From stay-at-home mom to jewelry mogul, she spent 12 years

Wen Chenchen, a post-80s Shandong girl

In the millennium, he went to Germany to study.

After graduation, he worked as an office worker in a German chemical company.

Dealing with the assembly line every day,

makes her feel that "life can be seen at a glance",

In 2011, she became pregnant and gave birth to a child and became a full-time mother.

By chance, I came into contact with antique jewelry,

As a jewelry "little white", he started his own way of collecting.

▲

Jewelry collector Wen Chenchen

Since 2012,

She has handled tens of thousands of pieces of antique jewelry.

"I watch it every day,

up to 12 hours of study per day",

Exhibitions and flea markets in various countries run around,

"Made a lot of friends over 60 years old,

Not only taught me a lot of expertise,

It also pulled me out of the anxiety of being a stay-at-home mom. ”

In March, she returned from Germany,

I met her in Shanghai,

I chatted with her about my experience and experience in collecting jewelry for 12 years.

"The jewelry collection has not only re-established my aesthetic,

It also allowed me to have my favorite business again,

A good piece of jewelry can make people love life more and more. ”

Statement: Wen Chenchen

Editor: Qin Chu

Editor-in-charge: Deng Kailei

▲ New Year's friends who have met through jewelry collections

My name is Wen Chenchen, a post-80s generation who is now a professional jewelry collector. It's hard to imagine that I originally studied chemical technology, and later became a stay-at-home mother, and the collection of jewelry started completely from "Xiaobai".

From 2012 to the present, I have handled about 10,000 pieces of jewelry, and I look at them every day, studying them for up to 12 hours a day.

▲ Wen Chenchen sorted out the jewelry in the store

I came to Berlin, Germany in 2000 to study, from the first year of university to graduation, all the living expenses were earned by selling pearl necklaces, I could sell about 3 or 4 necklaces a day, and earn more than 1,000 euros a month, at that time it was the first time I came into contact with a category of jewelry.

After graduating, I joined a German company as a chemical process engineer, and I could see the end of the work on the assembly line at a glance. Later, because she was pregnant and gave birth to a baby, she began to be a full-time mother, her life was boring and single, her career was stagnant, and she was very anxious every day.

▲ Exchange ideas for collecting jewelry with friends

At that time, some of my classmates would ask me to help them buy some maternal and infant products, that is, amber necklaces for babies, which are especially suitable for babies to grind their teeth. In the process of buying amber, there will be some product displays in the jewelry hall next to it, which are colorful, which particularly attracted me and exposed me to antique jewelry.

I started going to some fairs on my own, running antique markets, looking around, and making a lot of new friends. The friends I made were all over 60 years old, and they were both jewelry collectors and jewelry appraisers, and they taught me a lot of professional knowledge.

▲佩戴Buccellati手镯

In the process of collecting jewelry, I have been growing up, at first I chose some more ordinary jewelry, and then I was attracted by the craftsmanship of antique jewelry. I am a big fan of antique jewellery from 1900 to 1940, with a strong emphasis on women's curvaceous beauty.

▲Jeanne Toussaint (Jeanne Toussaint) shaped the flat leopard image into a three-dimensional charming leopard jewelry, representing the fashion concept of modern women

Before the 20th century, jewelry operators and designers were dominated by men, but later more and more female designers created many excellent works.

For example, Cartier's classic cheetah, which was first unveiled in 1914 as a monochrome cheetah, did not shine in the jewelry world until the appearance of Jean Toussaint.

▲ fruit bag necklace, carved sapphire design into a bud shape embellished inlay

In 1936, Daisy Farrow asked Toussaint to develop a necklace of colored gemstones, the famous Fruit Bag Necklace. It's something I love a lot, and I have a fruit tip brooch that I bring with me to important occasions.

▲左：Imperial Diamond项链；右：Diamond’s Passion项链

I also really like Bulgari's High Jewellery collection "Magnifica", all of which pay homage to the most prominent women in history. For example, the Diamond's Passion necklace is a tribute to the ancient Roman orator Hortensia, showing the strength and beauty of women through articulated petals, and the Imperial Diamond necklace is based on Zhang Ailing.

The combination of white and white diamonds is very sensual and elegant......

In the process of collecting jewelry, my life has gradually become richer. I saw a 27 carat emerald ring at the show, and because I wanted a good price, I said to the seller, "Have we seen each other somewhere?" As a result, he told me that I had come to inquire before the epidemic, and one thing I instantly got was that this ring had been in his hand for several years.

