- Jan Preece is a goldsmith and silversmith, while Stephany Gabriel specialises in hand engraving. Despite new technology, both believe in the human touch
- They teach their skills to students at Hong Kong’s Hatton Jewellery Institute
New technology such as 3D printing has changed the jewellery industry, but for some jewellers, the romance of handcrafting items the traditional way still matters.
At the Hatton Jewellery Institute, a co-working and education space for jewellery designers and silversmiths in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, two experienced jewellers, Jan Preece and Stephany Gabriel, sit at their benches showing how to transform pieces of metal into art.
Gabriel is one of the few skilled fine hand engravers still working today. Hand engraving has mostly been replaced by automation technology.
She worked for three-and-a-half years with a master engraver at Tiffany & Co in the US state of New Jersey before being sent by the company to take charge of its hand-engraving business in the Asia-Pacific region seven years ago. If someone bought an engraved Tiffany ring in Asia in that period, it was most likely engraved by her, she says.
Gabriel dislikes machine engraving. "It's cold. It doesn't feel warm. It doesn't feel welcoming," she says.
Sitting next to her and cutting a curly strip out of a piece of metal is Preece, who is from the UK and has worked in Hong Kong as a goldsmith and silversmith for more than 20 years.
"Jewellery has a really ancient connection to the past," Preece says. "Some of these techniques that we're doing haven't changed for thousands of years."
While the jewellery industry has embraced new technology, Preece believes it should "never take away the human touch."
Gabriel recalls one occasion when she was asked to engrave a maths equation inside a wedding band. She did not understand what the equation meant until she met the couple in China. The couple explained that it was an equation shown in a maths class where they first met.
"No one else would know that secret other than them, and I could preserve it for them forever," Gabriel says. "You share that intimacy with a person when you have the ring. And I like being part of the secret."
Like Gabriel, Preece says the best moment is seeing the client's reaction after they view the finished work.
There's a lot more pressure (working) in Asia than there is in America. I would say that people in Asia really focus on the quality of the object they receive, so they tend to be a little bit pickierTraditional hand engraver Stephany Gabriel
"When I was doing my training, my boss told me: 'When you deliver the jewellery, don't look at the jewellery. Look at their face.' Sometimes it's 'Oh! Wow!' and their faces light up. Sometimes it's 'Oh, it's not what I imagined it to be'," Preece says.
To thrive as a traditional jeweller requires not only skills but also creativity. Gabriel and Preece draw inspiration from their everyday lives in Asia.
Preece loves incorporating fun elements he finds into his work. He once made silver chopsticks and turned them into a bangle and earrings. He says: "The thing to remember is that it truly doesn't have to be grandma's diamonds (that are made into jewellery), it can be (something) fun as well."
Over the years, Preece has found that what customers want in Hong Kong is different from the UK. "In Europe, people like the aesthetic side more and (they want something) because it looks good. I think in Hong Kong, it's much more about the value. People want diamonds, rubies and sapphires (made into jewellery). They don't want feathers or bone."
For jewellers like Gabriel, China is a great market to tap, and she says working in Asia has made her better at her job.
"There's a lot more pressure (working) in Asia than there is in America. I would say that people in Asia really focus on the quality of the object they receive, so they tend to be a little bit pickier."
Gabriel has also had to learn how to engrave traditional and simplified Chinese characters, something she had no knowledge of at first. She had to learn what the characters meant and to make balanced strokes.
She says: "I've had time to really grow as an engraver, and really define what kind of engraving technique I want to pursue."
Although new technology has had a big impact on the industry, they believe the traditional skills will never disappear. At the Hatton Jewellery Institute, Preece and Gabriel teach these skills, and contemporary design, to inspire the next generation of jewellers.
"There's actually more demand for skilled jewellers than there ever has been, because lots of people are going for technology and not learning the skills of the jewellers," says Preece.
Copyright (c) 2019. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
