Qeelin is first Chinese jeweller to open on Paris’s Place Vendôme

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Jul 3, 2019

Qeelin has inaugurated a showcase at the heart of Paris, at 26 Place Vendôme. In a press release, the brand owned by the Kering group underlined how its new store, next door to Boucheron’s flagship, is the first by a Chinese jeweller to open on the famous Parisian square, an iconic destination for luxury and jewellery.
 

In 2007, Qeelin opened a first store in the French capital, overlooking the gardens of the Palais-Royal. This second store, even more centrally located on Place Vendôme, aims to boost the brand’s visibility with Western customers and Chinese tourists alike.
 
The interiors, extending on two levels, have been designed like an Oriental-style showcase, the colours black and red predominant, with lacquered wood furniture and jewellery displayed under glass bells, like objects in a Wunderkammer. With its grey bricks typical of Beijing’s old alleyways and the classic geometric parquet floors of Parisian flats, the place feels like a fusion of East and West.
 

Qeelin was founded in 2004 by Chinese designer Dennis Chan and French businessman Guillaume Brochard, who then left the business in 2015. Since then, the brand has been run by Christophe Artaux. At the end of 2012, Kering took control of Qeelin, buying a majority stake in the brand. At the time, it generated a revenue of under €30 million.

Backed by Kering, Qeelin has developed a substantial retail presence, operating nearly 40 monobrand stores, including shop-in-shops. The majority of them are located in Asia, though Qeelin is also present in the USA and France.
 
In 2014, Qeelin launched its first fine jewellery collection, though most of its sales are generated by the range of accessible luxury costume jewellery. The brand has a contemporary design positioning, drawing inspiration from Chinese ideograms and symbols. Qeelin is famous for recurrent motifs like ‘Wulu’, a sort of enlarged figure 8, a symbol of good fortune in China, or the little pandas called ‘BoBo’.