Austy Lee’s Parchment earrings marry jade and spessartite in scroll form

The earrings rest in an open palm like a pair of scrolls freshly unrolled from centuries past. Austy Lee’s Parchment of Jadeite earrings curl and curve in 18K yellow gold, their form inspired by the ancient writing surfaces that carried knowledge across millennia. The designer has folded the gold itself into sinuous shapes, creating channels of colour and light that seem to shift between crimson and amber as the stones catch and release the eye.

At the heart of each earring sits a cabochon of Burmese jadeite, glowing with the deep translucence of old jade, surrounded by spessartite garnets in that particular orange red that belongs only to this stone. White diamonds and fancy yellow diamonds punctuate the composition, their faceted brilliance playing against the smooth, rounded glow of the jade. The craftsmanship demands an almost calligraphic precision: each stone sits exactly where the designer has imagined it, nested into the folds of gold as if the metal has been trained to hold them.

The Jade Dynasty collection speaks to Austy Lee’s layered approach to fine jewellery, where literary and historical references become the skeleton for something wholly contemporary. Named for the parchment and vellum that have preserved human thought across two thousand years, these earrings carry that weight of time lightly, their scroll form bringing movement and architecture to the ear. Each pair is made to order, a singular interpretation of the designer’s vision.

Imagery courtesy of Austy Lee (@austy_lee).