A Forms jewelry artisan
at work.
Photo: Courtesy of FORMS
Hong Kong High-Jewelry House Forms Dazzles With Rare Rubies, Colombian Emeralds
For insiders, Forms remains the go-to destination for artistic bijoux with a twist of the unexpected
Inside the private jewelry salon Forms in the heart of Hong Kong is a walk-in vault lined with trays of hundreds of glittering gemstones: rare old rubies, untreated Colombian emeralds, and champagne-colored diamonds. Alongside the stones are ancient artifacts such as Mesopotamian and Tibetan beads, antique Japanese kimono belt buckles, dinosaur bones, and rough chunks of white Baltic amber—a veritable cabinet of curiosities.
An emerald-cut brown diamond ring by Forms.
Demantoid and diamond Yin Yang earrings by Forms. Photo: Courtesy of FORMS
“We bring out the trays and play with the materials until an idea comes to us,” says Tzvika Janover, who established the high-jewelry house with Elad Assor a decade ago. Both are from families with a long history in the diamond industry, and they came together to create artistic, one-of-a-kind pieces that reflect their passion for exceptional stones.
“We don’t have a certain style,” Janover explains. “Our DNA is in rare materials and highly technical pieces.” Even the seemingly simplest designs are in fact complex. A vibrant, orange-brown, fancy-colored diamond, for example, is set in a chocolate brown ring made with shakudo, a copper- and-gold alloy used in a 100-year-old Japanese kimono buckle the duo found. “It took us one year to figure out how to re-create the metal with just the right patina,” says Janover.
Forms diamond and titanium seashell earrings. Photo: Courtesy of FORMS
Blue aluminum ring with Burmese sapphires and diamonds. Photo: Courtesy of FORMS
Such rarity and refinement don’t happen overnight. The house produces no more than 100 unique creations a year. “We are driven by our curiosity to discover new materials and innovative ways of making jewelry,” says managing director Flora Wong, formerly an executive in Sotheby’s jewelry department in Hong Kong, who also contributes to the designs. The pieces often have an element of the unexpected, too. A pair of rare lilac kunzite stones are cradled in similarly hued titanium earrings, which, despite their large scale, are super lightweight.
A Forms jewelry artisan at work. Photo: Courtesy of FORMS
In-the-know collectors fly in from around the world to visit the salon, which is concealed within a nondescript office building. Unlike most high-jewelry boutiques, everything is made entirely on the premises, so Janover can collaborate closely with his team of master craftsmen, who toil at blending alloys, carving and faceting stones, and experimenting with inventive ways to set gems so that hardly a trace of metal is visible. The house’s distinctive style can be seen in a pair of dazzling bronze-colored titanium earrings on which hundreds of diamonds seem to float that debuted at TEFAF Maastricht in March. And with more fairs on the horizon, this under-the-radar house may not be a secret for much longer.
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2024 Summer Issue under the headline “Hidden Gem.” Subscribe to the magazine.
Cover: A Forms jewelry artisan
at work.
Photo: Courtesy of FORMS
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