The Botanicals - The Hydrangea
This year, we’re taking a trip down memory lane with our founder, Yilin. We’re celebrating the stories of botanicals that have been an integral part of the Choo Yilin Universe. We have carried these stories with us for years, and we’re delighted to finally be able to share them with you.
Choo Yilin went on to create its third botanical collection, this time with the Hydrangea. How was this experience different from the first two?
Yilin: By 2017, the Choo Yilin team had grown considerably. We were lucky to be featured extensively in the media and had amassed several accolades.
Without prompting, we placed a considerable amount of pressure on ourselves – that any new botanical collection needed to convey a certain level of artistry and innovation beyond what we had already created with the Camellia and the Cherry Blossom collections. We honestly lost track of the number of times we went back to the drawing board with the creation of the Hydrangea collection.
By then, the brand had had the privilege of serving hundreds of brides-to-be. One of the pieces of feedback they shared was how they were looking for even more delicate pieces. We were determined to be able to give them what they wanted while still maintaining the Choo Yilin aesthetic.
Tell us more about the craftsmanship behind this collection.
Y: Creating delicate, petite pieces, especially when there is so much intricate detail in a tiny surface area, is always a design challenge. With the Camellia and the Cherry Blossoms collections, the priority was to capture the texture and the three-dimensional elements accurately. There was a third design milestone that we set for ourselves with the Hydrangea. We wanted to capture the ethereal nature of the Hydrangea petals, and this meant that the petals needed to look like they were floating in the air.
Specifically, we were determined for the Hydrangea petals to cluster together without the bulk – and this meant countless number of rejected iterations. As such, the creation took an incredibly long time, but we were finally pleased with the result.
We wanted to capture the ethereal nature of the Hydrangea petals, and this meant that the petals needed to look like they were floating in the air.
How does the Hydrangea collection celebrate Asian heritage?
Y: Culturally, the importance of the Hydrangea was first recorded in 8th Century Japan; different coloured Hydrangeas symbolised different things. For example, pink Hydrangeas meant “You are the beat of my heart”.
Just like the Camellia, the Hydrangea was brought over to Europe by botanists, and they gained tremendous popularity. At first, they were in the domain of the privileged few, grown by the wealthy in their gardens; this changed over the decades. Today, they’re especially popular at weddings all around the world.
Yes. Few think of the Hydrangea as an Asian flower because it’s a flower that is celebrated all over the world.
Y: Indeed. Fine jewellers from all over Europe have sought the Hydrangea as an inspiration. Chaumet, one of the world’s most renowned luxury brands, created its Hortensia collection. Hortensia, another word for Hydrangea, was first launched in the late 19th Century.
Across the Atlantic Ocean, a few decades later, American jeweller Tiffany also sought inspiration from the Hydrangea and interpreted the jewellery in a remarkably different way – seemingly with enamel to paint a realistic portrait of the flower.
These are beautiful. How do you feel about adding the Choo Yilin interpretation to this timeless flower?
Y: We are incredibly chuffed and hope that 100 years from now, our pieces will be captured by people going down memory lane, just like how Chuamet’s and Tiffany’s are today.
I love how a South-East Asian jeweller (us!) took its inspiration from Hydrangea and utilised different techniques and materials – incorporating jade in a homage to the brand’s and Hydrangea’s Asian heritage.
Watch the video to see our illustrations in bloom:
This trip down memory lane is dedicated to the thousands of women who have one of Choo Yilin’s botanicals. Without you, there would be no story to tell.
