An Exotic but Classic Spin on Far East Jewels
Debbie Kuo is the creator and designer of Kuo Ting Jewelry based in New York City. Being of Chinese descent with a visual arts background, Debbie brings a lot of her culture and experience into her work. Asia was one of her great inspirations as visiting where her parents grew up was eye opening and magical. She has always loved wandering around museums and galleries and being inspired by anything from Roman gems and Byzantine jewels to Indian sculptures or Chinese paintings. Her line is a “playful combination of semi-precious gemstones and one-of-a-kind vintage pieces from around the globe that possess a sophisticated edge”. Debbie is dedicated in using high quality gemstones and distinctive vintage pieces to mix vermeil gold, silver, brass, and resin. Many metalwork pieces in the Kuo Ting Jewelry collections are Asian-inspired, but Debbie loves using uniquely shaped pearls and recycled and vintage materials. She is becoming extremely eco-minded in ensuring that her carbon footprint is as small as possible.
Kuo Ting Jewelry features two collections a year, Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer. Her current favorite is her new Fall 2009 collection where she uses recycled aluminum in bright colors to pair with large 
vintage faux pearls. She is also a fan of the Cloisonné Necklace on recycled a brass chain because it brings her back to her Chinese roots. Our favorites from her new collection start with the Natural Amethyst Drusy Gold Dipped Pendant for its natural beauty and simplicity. This drusy is covered with a large number of minute amethyst crystals and then gold dipped along 
its backside creating a smooth and even surface. When worn along its accompanying 36 inch shiny sterling silver chain, this piece is exquisite and will not go unnoticed. Our next selection is the Apple Jade Pendant Earrings, made of flat, circular jade discs wrapped with 14k gold-filled adorned with faceted emerald roundels. The cloudy emerald green blended with the natural ivory hue of the jade and offset by the gold wire and small emerald roundels looks like something that could have been worn by a royal empress. These three inch earrings hang long so as to compliment either an updo or a natural all down look.
Debbie has always been creative and geared towards visual arts. Debbie studied fashion and jewelry design at The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. After taking classes there, she began creating jewelry for herself as a hobby. It did not take very long for her colleagues to start complimenting her pieces and even buying them off her neck. It was then that Debbie realized she could make a career out of making jewelry. As a New Yorker, she was cognizant of space and had to find a hobby that did not require excessive volume or resources. In working with jewelry, she found just that as she was able to work with small and portable pieces.
From her Fall 2007 collection, we selected the Engraved Floral Tendril Locket, made of a gold-plated oval locket with floral tendril engraving on multiple 14k gold-filled chains. The feminine charm of the delicate gold locket suspended from multiple gold chains gives this romantic piece a Victorian feel. This locket is lovely when worn with a simple blouse or a cocktail dress. This locket, along with the Engraved Hearts Locket was also featured in the Winter 2008 issue of Martha Stewart Weddings.
In the meantime, she is gaining notoriety as her Disco Bracelet was featured in a VIP swag bag at Sundance and Fiona Hughes from the Style Network wears many of her pieces on air. Debbie happily resides in New York City with her husband and three children. While people may be amazed that she cares for three children under the age of four, they keep her motivated as jewelry making is her therapy once they go to bed. As for being a New Yorker, she could not ask for anything more in living and working in the city because she finds it energizing.
The Fall and Holiday 2008 Collection also features some stunning pieces. The Vintage Resin Leaves Necklace is a lovely sterling silver chain that is interspersed with resin multi-colored leaves. The decorative resin leaves with its flat and detailed surfaces exhibits blended hues of purple, mauve, ivory, and burnt orange. The delightful colors against the sterling silver chain exudes
a modern but playful charm. This 36 inch necklace is meant to be worn long over a solid top to draw attention to its fiery and warm colors on a fluid chain. Another lovely piece from this same collection is the Indian Vermeil with Gems Earrings, featuring gemstone drops of iolite, tanzanite, lemon topaz, and ruby briolettes on vermeil ball pains along a vermeil earwire. The 14 karat gold-filled hammered loops cascading downward in between the gemstone drops adds an air of luxury and elegance while the brilliant colors of the stones are eye-catching.
From her 2006 collection, the White Topaz Earrings are absolutely stunning. Made of faceted white topaz teardrops with a 
cluster of smaller faceted crystal clear quartz teardrops on sterling silver earwires, these semi-precious stones are mesmerizingly translucent and sparkle when catching the light. Debbie proudly designs and assembles all of her pieces and is completely inspired by the gemstones and materials she works with. She gravitates towards colors and textures that pop and follows trends without allowing them to rule her. “I feel like being original and believing in your own design aesthetic is the way to go,” Debbie says. Her favorite jewelry designers are Alexis Bittar for its use of resin and Ten Thousand Things for its organic pearls.
The past and present collections of Kuo Ting Jewelry can be purchased on couturecandy.com and labelspree.com. Her pieces can also be found at Shop Robertson in Los Angeles and Beneath on the “upper east side of New York City” as Gossip Girl would say. In the next five years, Debbie hopes that her collections will be carried by boutiques worldwide as well as being featured in additional magazines and on more celebrities. Debbie thanks all her supporters as she simply finds pure joy in creating luxurious jewelry for women who cannot afford to spend frivolously. She is graciously extending a 20% discount on all jewelry to any readers who wish to e-mail. Visit her website to view all her collections and to take advantage of Debbie’s generous offer.
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