By Ase Anderson in London
A diamond-encrusted tiara will take centre stage in a showcase to celebrate the 85th anniversary of Chinese jeweller Chow Tai Fook. Entitled "Nature's Glow", the tiara features white and champagne diamonds from Rio Tinto's Argyle mine in Western Australia.
The spectacular one-off piece is inspired by Australia's breathtaking landscape and was crafted as a tribute to the ongoing partnership between Rio Tinto and Chow Tai Fook. It will be showcased in cities across China next month, along with other Chow Tai Fook jewels featuring Rio Tinto diamonds.
The jeweller and the Australian mining company first struck up a partnership at the Shanghai World Expo in 2010. Since then, Chow Tai Fook has produced five fashion jewellery collections featuring diamonds from the Argyle mine. The latest collection, Chow Tai Fook Sunshine, will be launched in October and, again, the design is inspired by the natural beauty and rich heritage of Australia.
Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Ltd managing director Kent Wong describes the jewels as "exquisite examples of the creative collaboration that exists between Australia and China". The collection will be sold through Chow Tai Fook's 2,000 stores in Greater China under the slogan "Light up your life with Australian Diamonds".
Rio Tinto Diamonds managing director Jean-Marc Lieberherr says: "Chow Tai Fook is one of the great jewellery companies of the world and over the past five years Rio Tinto has been delighted to work with it to develop the fashion jewellery market in China. This powerful partnership has enabled opportunities to grow the Chinese market for diamonds in ways we could only dream of less than five years ago."
