2016/

Jewellery designer Saskia Diez has taken a motif common in Japanese imagery as a starting point for her collection: scales. Scales are found on dragons, koi carp fish and snakes - all familiar symbols in Japanese culture. Similarly this simple shape can be found in decorative images of waves or in the petals of a lotus flower. Each of these symbols has a different meaning in Japanese culture; a dragon, for example, represents wisdom and goodness, whilst a koi means determination, courage, and success. The snake is a symbol of good luck and change, whereas water means movement, fluidity and life.

Diez notes that there is not an especially rich heritage of jewellery making in Japan, whilst there is a strong tradition of symbolic decoration and motifs. Subsequently, Diez has developed the idea of scales as a wearable ‘second skin’ made from porcelain. She has worked with Hataman Touen Corporation, a pottery highly skilled in hand-painting, to develop a collection of bangles, rings and pendants. The jewellery is fresh and modern in feel but also incorporates Hataman Touen’s specialist skill; each piece is elegantly hand-painted.