Art, Story and Music Converge in Fine Jewelry

Art, Story and Music Converge in Fine Jewelry
Houston Chronicle, United States
By Seo Dong-shin
Staff Reporter

The jewelry business is traditionally a family-oriented and exclusive domain in South Korea, where newcomers forever remain outsiders in the industry. Against this backdrop, it was certainly a bold decision _ and perhaps also a clever strategy _ for two women relatively new to the industry to launch a project that insiders here have seldom tried before.

Jung Hye-ja, 59, and Kim Hue-kyeong, 48, co-CEOs of fine jewelry shop “In Story,” transposed the works of renowned Korean sculptor Moonshin (1923-1995) to fine jewelry items such as brooches, earrings, necklaces and rings.

Artist Moonshin is well known and popular in Europe, but that was not the only reason behind choosing his works for this ambitious project that eventually will test the overseas market.
Symmetry, which symbolizes order of the universe and archetypal image of life, is the core feature of Moonshin’s sculptures, and has already created inspiration for fashion designers as well as musicians. Now it’s jewelry’s turn.

“The shape of the sculptures just look like they were destined to be made into jewelry,” Jung said.

The two CEOs befriended each other about 15 years ago, working as producer and writer respectively at KBS.

For the Moonshin project, the two brought together their respective strengths. Kim, who first started her own jewelry business about five years ago, had precious stones in stock, and oversaw the design. Jung, who joined Kim about six months ago, had expertise in classical music, and named pieces of jewelry after well-known opera arias.

For example, a serene-looking brooch with blue sapphires and diamonds bears the name “Che gelida manina” (your tiny hand is frozen) from Puccini’s opera “La Boheme,” while a majestic necklace of diamonds and white gold is “The Queen of the Night’s Aria” from Mozart’s “The Magic Flute.” A promotional CD containing these arias is available.

“After all, jewelry is about fantasy. Without it, jewels are just stones from nature,” Jung said. “So I wanted to infuse more fantasy into them. Besides, they were just too pretty to be called by numbers.”

Artist Moonshin’s stainless steel sculpture “Untitled” from 1994 is reborn as pearl-decorated jewelry, dubbed “Caro nome (Dearest Name)” from Verdi’s opera “Rigoletto.” / Courtesy of In Story
Kim cherishes the stories behind the jewels. To her, each gem has a story within it; hence the shop’s name “In Story.”

“For example, you should be as careful as if it’s your lover when handling an emerald,” she said, relaying an unofficial story to illustrate the delicateness of the jewel: Napoleon’s wife Josephine, who had to wear a chastity belt when the emperor was away conquering the world, wore another chastity item: an emerald ring, which would suffer a crack at the slightest agitation.

While “In Story” is just beginning to take off, the two CEOs share a big dream. They want to create a sort of Korean wave in the jewelry market, and carve out a brand that could match global brands such as Chanel or Tiffany. Thinking outside the box and a high degree of ambition are helping the fledgling entrepreneurs.

“Up until now, more than 90 percent of fine jewelry from Korea didn’t have its own brand, nor the acumen or passion required. People just roughly copy the overseas products and sell the fake (designs),” Jung said. “But with South Korea’s economic status, I think it’s about time we have our own fine jewelry brand.”

The pair’s ambition will be tested at the exhibition “Moonshin: An Encounter With Jewelry Art” that opens Wednesday at the Gana Art Center in Pyeongchang-dong, Seoul. Prices for the Moonshin jewelry line, which consists of about 90 pieces, ranges from 2-3 million won to 500 million. For more information, call (02) 566-5974.

saltwall@koreatimes.co.kr

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