Modern Jade Jewelry: TRACE

The past few months have been a whirlwind! In addition to some secret projects happening in my photography life, in the past year I have also been busy at work on a new project – a jade jewelry brand, TRACE.

This new venture has opened my eyes in the world of jewelry… a world that I was actually brought up in, as my maternal grandfather founded our family jewelry business in the 1950s. It had brought me great pride to be part of this adventure, joined by my cousin and now co-founder.

Why jade?

It’s a beautiful precious stone yet receives less attention in the fine jewelry world, especially outside of Asia. There are so many gorgeous colors of jade (not only the much-desired imperial green), which makes it more fun to work with as an exclusive material, compared to, say, diamonds.

My own preconceptions to jade, prior to founding TRACE, was that its jewelry designs are suitable only when I reach the middle age. Growing up seeing my grandmothers and older aunties wear it, it’s no surprise that such an impression exists.

We started this brand with the intention to modernize jade jewelry design. Honestly, it’s also my excuse to design a lot of pretty jewelry that I’d want to wear every single day.

Minimal jewelry

We have started with collections that have a minimal aesthetic. One would see clean, thin lines across our initial collections, defying the ornate details in traditional jade jewelry. The idea is to allow the jade stone to speak for itself; its color, translucency, shape can all shine through.

The same would be true with the jewelry photography behind the brand. I’ll just let the photos tell our story…

Explore our women’s and men’s jade jewelry collections, or check out our latest Candy Stack Collection of jade rings.