Exclusive interview By Nagmani
Jewelry making is completely an ingenious art profession. It’s no wonder that those interested in making it as their full-time career have to go extremely deep in their thoughts in order to come up with exceptional ideas of designing scintillating pieces of jewelry which, for the most part, are tailored towards women consumers obsessed with pampering their desires for expensive taste, thereby easily establishing that they’re the masters of their own craft.
This is where the intriguing jewelry designed by a renowned Hong-based fine jewelry designer Austy Lee comes into play and in doing so the much desired expectations of women who are desperately looking for transformative pieces of jewelry are genuinely fulfilled. More so, Austy’s persona really syncs well with each jewelry item he gives shape to, making him the maverick of his own bold craft which is what tends to raise his profile as a game changer. In other words, his creations are aesthetically powerful enough to win over the psyche of jewelry connoisseurs whose search for new yet enchanting unconventional designs is a big plus point for the entire jewelry industry.
In essence, Austy’s jewelry novelties make him an artisan of supreme stature. And for good reasons by and large! After all, the jewelry industry is counting on him today to pioneer a trend of extreme unconventionalism in terms of creating extravagant jewels with refreshing parameters. Needless to say, his jewelry pieces are an ultimate combination of wondrous craftsmanship and fashion-forward designs entwined with striking themes which are more often than not bound to have struck a chord with women known for their bold taste in life.
Carving out a niche for himself with his eccentric jewelry designs
However, before making a foray into the glam-oriented world of jewelry, Austy used to be a graphic designer and illustrator in his early days dating back to 2003 when he actually started working as such for a local magazine. And it wasn’t too long before he found his true calling in jewelry making as an ultimate means to show his inner creativity with a magical touch. “Since my childhood I’ve always been fascinated by the allure of gemstones and the irresistible idea of wearing jewelry in infinite ways. As far as I can remember, I would always spend a lot of money on a treasure hunt for gemstones that particularly appealed to me. But initially it wasn’t in the cards for me to become a jewelry designer. I didn’t see it that way at all,” he said.
At an intuitive level, what Austy was most interested in was the glitzy world of fashion since he was very keen to become a fashion designer originally. However, things were very competitive while he was pursuing education. As he recalled by saying, “Looking at the highly cut-throat culture that plagued fashion design courses back then, I changed my mind and started to shift my focus to the elements of jewelry design which were no less complex with the highest degree of creativity involved.”
Austy’s jewelry making skills become widely known across the board in the industry for jewelry.. Things that really make AUSTY LEE different from others
Creating a brand that’s way too different from others in business but one such with a huge interest to woo jewelry buyers convincingly is by and large a challenging task. Why so? Since it’s a well-established fact that jewelry pieces comprising several strands of newness or innovative push in their overall design ultimately go on to appeal to the senses of jewelry enthusiasts and connoisseurs. And Austy’s playful, edgy and otherworldly jewelry designs are proof that creativity in its originality always manages to get its admirers in the form of buyers wherever they’re.
At the core of Austy’s bizarre designs in jewelry is his own powerful motto of “When Jewelry is Psychedelic Art” that he holds dear to his heart, thus letting him create jewelry pieces that genuinely embody the spirit of an avant-garde lifestyle. “I want my jewelry to look as mesmerizing and hypnotizing as possible while using 18k solid gold and a variety of precious and semi-precious gemstones by adding on different color-plating and inlay techniques, at last creating one-of-a-kind wearable art pieces which one has hardly or never seen before,” he said.
Leaning on his sharp, intrinsic knowledge and applying it exquisitely to how jade jewelry can also be made more fashionable, Austy has become a highly respected name in the industry. According to him, jewelry made of jade has always enjoyed a special place in Chinese culture. In fact, jade is considered very auspicious by Chinese people as it has several qualitative elements like beauty, grace and purity but most importantly a unique power to protect oneself against certain ills. All in all, it’s a heavenly gemstone that Asian countries have never lost their love for. But historically it’s been on the sidelines in different cultures for centuries.
Colors are a big narrative of his designs
The more colorful an object is, the better it would look from all angles. And it’s very true when talking about the glittering world of jewels. In fact, Austy himself sticks to the vision of making his jewelry as colorful as it can get. As he explained, “The depth of color palette is one of the major areas of focus for me to get it right while designing my extraordinary jewelry pieces. I’ve always wanted people to feel that “This is Austy Lee’s creation” when they see a jewelry piece of mine. And therefore, the color palette is very important to me because it represents my personality in the jewelry. My first collection right after I launched my brand was “The Psychedelic Light”. The collection was specifically designed using bold and hypnotic color patterns that matched well with the requisites of my branding. Now I always hear from my customers saying things like “This is so Austy” and that’s simply a big accomplishment for me. I believe it’s something to take pride in.”
To put it another way, because of his cult jewelry designs, he has been able to get Hollywood and international celebrities including famous people from across the globe wear them. With a worldwide following, his jewelry pieces are highly sought-after and can be seen in some of the world’s most exclusive boutiques and department stores in Hong Kong, Beijing, New York, London, Paris, Germany, Switzerland, Milan, Greece, Dubai, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
Why Asian jewelry designs are considered so endearing
The Asian continent is undoubtedly the bedrock of magnificent jewelry dating back to thousands of years. And the designs emanating from the minds of those creative designers belonging to this part of the world are always in high demand universally. As Austy put it this way, “There is no doubt that Asia’s cultural and spending influence on the global luxury market is quite significant today and I believe it will remain in a strong position in years to come. Asian jewelry designs contain the unique East-meets-West aesthetics which are very appealing to a global audience.”
For Austy, making jewelry is something he loves to do. It’s fun for him and so he simply loves to delve into creating fun pieces. “It’s like connecting the dots of my daily life, my way of seeing things, or my cultural beliefs and putting all of them into these timeless art pieces of jewelry,” he said.
His rising influence in the industry is closely linked to what lies behind his brand name “aUSTY LEE”. According to him, the letter ‘a’ is a Greek small letter implying that the brand has the utmost value which he treasures a lot. “The letter ‘A’ extends to the creation of my brand logo in a triangle. After all, triangles are believed to be the strongest geometric shape. It also represents perfection in an idyllic way. It’s very much similar to my goals I had when launching my brand — aimed at only creating flawless timeless pieces using precious gemstones,” he said.
