Joanna Gong in breathtaking business.

What is jewellery?

A perfect spice, and ice on the cake, a fairytale, a little peace that makes you unique, a good vibe, a happiness in the box, the best friend, an obsession…

What was first jewellery impression for Joanna Gong, private sales director, gemologist and jewelry specialist at Sotheby’s?

As a little girl, she was attracted with the arms-and-armor collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

“Even if it wasn’t considered jewellery, my first love in metal crafts was a wearable piece of metal, tied to the function of the body. “

Her breath was completely taken away after spending hours trying to understand the mechanism of the details.

Nowadays she prefers antique jewellery and the contemporary design as golden pieces of Anthony Lent.

Joanna Gong has graduated from Pratt institute with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Tokyo.

She decided to travel around the world with a backpack and to visit over 40 countries.

Her mission was to understand more about gemstone-cutting in Thailand, gem mining in Myanmar, the emerald trade in Colombia and difference between East and West approach to the jewellery.

In fact she followed the way of moving materials of the earth as metals around in a creative way.

 “It was a better firsthand understanding of the process.“

She had the chance to apprentice under master Hiroshi Suzuki in Japan.

“He has for many years been represented at Adrian Sassoon, and his work can be found anywhere from the V&A Museum to the Chatsworth house.”

Before starting to work for Sotheby’s in early 2019, Ms. Joanna Gong was a private jewellery consultant and dealer.

“Primarily it’s a market geared towards a female consumer, yet the people who control the other side of the industry are, in the majority, men.”

One day a group of investors helped her to realize her dream about making jewellery.

Then Gong was too young to manage this capital by herself.

“It was essentially baptism by fire, but without it, I would not be able to stand on my own two feet the way I can today. When you’re your own boss, you are your own glass ceiling.”

For the investors Joanna Gong build an antique jewellery for educational and financial purposes.

Blair Clarke, Kate Gordon and Joanna Gong attend Central Park Conservancy’s 2022 Playground Partners Winter Luncheon at Mandarin Oriental Hotel on February 25, 2022 in New York City./Getty Images/

“I wound up touring this collection around China doing educational lectures, something I hope to be able to continue under my larger platform in the future.”

In 2018 Joanna got the privilege to sell the Royal Jewels of the most popular ruling family in Europe -Bourbon-Parma Family.

There were jewels of Queen Marie Antoinette.

It is curious that one pearl pendant, which achieved over 36 million US dollars against an original estimate of 1-2 million.

“But for me, the piece from that collection that struck most was a small ring with diamond encrusted initials ‘MA’ and a woven lock of hair encased.

It is likely this was a mourning ring for Marie Antoinette’s daughter, and encased a locket of the Queen’s own hair to commemorate.

During the pandemic in Sotheby’s, Gong moved three countries and four cities to value items for sale.

One of the most interesting part of her career was taking part in the the new digital revolution of Sotheby’s.

That helps to facilitate three consecutive ‘white glove’ sales online and a record breaking live sale in Hong Kong.

“Everyone can, conceptually, say that money and luxury isn’t everything; but to be able to introspectively define what the term “luxury” means, that is paramount to me.”

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