Jewellery has always been more than just an adornment. Many pieces carry meaning and act as a language of symbols. For centuries, people have worn jewellery not only because it’s beautiful, but also because of the stories it tells. Each design and shape holds the power to convey a message, making jewellery deeply intimate and personal.
In 2004, Dennis Chan founded Qeelin in Hong Kong to introduce modern Chinese design to the world. Since then, the brand has become known for meaningful creations that bring cultural heritage into contemporary style. Each piece draws on traditional Chinese symbols but is created into fashionable, wearable designs. Even the brand’s name is symbolic: Qeelin comes from the qilin, a mythical creature representing love and good fortune. Among its most iconic collections is Wulu, inspired by the Chinese gourd, long regarded as a symbol of prosperity and protection.
This year, Qeelin unveiled its 2025 fine jewellery collection, where exquisite craftsmanship brings to life a cast of symbolic creatures: butterflies, pandas, goldfish, lion dance, dragons, phoenixes, and of course, the gourd. Very oriental indeed.
Harmony and balance, which are central values in Chinese philosophy, run through the designs. Since the Qin and Han dynasties, Chinese gardens have embodied this spirit, reflecting the rhythm of the seasons and offering peace to the soul. If you’re familiar, even just a little, with Chinese culture, these motifs won’t surprise you—but seeing them reimagined in jewellery is something else entirely.
The collection was unveiled at Qeelin’s boutique on the Ground Floor of The Exchange TRX—its second location in Malaysia, following the first at Suria KLCC.
Part 1: Qeelin’s Realm: A Journey of Enchantment
Bamboo Butterfly
and green garnets.
Bamboo has long stood as a symbol of strength and integrity, a symbol for poets and artists through the ages. The Bamboo Butterfly series draws from this quiet power, bringing together the elegance of the bamboo and the lightness of butterflies, which in Eastern culture represent vitality and romance.
Crafted in 18K white gold with diamonds, emeralds, green garnets and sapphires, the designs capture the grace of butterflies in flight. A marquise-cut emerald forms the body, while the gradient of green gemstones gives depth to the wings. Diamond-set bamboo knots run through the design, highlighting the harmony between the two motifs in a serene, lyrical style.
Bamboo Bo Bo
What’s Chinese culture without pandas? They’re so easy to love. Set against its natural bamboo habitat, the playful Bo Bo captures joy and innocence, while celebrating the deep link between the animal and its environment. Crafted in 18K white gold with emeralds, diamonds and black diamonds, the pieces use pave settings to create lifelike bamboo textures. Emeralds appear as fresh leaves, while the panda rests happily within the scene.
Qin Qin
The Qin Qin collection of the goldfish symbolises prosperity and abundance, takes this auspicious motif and reinterprets it with beautiful movement, giving the designs a sense of freedom and vitality.
Pieces are crafted with rich gradations of orange, yellow, and pink sapphires, rubies, and diamonds. At the heart of each design is a cabochon-cut rubellite, glowing from the forehead of the fish. Inspired by paper-cut patterns, the delicate openwork adds both lightness and intricacy through the three-dimensional craftsmanship and subtle articulation.
Xi Xi
The Xi Xi series brings to life the lion dance, a colourful symbol of joy and protection in Chinese culture. Across three sets of designs, Qeelin captures its energy, spirit, and festive symbolism. The craftsmanship makes the lion’s mouth open and its body move with a lifelike rhythm, reflecting the joy of the performance. Spot the little mirror in the lion’s mouth.
King & Queen
The phoenix is a symbol of grace, nobility, and longevity, while the dragon stands for strength and wealth. They demonstrate harmony and togetherness when combined. By fusing traditional totems with modern concepts of balance and partnership, the King & Queen collection reinterprets this imperial coupling for the modern era. Here, looping designs are evident, with each piece honouring tradition while expressing ageless virtues of elegance and strength.
Part 2: A Landscape of Everlasting Beauty
From the Silk Road’s Dunhuang murals to Yulin’s cliffs, Qeelin finds inspiration in China’s rich cultural heritage, its natural beauty, and its ideas of balance and harmony. The brand reimagines this legacy by immersing us in a realm of poetry, spirituality, and organic rhythm. Each of the 2025 Wulu volumes tells a unique tale, grounded in heritage.
Wulu Fairy
The soft curves of the Wulu motif echo the dancers’ flowing sleeves, symbolising prosperity while evoking cultural beauty. This year’s designs introduce yellow diamonds as the centrepiece, chosen for their noble and spiritual resonance. This piece was worn by Lin Chi Ling at the Cannes 2025 red carpet.
Wulu Shanshui
Shanshui, meaning “mountains and waters”, has always been a poetic theme in Chinese landscape painting. The Wulu Shanshui collection translates this tradition into jewellery through intricate openwork with sculpted gemstone layers. One shows pine trees and mountains, with marquise-cut emerald branches symbolising resilience and calm. Another depicts goldfish swimming through waves, highlighted with rubies to represent abundance. The third features magpies soaring among the clouds, accented with pink sapphires to signify love and happiness.
Wulu Diamond Lotus
The lotus, which is considered sacred in Buddhism and represents transcendence and purity, is reinterpreted in the Wulu Diamond Lotus collection. The collection, which is made of 18K white and rose gold, has Qeelin’s revolutionary Wulu-cut diamond, which took ten years to produce and is an advancement above traditional cutting. With stones weighing almost one carat apiece, each petal is expertly carved to catch light. A sophisticated elegance is created by the way pink sapphires and diamonds interact, creating the delicate tones of ink drawing.
Wulu Yulin
The sibling site of the well-known Mogao Caves, the Yulin Caves in Gansu province, are a spiritually significant, artistically rich, and historically significant place. The highlight is a necklace in diamonds arranged in oval cuts—the Founder, Dennis Chan’s personal favourite. The gemstones are graded in size and colour to form a rhythmic flow, found in landscapes and murals alike.
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