Vivian Zheming Hu

This piece is a smoky quartz ring, shaped like a soft-edged rectangle. Inside the crystal, fallen leaves and soil are delicately painted using fine Chinese mineral pigments. Set on the surface of the ring are delicate red camellia flowers, crafted from rose quartz, alongside small diamonds, appearing as if they are floating in air or frozen in time. One flower rests slightly off-centre, symbolising a quiet fall or gentle descent. The silver shank is smooth and minimal, drawing attention to the imagery within. When worn, it feels as if you are gently lifting the flower from the fallen leaves. The overall feeling is gentle, intimate, and reflective.

The inner part of this rock crystal ring is painted with fine mineral pigments—deep blue lapis lazuli and warm yellow gamboge—blended to form soft, organic shades of green. The imagery evokes oxidising palm leaves in mid-transition. Set atop the crystal are orange sapphires and diamonds, glinting like dew or fading sunlight. Together, the colours and materials suggest quiet transformation, decay turning to beauty, stillness turning to memory.

Using quick sketches and photography, I documented fleeting scenes from my Kew Gardens visit—camellias, clouds, ducks, even the Tube ride—translating impressions into textures, symbols, and colour. Rather than focus on precise representation, I used abstraction to preserve memory atmospherically. These visual notes are the start of turning observed moments into jewellery forms, particularly through the language of inner-painted containers like snuff bottles—where memory, nature, and emotion are quietly enclosed.