Jewellery designer strikes gold in HK (tdctrade.com)


	Cinzia Maini is aiming high with her elegant, original design jewellery

Italian jewellery designer Cinzia Maini believes she made the right decision to relocate from her hometown of Vicenza, Northern Italy, to set up a base in Hong Kong a year ago.

Selling exclusively through a Hong Kong jewellery retailer in the financial and shopping district of Central, Ms Maini designs her unique pieces from finely meshed 18 carat gold wire.

"Vicenza is known as the city of gold and I was born into a jewellery family, so I knew quite early which direction my career would take me. I did some designing and marketing first for my family and then some foreign firms. When I discovered this 18 carat wire mesh I knew I was onto something unique," she explained.

Ms Maini made a few pieces and sold them and started to build the brand in the US and Europe. She joined a few jewellery exhibitions organised by the Italian Trade Commission to Hong Kong a few years back. "People like my designs as they are romantic and feminine," she said.

Strategic relocation

It was difficult to sell to the Asian market through a sales agent so she and her husband Alessandro Pozza decided to pack up and come to Hong Kong.

"I do the designing and everything is produced from our small factory." She and Alessandro take turns to go back and forth from Hong Kong to Italy to check on the sample prototypes and on quality control. Meanwhile Alessandro, sensing Hong Kong’s thirst for good wine, has started a trading business importing wine like Pinot Grigio Santa Margherita and Chianti Classico to Hong Kong.

"We are very glad we came to Hong Kong. We like this city and its lifestyle and it is very important that it is connected to everywhere in Asia," said Ms Maini. "Hong Kong gives me a lot of pressure but also a lot of opportunities. I can’t think of anywhere else in the world which is more of a bridge between the east and the west."

Setting up a business is very easy in Hong Kong, she said. "We had a Hong Kong friend who helped us to look for our present office premise, find an accountant and open a bank account." She had a good sales rep with the right connections in the Hong Kong jewellery businesses and introduced her to the owner of K & Sze & Sons Jewellery in Prince’s Building. "It is a very good working relationship as the owner is open-minded, widely travelled and has the right clientele."

Eye on the mainland

Currently, she sells through the Hong Kong retailer and a distributor in Tokyo. She has not encountered huge problems when starting her business here. Initially, Ms Maini spent "some money" on hiring a public relations firm which did not deliver results so she decided to do her own publicity work. "I am very satisfied with what we have achieved considering that we started from zero."

Ms Maini is 100 per cent focused on design, trade and marketing and has set her sights on the Chinese mainland. "Ideally, I would want to start a retail store and maybe a franchise down the road." She is convinced the success rate would be high.

"In every culture, a woman wants to look beautiful and feel feminine. Yes, the jewellery business is competitive like lots of other businesses but I am convinced that my unique designs will appeal to a woman that desires to be elegant and feminine ".