After my bargaining, I ended up taking the ring for 25,000 euros. Sometimes collecting jewelry is also a process of psychological warfare to see who can hold on to the last minute.

▲ Wen Chenchen is wearing a 1970-80 Lalaounis 18k gold ruby hand-woven luxury necklace around his neck

Every jeweler will definitely have a time to pay tuition.

I once saw an antique ruby ring in the hands of an antique dealer, and it was Burmese red at first glance, and the ruby egg surface was quite large, and the price was reasonable, and I thought I had missed it. When I bought it and sent it out for a jewelry certificate, I was shocked to find out that the gemstone was actually filled with glass.

▲ Bulgari 80s 18K gold Colombian Muzo emerald diamond ring, double stone ring set with blue diamonds and pink diamonds, very Bulgari characteristics

The emerald Bulgari ring on my hand is also the tuition fee I paid. I saw it at the show in Las Vegas, and the two-stone model was a very iconic design of Bulgari in 1980, so I didn't hesitate to take the ring.

I kept it in the safe after I got it back, and about two years later, I wanted to go to GIA (Gemological Institute of America) to get a paper certificate. I was shocked to see that the sapphire was found to be from Kashmir, but the origin of the pink gemstone was unknown, and the ring only had a copy of Bulgari's original certificate.

▲左：宝格丽IMPERIAL SPINEL项链；右：宝格丽BAROQUE SPIRAL项链

There is also some "thrilling" in the process of collecting jewelry. Once I went to a jewelry show, I was robbed on the way, and the car and the cash on my body were looted, which I had taken out to buy jewelry.

Although I was frightened and the money was gone, I didn't go home. When I didn't have any money, I had to borrow money to buy it, so I immediately called my brother in China and borrowed money to buy the jewelry I wanted.

These experiences have made me grow a lot, and my heart has suddenly calmed down. Collecting jewelry not only brings me a lot of joy, but also gives me a lot of confidence, and in the process of collecting, I find myself becoming more and more independent.

▲Mario Buccellatimacri series 18K gold oversized Opal diamond bracelet, the most representative work around 1910

I collect jewelry and also look at the "eye edge". Once I saw a Buccellati bracelet in the hands of an antique dealer and was first attracted by the largest opal stone in the middle, such a large and wide version of the bracelet is difficult to find, and this one of the large center stones is even rarer, and it was love at first sight.

▲Lalaounis羊头手镯

The first time I saw Lalaounis, the big sheep's head bracelet, I thought it was crazy, the design was very masculine, but I thought it was suitable for women. A feminine woman must try to wear large jewelry, which is more likely to reflect the strength and beauty of women.

▲Cartier's classic tuttifrutúi platinum brooch was born in Cartier's most typical Art Deco period

For example, my best friend turned out to be a feminine woman, and I often chose some larger jewelry for her, saying that you are wearing jewelry so beautifully today, and she immediately straightened her waist, and slowly the jewelry became bigger and bigger, and the more she wore it, the more confident she became.

Jewelry must be worn out of its own character, do not wear explosive styles.

▲Left: 70-year-old grandmother of a jewelry collector, right: Mrs. Kennedy wearing a Jackie Belt chain

I had a good relationship with a British grandmother in her 70s, and every time I went to London, I would visit her house. She loves jewelry very much, every time we meet, she must wear rings, necklaces, earrings neatly, she often tells me: "Jewelry will accompany you to old age, you must learn to enjoy jewelry".

We would often talk about jewelry over a drink, and once my grandmother placed a Cartier silver belt in the tray next to her, all handmade, very finely made, one here and the other in Mrs. Kennedy's hand, so this belt chain has a nice name called Jackie Belt.

▲把Jackie Belt腰链带成项链

At first glance, I thought it was a necklace, so I put it on my head, and my grandmother said that she didn't expect the waist chain to look so good when worn as a necklace. Two years later, this waist chain was bought by actor Song Jia, and she has always worn it as a necklace.

The jewelry collecting industry is also a process of shaping people. Not only did I re-establish my aesthetic, but it also allowed me to go from being a stay-at-home mom to having a career that I loved.

I think now more and more women will buy their favorite jewelry, have disposable money, buy what they like to please themselves, which represents a kind of self-confidence and self-reliance of women, a good jewelry can make people love life more and more.

Part of the image courtesy: Wen Chenchen