中國消費者爲什麼愛24K金 The Glow of 24 Karat Gold Jewelry

HONG Kong — Like a diamond ring in the West, the enduring accessory for a Chinese bride is a pair of dragon and phoenix bangles in 24-karat gold, the buttery-yellow version of the precious metal so loved in Asia.

香港——如同西方世界的鑽石戒指，對中國新娘來說，最恆久遠的飾品就是一對以24K金打造的龍鳳手鐲，24K金這種黃油色的金屬非常受亞洲人鍾愛。

But should love not last, she could liquidate her gold jewelry in a highly transparent and efficient manner in ways that diamonds cannot match.

但如果愛不持久，她也可以把她的黃金珠寶透明地、有效地變現，這是鑽石做不到的。

“Twenty-four carat gold is considered a form of international currency, because it is accepted around the world,” said Kent Wong, managing director of Chow Tai Fook Jewelry in Hong Kong, which introduced the standardization of 999.9 pure gold jewelry in 1984. “Because gold jewelry is sold by weight, customers can sell their gold back to the jeweler, which is common practice in Chinese society.”

“24K金是國際貨幣的一種，因爲是全世界通用的，”香港的“周大福”珠寶的總經理黃紹基說，周大福在1984年引進了999.9純金首飾的標準。“因爲黃金是秤重計價，消費者可以將黃金賣給珠寶商，在華人社會中是常見做法。”

Mr. Wong explained that the price of each piece is calculated from the international gold price, based on the gold’s weight, plus the store’s 2 percent commission and a design fee. “As the daily gold price is displayed conspicuously in the shop, there is a high transparency and clear information,” he said.

黃經理解釋，每件作品是依照國際黃金價格計算，以黃金的重量計價，再加上設計費和2%佣金。“店內公開標示每日金價，所以過程高度透明化，資訊清楚。”他說。

The fact that such resale is so easy — along with the introduction of popular motifs like Disney’s “Frozen” and Hello Kitty and improved filament craftsmanship (similar to Florentine style design), as well as burnishing, lathing and buffing techniques — has buoyed sales to China’s rapidly growing middle class, the prized market that retailers around the world hope to capture.

因爲黃金變賣容易，而且加入了像是迪士尼的“冰雪奇緣”(Frozen)或是Hello Kitty等受歡迎的圖案，還有改良過的細線工藝（跟佛羅倫薩風格設計相似），和打磨、車牀加工、拋光的技術，帶動了中國迅速興起的中產階級的黃金交易量，這是全世界的零售商都想抓住的有“錢途”的市場。

“Wedding jewelry contributes more than 40 percent of our business, but we want to develop innovative jewelry to appeal to young customers,” Mr. Wong said. “We work with Korean pop stars such as G-Dragon and Lee Min Ho to launch collections targeting young customers.” It is not unusual in one of Chow Tai Fook’s more than 300 stores in Hong Kong, mainland China and Southeast Asia to find 24-karat pendants with the likeness of Marvel Comic characters or necklaces featuring plump, smiling pigs, a fertility symbol popular with brides.

“婚飾佔我們交易的40%多，但我們想要發展一些創意珠寶來吸引年輕客羣，”黃經理說。“我們和韓國明星權志龍(G-Dragon)或李敏鎬(Lee Min Ho)合作，發行一些針對年輕顧客的系列。”周大福在全中國、香港和東南亞共有300多間店鋪。在店裏不難找到漫威漫畫主角之類的24K金吊飾；或者是帶笑臉的小豬，這是新娘們喜歡的生育的象徵。

Previously, the limited design potential of 24-karat gold made it more often a choice for wedding and birthday gifts, rather than personal jewelry. The metal in its pure form is very soft, so soft that it can be easily bent, making intricate designs impossible. So, in the past, jewelers generally concentrated on styles involving auspicious Chinese themes, such as the peach for longevity, flower for prosperity and, of course, the dragon and phoenix for wedded bliss.

以前，許多人選擇購買限量款的24K金金飾當作結婚或生日禮物，而不是自用。純的黃金質地軟，可以輕易地彎折，無法做出複雜的設計。所以以往珠寶商主要將重點放在吉利的中國風圖案，像是代表長壽的桃子、代表繁榮的花卉、當然還有代表婚禮祝福的龍鳳圖騰。

In recent years, the development of electro-forming technology to increase the hardness of gold has enabled jewelers such as Chow Tai Fook to set gemstones like rubies, emerald and jadeite in 24-karat pieces, enriching designs and creating much more costly pieces.

近年來，由於電鑄技術，黃金的硬度增加了，周大福等珠寶商便將紅寶石、翡翠或玉等寶石鑲在24K金的飾品上，豐富了設計感，也做出了更多高價商品。

Gold prices now are hovering around $1,090 per troy ounce, the lowest price so far this year. In general, prices have been declining since a peak almost two years ago. (Like a currency exchange, there is a selling price and a buying price.)

