Elsa Jin's Brooches Capture Tension Over Time
Fine jewelry designer Elsa Jin’s newest creations—characterized by stunning rare pearls—take inspiration from the past, present, and future.
The fine jewelry designer Elsa Jin—who grew up in a family of architects and studied painting—uses metals and precious stones to express thoughts and emotions regarding the past, present, and future, just as a painter uses paint on canvas. The “In Search of China,” collection, which debuted in 2021, exemplifies Jin’s fascination with her Chinese origins as well as an ancient and insoluble theme: peace and equality. “The world is not as beautiful as we portray it,” Jin tells L’OFFICIEL. “Fair or not, wars are fought, and it's always women who suffer and die: daughters, wives, and mothers.”
A feminist philosophy and concern for the climate crisis—and the frequent intersection of the two—inspired Jin to create the Mozi and La Belle brooches, two new staggering pieces with organic central stones in the “In Search for China” collection. The brooches are beautiful, but also embody an inherent dramatic tension. Model Isabeli Fontana wore both brooches at the Cannes Film Festival in May. The Mozi brooch—named for the Chinese philosopher of the late 5th to the early 4th centuries B.C.E whose teachings emphasized self-reflection and authenticity—highlights an exceptional black pearl from Tahiti, accompanied by green malachite gemstones of almost 35 carats, black diamonds, gray diamonds, and emeralds. Jin’s inspiration for the shape and style of the Mozi comes from Chinese calligraphy. Fine, smooth, natural lines and shapes communicate both freedom and tension; the black pearl simultaneously represents calligraphy ink and the artist’s dark, beautiful soul, indicative of the introspection that characterized Mozi’s teachings. On the Cannes red carpet, Fontana styled the Mozi brooch on the lapel of her black leather jacket.
The star of the La Belle brooch, which Fontana wore in her slicked-back hair, is a Melo pearl of more than 63 carats. The orange-yellow stone-–one of the rarest in the world—is accented with blue sapphires, pink sapphires, white diamonds, and yellow diamonds; a symphony of pastels. Jin sought inspiration from a Chinese legend called Xiang Ru Yi Mo, in which two fish stuck on land spit bubbles at each other to keep one another alive, against all odds. It’s a story of peace, community, and sumptuous desire for life, no matter the circumstances and it embodies Jin’s concerned but optimistic worldview. “I am interested in current life, but also previous life,” says Jin. “This is the reason why I chose pearls from Tahiti and Melo, which also have a past."
