ometimes, when a particular piece catches your eye, you feel compelled to find out more. Which is how we met Ho Siu Chong, alias Chong Ho, at GemGenève last May. The piece in question was a dragonfly which appeared to have settled, mid-flight, on one of his displays. With its gem-studded wings, carved from rock crystal, and its body painted with Grand Feu enamel, it encapsulates a memory; that of a perfect moment.

Chong Ho

While out walking with his wife, the Chinese jewellery artist noticed a dragonfly land on Hangzhou’s West Lake, at the exact moment a fish popped out of the water. The improbable encounter between the two created an optical illusion that took Chong Ho back to his childhood and nights spent chasing fireflies under a starry sky. So as to capture this memory in tangible form, he imagined a chimera, the Dragonfly-Fish, which is also a symbol of the couple he and his wife form, adding that “I’m the fish and she’s the dragonfly.”

An articulated dragonfly

Chong employed a range of techniques to reproduce this memory, not least Grand Feu enamel. The translucency of the dragonfly’s wings is rendered in milky rock crystal, which he had carved by a glyptician. Yellow diamonds, sapphires and tsavorites embellish the insect’s wings and body, which are articulated to create the impression of undulating movements.

The jeweller’s art lies in the way he has transformed this fleeting moment into a poetic brooch that is also technically complex. It’s a piece he enjoys wearing. “I don’t make jewellery specifically for a man or for a woman. I recreate a memory and the result is above all a sculpture which can be worn or displayed against a dark background. When light passes through the brooch and is diffracted, it gives the illusion of a starry sky, exactly as I remember it.”

The Penetration ring, gold, rock crystal, enamel, diamonds, ebony

©Chong Ho

Chong, who was born in Nanhai district, in the province of Guangdong, in 1977, recalls how much he enjoyed playing with shapes from a young age: “I was still a child when my uncle showed me how I could use a knife to carve toys from bamboo. Then at primary school, I learned woodwork.” He was seven when his parents moved to Hong Kong; the cosmopolitan city where, years later, he would begin his jewellery journey.

Autobiographical jewellery

He followed a traditional path, graduating from Hong Kong Technical Institute of Jewellery in 1999 and going on to work for Cheng & Cheung, one of the region’s largest jewellery manufacturers. He was 22 years old and had dreams of creating his own pieces, under his own name. Eager to hone his skills, in 2004 he moved to Italy, where he studied titanium production technology. From there, he travelled to England and in 2006 earned a Master’s degree from the prestigious Birmingham Institute of Art and Design.

Dragonfly Fish brooch, sapphire, tsavorite, topaz, crystal, golden diamond, diamond, lapis, enamel, 18k yellow gold

©Chong Ho

Since 2020, when he launched his Chong Ho Art Jewelry brand, he has channelled his technical skills and his dreams into naturalistic jewellery in entrancing colours. Becoming a father no doubt plays a part in his continued ability to view the beauty of the world with wonder. “While I may use gold, diamonds and precious stones, this isn’t just jewellery. It’s my life. Pieces of my life.”