GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Christian Tse's Sunburst necklace in platinum took top honors in the invitational 2000 Couture Awards.

Forever platinum

Christian Tse's fluid designs
combine durability and dazzle

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By Nadine Kam
nkam@starbulletin.com

Call Christian Tse stubborn, but the word "impossible" is not in his vocabulary. Those in the jewelry business "know" that platinum can't be enameled, but Tse found a way to do it, coming up with a unique black enamel on platinum, otherwise known as the other white metal.

"You challenge him right now," his wife and business partner Victoria Tse insists. "Anything you come up with, he will do."

Early alchemists may have tried to find a way to turn lead into gold. Tse makes his own magic, successfully turning metal into forms that are fluid, draping like silk over a wearer's arms and necks.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Christian Tse holds up a platinum necklace he's dubbed The Great Jellyfish because of its flowing, ruffled appearance. He's known in the jewelry industry as a master of platinum, using a variety of techniques to reflect the natural and manmade forms that fuel his imagination. Next stop, Matsumoto's Shave Ice.

Many of his necklaces and earrings are formed with 0.8 millimeter beads, about four times the size of the period at the end of this sentence. They appear so fragile, you'd be afraid to pick them up out of fear of splitting the individually soldered beads, thus destroying an $800 pair of earrings or $6,000 to $10,000 necklace. But the pieces are strong enough for him to pick up, ball up and toss around in his hands.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Tse's Fusilli necklace was inspired by a twisted length of telephone cord. It's a versatile piece that can be worn the way he's holding it, or doubled up to form a choker. Simply twist to secure it. Not convinced? Would a phone cord untangle itself? The necklace sells for $9,000 in gold and $10,000 in platinum. In the background is Tse's wife Victoria.

"No kinks," he says, as he pulls them out of his palm like a magician raising a piece of cloth from a top hat. "That's how you can tell how well made they are."

To understand how time-consuming this task is, consider fusing together thousands of grains of sand at 2,500 to 12,000 points. That's how many solder points are contained in a single necklace. "If in the middle you burn it or it melts, you have to start over," Tse said. "There's little room for error."

One of the first pieces in his collection is a handmade platinum chain-mail bracelet, the result of 40 to 50 hours of work. Although he works with 18-karat gold and rose gold, he enjoys the challenge of taming tempestuous platinum. It's considered a difficult metal to work with because of its density, making it difficult to polish, and its high melting point -- at 3,216 degrees vs. 1,944 degrees for gold -- while being quick to solidify.

The payoff for the consumer is platinum's strength, hypoallergenic quality and resistance to oxidation and discoloration. Its high reflectivity enhances the brilliance of precious stones, and Tse emphasizes this by hammering some pieces so the surfaces sparkle like diamonds.

"Some women try it on, and when they see it they ask, 'How many diamonds?'" said Victoria. "When I say there are no diamonds, they get angry. They insist they see diamonds."

Jewelry enthusiasts can check out the illusion firsthand when Tse shows pieces from his collection in the Neiman Marcus Precious Jewels Salon through Sunday. A special fashion presentation will also take place there at 2 p.m. Saturday.

HAVING FLOWN to Honolulu for the first time from their home base in California, the Tses spent their first day here exploring Chinatown and stalking the giant laulau, while looking forward to a visit to the aquarium and sampling shave ice on the North Shore. Such exploration fuels Tse's work.

But he doesn't need to travel to come up with ideas. One of his necklaces, a clever serpentine rope of amethysts, took the 2002 Couture Award Best Design in Platinum title at the invitation-only Couture Jewelry Show.

Tse dubbed it "The Fusilli," because its real inspiration -- the telephone cord -- wasn't exciting enough to mention. True to the essence of a tangled length of cord, the necklace can be twirled on itself to form a dangling lariat or choker, without fear that it might come undone. Does a phone cord ever untangle itself?

Apparently, there is no end to Tse's imagination. He comes up with 500 to 600 designs annually, although fewer than half make it into production for various reasons, such as failing to meet Victoria's wearability test.

"It's important that the pieces are comfortable because women are not going to buy it if it gives them a headache, no matter how pretty it is," she said. "You feel like a queen when you're wearing them. The earrings may look heavy but they're light, so you forget they're there."

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Christian Tse started using colored stones while other designers were still in their black-and-white phase. Above, a necklace of gold with blue topazes.

As sophisticated as his jewelry may be, the pieces could not be called ostentatious. Although many of his clients build wardrobes around his necklaces, most of his jewelry would look as natural with jeans and a simple top as with a ball gown.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM In spite of their length, Christian Tse's earrings must pass wife Victoria's wearability test, so they are comfortably light. This one comprises hundreds of individually soldered platinum beads. Many of Tse's earrings are jackets that buyers can pair with their own precious stone posts.

"We want the pieces to be worn," said Victoria. "We don't want women to put them in their treasure box, put it away and never wear it again."

TSE, OF Chinese descent, was born in Cambodia, representing the fourth generation of a family of jewelers. He started crafting 24-karat jewelry at age 12, but his family specialized in standard wedding jewelry, which provided no outlet for his creative instincts. After 12 years of crafting fine jewelry, he launched his own Pasadena, Calif.-based company in 1996. Since then his work has appeared in magazines such as Town & Country, In Style, W, Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, and in 2000 he won his first Couture Award for Best Design in Platinum for a sunburst collar.

Most recently, Hollywood has come calling. Edie Falco's character on "The Sopranos" has been wearing a Christian Tse necklace in every episode. "Even when she's naked she's wearing our jewelry," Victoria said.

In the fall, "Sex in the City's" Samantha will also be wearing Christian Tse.

With celebrity stylist Philip Bloch as a fan, the company has also adorned actresses for the Oscars.

But none of this has gone to the designer's head, although he has a fondness for Penelope Cruz, who picked up a pair of his Eiffel Tower earrings after modeling them for Elle magazine.

DESPITE the complex engineering behind each of his designs, Tse said, the lines of his work will always remain simple. "When you can cut down the superfluous, the design becomes a classic."

He is at home in Waikiki's Prada, Chanel and Hermes boutiques, whose designers' work matches his own wit, spirit of innovation and technical expertise.

"He loves to go shopping," Victoria said. "He touches all the women's clothes. He has to bring me along 'cause he doesn't want people to think he's weird."

His observations have paid off in that he's always been at the forefront of fashion movements. Most recently, he added colored stones -- diamonds, lemon citrines and blue topazes to his metal pieces before other designers started getting reacquainted with color. Current creations, such as a bib necklace dubbed "The Great Jellyfish," fit in with the ruffled, lacy look of neo-hippie chic.

Who knows what the result of this Hawaii trip will be? Many of his pieces already resemble leis, but not a Micronesian ginger lei. And a rainbow shave ice from Matsumoto's might spark an idea or two.

But those inspirations will have to wait because he's already thinking about his next trick: transforming platinum to mimic the luster of pearls.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM The Fusilli necklace of amethysts , this time readjusted to be worn as a choker.

Christian Tse trunk show Where: Neiman Marcus Precious Jewels Salon, first level When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow through Sunday Admission: Free Call: 951-3449 Also: Fashion presentation 2 p.m. Saturday at the same location

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