Their 24k gold wedding jewellery is simply stunning

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Hong Kong Culture | Chow Tai Fook - Master Jewellers | Hong Kong

Any Jeweller that makes a 24k gold statue of Mickey Mouse worth US$2 Million at current gold prices deserves respect!

What can I say about Chow Tai Fook that I haven’t already said.?

In a nutshell, they have very high visibility in Hong Kong and sometimes you think they are like 7 - 11 in so far as we seemingly have one on every street corner but that is where the similarity ends, Chow Tai Fook sells high end jewellery and luxury watches oh… and the have nice line in Disney Jewellery.

So the basis of this post was two fold, why are there so many of their shops in Hong Kong and what is it with the 24k gold wedding jewellery which is a major money spinner for them

Queens Road Central on Hong Kong Island does not to me anyway, seem like a major retail district, it is in the middle of the business district and yet fancy jewellers and high end watch shops seem to dominate - quite simply this is down to foot traffic, from 8.30am - 6pm Queens Road Central is jammed with people and I mean lots of people all the way from HSBC headquarters to the start of the Mid Levels Escalator.

I have had guests ask me why there are 3 high end jewellery stores within 100 - 200 yards of each other on Queens Road Central (and yes, they cover both sides!) all with the name Chow Yai Fook!

We have around 1,000 7 - 11 stores in Hong Kong but I bet Chow Tai Fook has better name recognition with slightly less than 10% of that total, they stand out with their shop displays and there is no doubt that they are a high end jeweller

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Hong Kong Culture | Chow Tai Fook - Master Jewellers | Hong Kong

A lot of Chow Tai Fook shops are on Nathan Road in Kowloon. the one in the image above is in I Square shopping mall (and home to the Mickey Mouse Statue) at the junction of Nathan Road and Peking Road, the shop is jammed all day with Mainland Chinese Tourists and local Hong Kong residents.

Look at the numbers of stores they have, it is simply mind boggling, the people who decide locations for branches are at the top of their game, there is nothing and I mean nothing random about how they choose locations and I have heard that they are pretty ruthless at closing down branches that under perform.

Yes, the have competitors such as Luk Fook Jewellery, Chow Sang Sang but honestly, they are not even close to dominating the market in Hong Kong

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Hong Kong Culture | Chow Tai Fook - Piglet Jewellery | Hong Kong

Before I get into the subject of 24k Gold wedding jewellery and specifically the gold bangles, a word about piglets and wedding jewellery

Please refer to the image above, quite astonishing how they can take a momma pig anf her piglets and make it into high end wedding jewellery (24k pure gold) even rappers would not wear such large chunks of jewellery, in fact these necklaces may only be worn once before being tucked away in the safe with daily prayers to ask for a rise in the price of gold!

I have always been fascinated by piglet jewellery

… and onto the main event which is the wedding jewellery and specifically the dragon and phoenix jewllery, these images shown below are both displays of Chow Tai Fook Stores on Queens Road Central, about 200 yards from each other.

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Hong Kong Culture | Chow Tai Fook - Wedding Jewellery | Hong Kong

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Hong Kong Culture | Variation of Dragon + Phoenix gold culture | Hong Kong

So, you do not need to buy bangles for the Dragon and Phoenix culture and 24k Jewellery - you can have it mounted in a frame and hang it on the wall!

So there you go, in a nutshell, everything you wanted to know about gold wedding jewellery in Hong Kong which is available in pretty much every jewellery store in Hong Kong

I have also seen in some districts, Indian jewellery stores which cater to the significant Indian population in Hong Kong, they too have a thing about 24k gold jewellery and if it is possible, their shop displays are 10 | 10 for gaudiness and in your face commercialism

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Hong Kong Culture | Indian Jewellery Company | Hong Kong

This store is on a side street next to the Temple Street Night Market and always has customers inside, both local, Mainland Chinese Tourists and Indians either locals or visitors.

It is a pretty gaudy display, all the red and gold can get on your nerves after a while!

What i found amusing about this image was the 2 ladies on the left, so called “Ladies of the Night’ plying their trade without a care in the world and yes, the young lady looking at me offered her “services” when I walked past them!

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Jamie’s Hong Kong | Some of my favourite images | Hong Kong 101

Learn more | The Best Food Tours in Hong Kong 1 - Hong Kong Foodie Tours

Learn More | The Best Food Tours in Hong Kong 2 - Hello Hong Kong

Learn more | The Best Food Tours in Hong Kong 3 - Hong Kong Greeters

I do not do food tours in Hong Kong but I know people that do!

I am pleased to say a lot of Food Tour Companies will have egg tarts on their tasting menu

I have very specific reasons and part of it is that I do not speak Cantonese or write Chinese, I am from Yorkshire in England and I lack the language gene and it is not through lack of trying and yes a lot of restaurants do not have English menu’s or staff who speak conversational English.

.. and yet I have eaten at close to 1,400 restaurants in Hong Kong since January 2nd 1972, my wife was born in Hong Kong and we have been together over 40 years and her first language is Cantonese and a lot of her family are Chinese or half Chinese so I have never had much of an issue!

This does not translate to doing food tours though, yes, I could do them, no problem there but they would never ever be as good as the food tours done by my friends (see the 3 links above) most of their awesome guides are locally born Hong Kong Chinese and obviously food culture is part of their DNA, it is impossible for me to compete with that!

So please feel free to contact them for food tours