Design
|
YYR brings the romance of antique and estate high jewelry into everyday life. We’re drawn to elegant silhouettes, intricate settings, and the small details that make a piece worth looking at twice. |
| Our designs balance that richness with modern wearability: considered proportions, comfortable construction, and versatile elements that invite you to make each piece your own. From a sculptural necklace to earrings with removable pendants, we create jewelry that feels extraordinary yet fits naturally into your life. |
|
On beauty, craft, and everyday jewelry
A conversation with Yirou, founder and CEO
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE YYR AESTHETIC?
“I want to make the kind of jewelry you fall in love with at first sight—and then keep finding reasons to wear. Something extraordinary shouldn’t have to wait for an extraordinary occasion.”
I’ve always been drawn to antique and estate high jewelry—the expressive shapes, intricate settings, and details that reveal themselves when you look closely. With YYR, I wanted to bring that romance into pieces that feel natural to wear today. Jewelry can be wonderfully elaborate and still have a place in everyday life.
WHAT IS YOUR DESIGN PHILOSOPHY?
We begin with what makes a piece beautiful, then consider what makes it a pleasure to wear. Proportion, movement, and how it sits against the skin matter as much as its appearance. A necklace should frame you beautifully; an earring should feel as considered on the ear with every movement as it looks in still photography.
HOW DO MATERIALS INFLUENCE YOUR DESIGN?
Choosing materials is part of designing. We consider how a stone catches the light, how a metal holds fine detail, and what each choice means for comfort, care, and price.
We call this materials intelligence. Custom-cut cubic zirconia, for example, gives us room to explore striking proportions and intricate compositions while keeping the finished piece accessible. Every material should earn its place in the design.
HOW DO YOU LEAVE ROOM FOR PERSONAL EXPRESSION?
I like giving people room to play. Our modular earrings have removable pendants, so you can change their character depending on your mood or what you’re wearing.
That freedom extends beyond modularity. An ornate necklace can look just as compelling with an open shirt as it does with an evening dress. The wearer brings something to the piece that we could never design in advance.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BRING THE DETAILS TO LIFE?
A design depends on its execution. The placement of a prong, the articulation of a link, or the finish of an edge can change how the whole piece looks and feels.
Our pieces are brought to life in family-owned workshops in Guangzhou, China, by jewelers with decades of experience. Their skill gives expression to the details that first drew me to jewelry.
WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE FEEL WHEN THEY WEAR YYR?
The pleasure of wearing something they love, without wondering whether the occasion is special enough. I hope our pieces become part of how people express themselves—worn often, styled personally, and enjoyed freely. That’s the heart of our motto: Life is the occasion. Wear what you desire!
Explore our collections.
Have a question?