This article first appeared in the JNA November/December 2023 issue.

The past few years have seen more and more buyers favouring innovation, intricacy and diversity in their jewellery choices. Titanium jewellery, which comes in a wide spectrum of colours and creative possibilities, fits the bill, with designers pointing to soaring market appetite for this intriguing metal.

A testament to titanium’s rising popularity are designers and manufacturers increasingly focusing on or shifting to titanium jewellery. Even luxury jewellers such as Piaget, Pomellato, Boghossian and Chopard, to name a few, are joining the bandwagon, having launched their own high jewellery collections in titanium.

Measuring 6 to 6.5 on the Mohs scale, titanium is one of the hardest and most durable metals. It is also incredibly light in weight, making it one of nature’s true paradoxes. Naturally grey in colour, titanium undergoes an anodising process to produce striking hues ranging from purple to green, yellow and turquoise, among others.

World of colours

These vibrant colours allow designers to take greater artistic liberties, according to Victoria Yu, director and designer at Joywith Jewelry. Titanium being light and sturdy also make it the most ideal metal to craft bigger, more elaborate yet easy-to-wear pieces such as brooches and earrings.

Yu’s creations are ultra-feminine. Brooches taking shape as flowers and butterflies in intoxicating colours, further accentuated with coloured gemstones and diamonds, are the stars of her titanium jewellery collections. The flower pieces are particularly fascinating, with curved, fluid-like petals that appear to embrace or cradle their conch pearl or gemstone centrepieces.

The Purple Orchid brooch, a design that Yu holds close to heart, was her first foray into titanium jewellery. She wore the piece to an antique show in Las Vegas earlier this year where a buyer, captivated by the brooch, insisted on purchasing it. Yu explained, “This brooch serves as a reminder of the creative potential that titanium offers, and it continues to inspire my work as I explore new avenues in jewellery design.”

Kelvin Han, designer at Anaisha Jewels Ltd, also attested to buyers’ growing predilection towards titanium jewellery pieces. Among his most coveted designs is the Four Seasons butterfly brooch, which brings to mind the colours of spring, summer, fall and winter, gracefully interpreted as gemstone-studded wings resting on titanium.

Anaisha Jewels has so far developed around 30 different kinds of titanium colours, according to Han.

The possibilities are endless, with designers afforded the luxury of matching the metal with like-coloured gemstones to achieve a seamless, almost invisible setting. Diamonds, fancy sapphires, emeralds and green garnets, among other gemstones, figure prominently in Han’s designs.

Vivid imaginings and masterpieces

With more room for design flexibility and unconventional interpretations, titanium lets jewellers take their creativity to exciting new heights.

This is how designer Vitoria Wu, founder of Osi Vitoria Jewelry, conjures a world rich in imagination, colour and ingenuity with her titanium collections. Among her prized creations is a brooch whose undulating shape perfectly mimics a feather’s delicate movements. Various gemstones set in gradating titanium colours of blue, purple, pink, red and orange provide a glittering background to a spinel
centre gem.

The piece spent one and a half years on the designer’s bench before reaching its perfect state, revealed Wu.

Creating such masterpieces necessitates a distinctive level of craftsmanship, according to Wu. She noted, “It is difficult to compare titanium with 18-karat gold, for instance, since they are different materials requiring different manufacturing techniques. Titanium is also more challenging to handle.”

As it takes longer to make, titanium jewellery truly showcases unparalleled artistry and, of course, patience.

Han agreed. A single titanium jewellery piece takes about one to two years to complete as the metal is hard and colours could change in the blink of an eye. By comparison, Han’s Four Seasons titanium butterfly brooch, which was a year and a half in the making, can be finished in six weeks if mounted in gold.

“The task is labour-intensive and requires highly technical and skilled workers. If you take all these into consideration, titanium jewellery can be just as valuable as gold jewellery,” remarked Han.

Solid future

According to Yu of Joywith Jewelry, titanium is increasingly finding favour among a wider buyer demographic. Her clients, aged between 20 and 50, share a common denominator: They want edgier, more contemporary jewellery designs. And titanium hits the sweet spot, thanks to its exceptional qualities.

“The future is promising for titanium jewellery as its vibrant colours and lightweight characteristics continue to resonate with consumers seeking sophisticated jewellery that are comfortable to wear,” noted Yu.

Titanium appeals to a broad range of buyers because designers are able to offer specific and curated styles matching the market’s diversified requirements, explained Wu of Osi Vitoria.

She said her titanium jewellery collections, Pink
Dragonfly, Ocean, Garden and Spring Swallow, are particularly sought after by high-end jewellery traders and collectors. Osi Vitoria has a solid customer base in Dubai, Italy, the US, Singapore and China.

A notable development is titanium jewellery’s steady rise in Asian markets, with purple and blue as the most desired colours, revealed Han of Anaisha Jewels. At the September Fair in Hong Kong, Han received a great deal of enquiries from Australia, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore.

Luxury houses introducing their titanium jewellery collections also helped raise the profile of titanium in the trade. “This made titanium a more mainstream option. It is very trendy at the moment and buyers are taking notice,” continued Han.

Anaisha Jewels is working on new collections to coincide with the Year of the Dragon in 2024. Han hopes to display a bespoke dragon- and phoenix-inspired titanium necklace, which has been in development for two years, in Hong Kong next year.

While prospects for titanium jewellery are bright, gold jewellery remains a coveted darling of the jewellery industry, remarked Yu.

The growing interest in titanium jewellery, however, suggests that buyers are becoming more receptive to exploring unconventional materials and styles. She stated, “This reflects evolving tastes and the desire for individuality in their jewellery choices. Ultimately, titanium and gold each have their own unique charm that caters to diverse consumer preferences.”