of high jewelry, which has been dominated by Western brands for so many years, we want to be the only Chinese global jewelry house that showcases the beauty of China to the world,” Cheng continued.

The collection was designed by Nicholas Lieou, the company’s first high jewelry creative director. Lieou, formerly of Tiffany & Co. and who later made a name for himself as an independent jeweler, is a Hong Kong native known for designs that accentuate fluid and clean shapes.

More than two years in the making, Cheng worked closely with Lieou — often jumping in with specific inspirations and ideas — to come up with a launch collection that delves deep into traditional Chinese art, philosophy and architecture, bears the name “Timeless Harmony” and is meant to celebrate “the enduring principles of harmony and balance.”

Featuring around 170 pieces, the collection is divided into seven chapters: “Joie,” “Lotus,” “Heaven & Earth,” “Palace,” “Gate,” “Roof Tiles” and “Great Wall.”

“I think clients are looking for depth and story behind each piece, and with this collection, we were able to create that,” Cheng said. “When they wear it, it not only feels wearable, but they feel very proud of it because it’s almost a way of promoting Chinese culture.”

More than a dozen skilled craftsmen, some of whom have been with Chow Tai Fook for 30 to 40 years, were tasked with crafting the intricate pieces.

“We also have approximately 400 masters in our production hub in Shunde who have been working with us,” Cheng said. “These are rare skills that we want to continue to protect, pass on to the next generation, and inherit.”

With an emphasis on wearability, the collection is priced from 200,000 Hong Kong dollars, or $25,516, to several tens of millions Hong Kong dollars, or more than $1 million.

“It’s going to be quite diverse, and as for whether it will trickle down to other price points, honestly, I think we need to wait and see,” Cheng said.

For the collection’s grand debut, Chow Tai Fook is taking a subtle approach.

On Thursday, against the backdrop of Hangzhou‘s serene tea fields and bamboo groves, a carefully vetted list of guests, including editors in chief and VIP clients, will witness the unveiling of the collection.

Cheng said the collection’s inspiration was inextricably linked with the history of the lakeside city, which played host to Chanel’s Métiers d’Art 2025 collection last December. The Chinese city, known as “heaven on earth,” was where numerous Chinese poets and scholars resided during the Song Dynasty, where they waxed poetic about nature’s bounty, in particular the lotus flower, which floats above murky waters and remains pure.

“One of our main collections is going to be about the lotus; it symbolizes tranquility and serenity — that’s why we chose Hangzhou as the backdrop of the event venue,” explained Cheng, adding that the showcase will travel to other key markets in China before making its last stop in Hong Kong.

Apart from the Lotus chapter, another highlight from its high jewelry portfolio is dubbed “Heaven & Earth,” or “tian yuan di fang,” which references the ancient Chinese philosophy of stability marked by the circularity of life and the stability of the square.

“We also use rare gemstones and diamonds, but we are also combining them with more Eastern materials like feicui [jade] and fold into these pieces,” Cheng said.

As one of the first Chinese jewelers to become a De Beers sight holder and the largest diamond importer in China, the company had a humble beginning as a gold jewelry store in China’s southern port city of Guangzhou. After the business relocated to Hong Kong, it expanded its influence into real estate, giving rise to New World Development, one of Hong Kong’s largest real estate developers, and Rosewood, a luxury hotel chain.

While gold remains a cornerstone for the Chow Tai Fook flagship, the jewelry powerhouse said it “also works extensively with diamonds, precious gems and platinum” via its network of fine jewelry brands, including Hearts on Fire, Enzo, Soinlove and Monologue.

Around 15 years ago, the brand began releasing high jewelry pieces under the Chow Tai Fook banner that cater to prestigious clients’ needs.

In 2022, after Cheng became vice chairman and executive director of the company, she initiated a brand-focused revamp that ultimately led to the hiring of Lieou in 2024.

One of Lieou’s first works for the company, the gold jewelry line CTF Rogue, won the following of culturally conscious customers and is expected to generate around 4 billion Hong Kong dollars, or $509.8 million, in annual sales in 2025, according to the company’s latest financial filing.

With volatile gold prices and economic uncertainty in China, Chow Tai Fook is betting on raising its brand profile via the high jewelry line to improve margins.

In the first quarter that ended March 30, sales of its gem-set, platinum, and 18-karat gold jewelry segment grew 2.2 percent and contributed 17.3 percent to overall sales.

Without delving into too much financial detail, Cheng noted that China’s high jewelry segment has shown strong growth over the past year and is projected to expand at an annual rate of around 8 percent over the next seven to eight years.

“We are finding that high-value clients are still looking for amazing pieces,” Cheng said. “We are very confident in the segment and it being a strong pillar in the overall Chow Tai Fook jewelry business.”

As for the collection’s retail strategy, Cheng said the segment will focus on private viewings, followed by a “very small and curated” launch in key stores in mainland China and Hong Kong.

“If you go to the Hangzhou event, you will understand the immersion of the experience we are building,” Cheng said. “Because with high jewelry, it can’t just be about the pieces you show — it has to come with an immersive experience that touches all senses — sight, smell and sound,” Cheng said.

Looking ahead, Cheng said that rough diamonds previously acquired by the group — such as the $71.2 million CTF Pink Star purchased in 2017 and the record-breaking Aurora Green diamond in 2016 — are likely to be reinterpreted by Lieou in future collections.

“We are being very creative in innovating how we are going to evolve high jewelry and re-standard the high jewelry for the global industry,” Cheng added.