The Designer

Wynn Wynn Ong was born – though not raised – in Burma. Brought up in Vienna and Manila from the age of two, her continental upbringing and childhood travels throughout Europe formed her distinct sense of aesthetics.

Born into a family of women who collected jewelry, and in a nation famed for its gems, her childhood visits to the souks of Istanbul, the gold markets of Beirut and Karachi, and the gem emporiums of Chandni Chowk in Delhi, cemented her passion. In a 2008 article she wrote for Town & Country Philippines titled The Language of Stones, she said “Gems were once so plentiful in Burma that my great grandmother’s fishpond was littered with rough, semi-precious pebbles . . . . deep beds of tourmaline, garnet, citrine, peridot, amethyst, spinel, sapphires, and rubies. Older Burmese remember the times when the mountains ofMogoke, where rubies continue to be mined, used to glow blood red at dusk. The slopes were scattered with corundum which would catch the dying suns’ rays.”

The Process

Each piece is designed with specific gems in mind and crafted entirely by hand. Age old techniques such as sculpting, forging, hammering, stamping, chasing, reticulating, and repoussé, as well as the ancient lost wax method of casting are used on precious metals. Gems vary from the known to the rare and obscure. Their common bonds are their personalities and the stories they tell.