Style Edit: Cindy Chao marks 20 years of artistry with new Four Seasons Leaf and Dragonfly brooches

As beautiful and miraculous as natural gemstones are, their true potential can only be discovered once they are in the hands of visionary designers, and those visions expressed through the intricate craftsmanship of seasoned artisans.

Over those years, using diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds, among other gems, Chao has crafted her coveted Black Label Masterpieces and White Label Collection. Private collectors and world-leading museums, including the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, have propelled the sale of these creations at auction to record heights.

Chao’s way of capturing nature’s most vulnerable and fleeting moments using precious stones speaks to only one facet of the designer’s talents. Hailing from a family with a history in design and the arts – Chao’s grandfather was an architect, and her father a sculptor – Chao manipulates proportions and dimensions to enhance light and shadow, accentuating the natural beauty of any gem that finds its way into her.

Chao’s ability to translate her design vision into reality through impeccable craftsmanship sets her creations apart. The designer has devoted many thousands of hours to her art, from inception and creating prototypes, to sourcing rare gems and setting them intricately in titanium.

Tapping into the lost technique of wax sculpting that first became prevalent in jewel-making in the 18th century, every detail of her organic, sculptural and architectural designs is meticulously made by hand. The malleability of these wax prototypes allows Chao the freedom to manipulate the placement of gemstones before they’re set in titanium.