目前金價爲每金衡盎司1090美元左右，目前爲止爲今年最低。大體上來說，自近兩年前的高峯之後，金價逐漸走低（就跟貨幣兌換一樣，金價也有買出賣出的價格）。

In Hong Kong, gold is traded in tael, or a little more than 1.2 troy ounces. A pair of bangles, each using a tael of gold and created in a dragon and phoenix motif from a simple mold but with a hand-finished design would be priced at around 25,415 Hong Kong dollars ($3,280), which includes the store’s 2 percent commission and a 690-dollar design fee.

在香港，金價以“兩”計價，比1.2金衡盎司多一點。一對有着簡單龍鳳圖案的手鐲，每隻都用了一兩黃金製作，加上手工設計的圖案，差不多要2.5415萬港幣（約合3280美元），包括該店的2%佣金與690美元的設計費。

A customer who decided to sell that jewelry back to the store on the same day, as gold prices fluctuate, would walk out with about 20,490 dollars.

若顧客想在同一天將那對手鐲賣給店家，依金價波動，差不多會拿到2.049萬港幣。

“Our customers won’t need to bring their receipt back, as our maker’s mark is clearly stamped on each piece,” said Hung Lam, a salesman at Chow Sang Sang, another popular gold trader.

“我們的客戶不用帶收據，因爲我們每一件作品都清楚刻有製作者的印章，”Hung Lam，熱門金飾品牌“周生生”的一名銷售員表示。

Mr. Wong acknowledges that 24-karat gold jewelry appeals almost exclusively to Chinese customers.

黃先生表示，24K金的珠寶幾乎都是華人顧客。

“We do have some non-Chinese customers, but their appetite for gold jewelry is not comparable to Chinese,” he said, adding that the Chinese also prefer their gold to have a saturated, almost gaudy gold tone.

“我們也有一些非華人的顧客，但他們遠不及華人顧客那樣喜歡黃金飾品，”他說。他同時補充道，華人喜歡色澤飽和、幾乎有些豔麗的黃金。

“With technology these days, we are able to change the color of 24-karat gold to a rose tint, but Chinese want their gold to look exactly like a gold bar, because this is what it looked like for hundreds of years,” he said. “This style appeals to Chinese because it’s part of our heritage, whereas for foreigners, they don’t have the same sense of historical reference.”

“隨着現今的科技發展，我們能夠將24K金的顏色改成帶有一點玫瑰色調，但是華人希望他們的金子跟金條一模一樣的顏色，因爲幾百年以來，金條就是這顏色，”他說。“這種風格非常吸引華人，因爲這是我們傳統的一部分，但對外國人來說，他們沒有這種歷史的情感。”

Chow Tai Fook has a gold crafting plant in Shunde, a city in Guangdong Province, with six artists producing designs rendered by 3,000 craftsmen working with simple tools such as torches, small chisels and picks.

周大福在廣東順德有一家金飾工藝廠，6名設計師負責設計，交由3000名工匠，然後他們用手電筒、小鑿子和十字鎬等簡單的工具工作。

Zhang Zhi Rong, or Master Zhang as he is known, is one of the company’s artists who can both design and make his own jewelry.

人稱“張大師”的張志榮（音）是周大福的設計師之一，他既能設計珠寶，也能製作他自己的首飾。

Holding a bangle with a buffed surface, Mr. Zhang used a thin black marker to draw a design of dragons and phoenix onto the surface before beginning to carve into the gold. He also frequently works with gold wires, which he twists and bends into intricate designs, often with a floral pattern.

張大師拿着一個拋光後的手鐲，在雕刻之前，先用一支細的黑色簽字筆在黃金錶面畫出龍鳳的圖案。他也常使用黃金細線，用細線折出複雜的樣式，通常是花卉圖案。

“We have some commissions and people want special pieces, especially as birthday gifts to elderly relatives,” Mr. Zhang said. “The older generation prefers gold over any kind of precious stones, as the color is considered auspicious and it brings them good luck.”

“我們有時會收到委託，製作特別的商品，尤其是給長輩的生日禮物。”張大師表示，“跟其他珍貴寶石比起來，老一輩的人更喜歡黃金，因爲黃金色澤很吉利，會帶來好運。”

Beyond Asia

走出亞洲

While Chow Tai Fook’s business is focused on Asia, the Shanghai-based gold company Lao Feng Xiang is betting that Westerners can learn to love the Asian style.

當週大福的生意主要專注在亞洲市場，源自上海的“老鳳祥”金飾則希望西方人也會喜歡這種亞洲風格。

Last year, Lao Feng Xiang opened its first store in the United States — on Fifth Avenue in the midst of international designer boutiques and five-star hotels. “I think if established foreign brands can penetrate the Chinese market, there is no reason why a Chinese brand cannot do the same,” said Wang Eng-sheng, a company spokesman.

