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Wellington jewellery designers, The Inspired Collection, are set to create an exclusive collection for the Chinese market after being approached by major jewellery company, Hiersun, at the Hong Kong Jewellery Fair in September.
The resulting deal will see the new range feature in more than 200 of Hiersun’s ‘I Do’ branded stores throughout China.
The Inspired Collection’s creative director, Ian Douglas, said the Western wedding concept had grown exponentially in China over the past decade and they would be creating a series of bridal jewellery designs.
“They liked our fresh and innovative designs and were keen to work with a company that pushed traditional boundaries, a philosophy we share with them," he said.
“We aim to reflect a cultural sensibility in the designs and exhibit architectural elements that aren’t overly masculine or feminine. Our jewellery features clean lines that sometimes centres around a stone, which is set in an unencumbered style, with a minimum of metal."
The Inspired Collection is also currently in negotiations with more jewellery companies in the UK, US and Canada.
“The opportunities for us are absolutely massive but we have to prove that our designs can work outside New Zealand. The success of our range in China is very much a ‘wait and see’ game. We’re taking one step at a time,” Douglas said.
The Inspired Collection won the Gemological Institute of America’s supreme George A. Schuetz Award for Men’s Jewellery in 2010 and 2011 and the team are also finalists in the Asian 2012 IU Inaugural Design Awards for coloured gem jewellery. They took the supreme award in the New Zealand Jewellery Design Awards in 2009 and 2010 and won a Bronze Pin in the 2011 Best Awards from the Design Institute of New Zealand.
