A jewellery designer, art curator and historian, the many strings to Kai-yin Lo’s bow come together harmoniously in her work. Her interest in jewellery grew out of her fascination with collecting Chinese artefacts, in particular jade; and she is famed for designs that pay tribute to Chinese history, making it both accessible and wearable. Pioneering semi-precious jewellery as a category, her creations are available in outlets including Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Harrods and Mitsukoshi, while her clients have included Princess Diana, Hillary Clinton and the Japanese imperial family.

An in-demand art expert and curator who has championed the work of various mainland Chinese artists, she is on the board of M+ and the Hong Kong Design Centre, a member of the Tate Modern’s Asia Pacific Art Acquisition Committee, and a visiting professor at Central Saint Martins in London and the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. As a historian, she has edited five books on a range of subjects from Chinese furniture to living patterns to Hong Kong designs, as well as an autobiography, Designing A Life: A Cross-Cultural Journey. She has now retired from the jewellery industry in order to focus on her academic writing.