去年，老鳳祥在美國開了第一家店，位於國際精品設計師店與五星級飯店林立的第五大道。老鳳祥發言人王恩生說，“我想如果歷史悠久的外國品牌能打進中國市場，沒理由中國品牌無法做到同樣的事。”

The brand is among the oldest in China, started in 1848 in Shanghai and now with more than 2,000 stores throughout the country. This year, it opened two locations in Hong Kong, and it also has a store in Vancouver, British Columbia.

老鳳祥是中國品牌的老字號，1848年於上海建立，現在在全國有超過2000家店鋪。今年在香港開了兩間店，在不列顛哥倫比亞省溫哥華也開了一間店。

“We have had plans for international expansion for the past 10 years, and we started showing at the Las Vegas Jewelry and Watch Show eight years ago,” Mr. Wang said. “We are a very well- funded state-owned enterprise, and we have a dream to bring Chinese artistic vision to the world.”

“我們過去十年以來，一直都有全球擴張的計劃，八年前我們就在拉斯維加斯的珠寶鐘錶展展示，”王先生說。“我們是資金雄厚的國有企業，並且有着將中國藝術理念帶給世界的夢想。”

Its overseas customer base still is largely composed of expatriate Chinese and tourists from mainland China. But “we are adding a new merchandise mix to include 24-karat gold set with jade, colored stones and diamonds to create a broader appeal,” Mr. Wang said. “For 24-karat gold jewelry we also follow Hong Kong’s standards of using .9999 pure gold, and our pricing is competitive with Hong Kong retailers.”

老鳳祥在海外的客羣主要還是華人移民跟中國遊客，不過“我們增加了新的金飾種類，把24K金和玉、彩色寶石或鑽石融合起來，以吸引更多客羣，”王先生說。“在24K金金飾上，我們還是依照香港的萬足金標準，跟香港零售商相比，我們的價格很有競爭力。”

Historically, 24-karat gold was popular in the West during Byzantine periods, and now some Western designers, such as Cevherun in Istanbul, have been creating period-inspired jewelry.

歷史上，24K金曾在西方拜占庭時代很流行，現在某些西方品牌，像是伊斯坦布爾的Cevherun，便開始創作具有歷史特色的珠寶。

The designers behind Cevherun, Cevat Genc and Ugur Tas, craft pieces by hand using sheets of gold or wire, and even incorporate Roman and Byzantine objects, such as pieces of old coins.

Cevherun的設計師是傑瓦特·根茲(Cevat Genc)和烏格·塔斯(Ugur Tas)，他們以手工打造飾品，使用金片或金絲，甚至會結合古羅馬和拜占庭時代的物品，比方說古老的硬幣。

“Twenty-four-karat gold has a storied past, since the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman Empire, perhaps the only consistent thread that ran through these civilizations was their used of pure gold for jewelry and adornment,” Mr. Genc said. “It’s seeing a resurgence by jewelers like ourselves coming out of Istanbul with fresh ideas in ancient techniques.”

“24K金背後有一段塵封往事，用純金來製作珠寶和裝飾品，可能就是羅馬帝國、拜占庭帝國和奧斯曼帝國這些文明的唯一共同點。”根茲說，“有一波像我們一樣的珠寶商從伊斯坦布爾出走，以創新的概念使用古老的技術。”

Cevherun, which is sold in the United States through the online retailer , uses 999.5 gold. “It’s a soft metal but it’s incredibly tough and ductile, and gold has a luster that does not fade,” Mr. Genc said. “Many of our techniques are the same since ancient times, because the natural properties of gold haven’t changed.”

Cevherun在美國線上零售商銷售，使用的是999.5足金。“黃金是軟金屬，但質地堅硬、延展性好，黃金的色澤也不會退色，”根茲說。“我們的工藝是自古代流傳下來的，因爲黃金的特性並沒有改變。”

Their African Sun disc earrings, ($2,850), are made by winding very thin gold wire together (the company does not use molds). If placed closed to high heat, the earrings might even melt a bit.

它們的非洲太陽圓盤耳環（2850美元）是以非常細的黃金絲線纏繞而成（這家公司不使用模具）。如果接近高溫的話，耳環還可能會融化一點。

“Working with gold is alchemy, and we want to make objects that will stand the test of time,” Mr. Genc said. “Kings and queens from Cleopatra to Sultan Suleiman have adorned themselves with it. It has always been and is still a form of currency and precious in its history and process. We are so drawn to it for all these reasons.”

“在工作中使用黃金，就像是鍊金術，我們希望能夠做出撐過時間考驗的作品，”根茲說。“克婁巴特拉到蘇丹蘇萊曼時期的國王、王后都配戴黃金，在過去和現在都一直是貨幣的一種，在歷史上來說，黃金十分珍貴。因爲這些原因，所以我們非常喜愛黃金。”