Red, Gold and Lavender: The Ultimate Guide to Gifting This Chinese New Year

C hinese New Year is a time to celebrate blessings and usher in good health and prosperity for the coming year, a time to spend with family and enjoy an abundance of food. And with the occasion being the most significant event in the Chinese calendar, gift giving – to loved ones and to oneself – is a big part of the festivities.

While hampers of fruit and confectionary are the traditional gifts for this time of the year, it is also the perfect time to present something to a loved one that will be a treasured keepsake or to gift to yourself to ring in the new year. Discover below a stunning curation of jewellery, timepieces and handbags that is sure to elevate all the celebrations for the Year of the Dragon.

Explore The Luxury Sales (23 January – 6 February 2024 | Hong Kong

The Joy of Jade

While there are many other precious stones around to capture our attention, jade remains revered in Chinese culture, and has been for centuries. Jade is regarded as a stone with protective powers and symbolises many virtues, among them moral integrity, harmony, and nobility. With its lofty status and auspicious meanings, jade make for excellent gifts.

[Left to Right] Graff Diamond and Emerald Brooch | Estimate: 400,000 - 700,000 HKD; Jadeite, Sapphire and Diamond Brooch | Estimate: 1,800,000 - 2,600,000 HKD

This season’s Important Jewels features an exquisite selection of jadeite jewellery, one of which is a brooch in the shape of the turtle – an animal symbolic of longevity in Chinese culture – set with a cabochon jadeite for its shell, and head and feet encrusted with sparkling diamonds and sapphires. Interlocking hoops is always an elegant, understated look for earrings and can also be interpreted as meaningful symbols of eternal love. Included in the sale is a pair of pendant earrings featuring double hoops of jadeite of bright green colour, embellished with diamonds.

Pair of Jadeite Double Hoop and Diamond Pendent Earrings | Estimate: 450,000 - 650,000 HKD

Lavender Jadeite Pendant | Estimate: 200,000 - 300,000 HKD

Particularly fitting for the Year of the Dragon is an exquisite lavender jadeite pendant featuring a carving of a dragon. Lavendar jadeite ranks among the rarest of jadeite colours, and is believed by some to be a stone with the power to protect one’s aura. Pair this with a dragon, symbolic of power, strength and luck, this pendant is the ultimate piece for the Chinese New Year.

Timepieces to Treasure

[Top to Bottom] Richard Mille Reference RM007 | A pink gold and diamond-set semi-skeletonised wristwatch with date, Circa 2010 | Estimate: 600,000 - 800,000 HKD; Rolex Yacht-Master, Reference 116695SATS | An Everose gold, diamond, tsavorite and multi-coloured sapphire-set wristwatch with date, Circa 2018 | Estimate: 600,000 - 800,000 HKD

These two watches up for auction will surely capture the attention of any connoisseur. The Richard Mille RM007 was released in 2005 and is the first model by the brand dedicated to women, with its elongated shape and graphic design softened by the snug, smooth fit of the watch around the wrist. The other is the Rolex Yacht-Master 40 that stands out from other iterations of the Yacht-Master by the array of gemstones set around its bezel. The 40 sapphires and tsavorites in a rainbow of colours, as well as a diamond positioned at the top, are all set within Rolex’s own type of rose gold known as Everose, giving the sporty watch an unexpected fun twist.

A Splash of Arm Candy Colour

[Clockwise From Left] Hermès Fuchsia Shiny Porosus Crocodile Kelly Cut Palladium Hardware, 2015 | Estimate: 140,000 - 200,000 HKD; Hermès Limited Edition Chai, Lime and Mauve Sylvestre Tri-color Epsom Kelly 25 Sellier Palladium Hardware, 2023 | Estimate: 120,000 - 180,000 HKD; Hermès Limited Edition Nata and Trench Chèvre Mysore Mini Kelly II 20 HSS Permabrass Hardware, 2022 | Estimate: 160,000 - 200,000 HKD; Hermès Rose Sakura Chèvre Mysore Mini Kelly II 20 Palladium Hardware, 2021 | Estimate: 150,000 - 220,000 HKD

Chinese New Year is the time to wear bright colours and the Hermès bags offered in Handbags & Accessories fit the bill, especially the limited-edition Touch Birkin in Jaune Ambre. The Jaune Ambre colour against the shiny Niloticus crocodile leather lends the bag a golden yellow hue – a popular colour, in addition to red, for Chinese New Year. With red – representing good luck and prosperity – being the colour of choice for outfits worn during the festivities and family reunions, a specially curated selection of Hermès bags perfectly fit the colour scheme. Among them is a Kelly Cut – a modern, elegant iteration of the Kelly – in a jewelled fuchsia shade, in shiny Porosus Crocodile leather. For something more subtle, there is the Mini Kelly II in Chevre leather, in a delicate shade of pink dubbed Rose Sakura.

[Left to Right] Hermès Limited Edition Jaune Ambre Shiny Niloticus Crocodile and Togo Touch Birkin 25 Palladium Hardware, 2018 | Estimate: 160,000 - 240,000 HKD; Hermès Limited Edition Bleu Saphir, Mauve Pale and Gold Epsom Quelle Idole Kelly Doll Picto Palladium Hardware, 2023 | Estimate: 380,000 - 450,000 HKD; Hermès Set of 3 Limited Edition Petit H Totems | Estimate: 30,000 - 50,000 HKD

The Kelly Doll Picto that Hermès introduced in its Spring/Summer 2022 collection is the newest version of its much-loved Kelly Doll and this sale includes one in Bleu Saphir, a deep blue tone that will provide a striking contrast to any festive red outfit.