BRANDS & Jewels
The gleamingly black panther is all about beauty and grace hence Cartier choice of it's brand symbol since 1914. The beauty in black is gorgeous but the golden pair carrying the blood-red colored gemstone takes it to another new level. If you looked closely enough you can even catch the glimpse of the eye with the hues of the forest, surrounded with misty moss. The refined die-cut of it's thick floral casing matches perfectly with the soft floral inserts. If you are keen to know more, check out the stories behind these Egyptian culture cats and many more stunning work of arts (credit to quillandpad.com).
Swarovski continues to glitter year after year with their signature crystal designed money packets, whether for Chinese New Year in red or Hari Raya in green. Their 2019 design is exceptionally stunning hence my favorite from them so far. This beautiful water bird a.k.a the Swan symbolizes purity, beauty, grace, love and elegance. The swan was used to replaced the Edelweiss flower logo in 1989 and continues to charm not only the swan seekers but ladies around the world.
More water beauties from 2019, the year of the water boar. Pandora infinite golden fishes bring endless wealth and fortune while also taking the spotlight is the elegant Audemars Piguet 4pcs set from Le Brassus, a village in the Vallée de Joux in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland.
We have a simple lantern from Giorgio Armani with their brand name glittering across followed by a golden logo designed flap. Next is the lustrous and passionate ruby glow from the timeless beauty jewelry creation by Tiffany & Co with a simple floral piece that also sees a tiny little pig under the flap, a captivating delight indeed for us collectors <(゚´(。。)`゚)>
Always a delight to be able to add a few of the luxury cars red packets to my collection and thanks to a fellow collector who doesn't mind sharing her extra I have the grand Mclaren, sporty Porsche, golden Lamborghini, red hot Ferrari, a rather simple Rolls Royce and finally the BMW, just nice for my small little garage ><
Here comes the fashion piggies; Hermès the luxury French leather bag that everyone knows of especially after made even more famous by our ex-first lady (ahem). Hugo Boss oversize pig head with a human like legs in blue shoes is as artistic as can be, catchy and oddly I like it. MCM flying golden piggy is an angel floating by while Longchamp upper half piggy bank has cut back on it's paper thickness as compared to their 2018 pawies. Next we have Lanvin putting out their bottle of perfumes together with a tiny pig in 2019 whereas in a plainer design but quite a lovely touch using little golden charms, perfume and dress in 2018.
Let us continue to party with some of the more colorful designs from the luxury brands. Furla and Salvatore Ferragamo are my 2018 top pick from the fashion world with their rendition of the dogs. While Furla only have two beautiful white dogs to match the white and gold floral, Salvatore went with more breeds and colors. Tory Burch and Calvin Klein used a darker blue tone for their dogs, the many tiny adorable Schnauzers from Tory and the Dachshund that will steal your heart with those droopy ears and eyes. From the Spanish luxury fashion house specializing in leather is Loewe spectacular fireworks. Saime Select born in 2009 Taiwan came to Malaysia in 2014. No update on their Facebook page since March 2019 and their Shopee account as well but still their handbags and purses are still available for viewing (grin).
From the watches we have Tag Heuer with their cartoony illustration of a wealthy man and his sidekick while Tissot continued with the colorful zodiac motif from their 2016 monkeys.
Adding on 2019 Tissot with a cheongsam motif this round, definitely not as vibrant and appealing to me like before but I am sure there are many collectors who prefer more elegant designs like this. I do like the building illustration on it's screen folder.
Here are the other watches with a more classical approach from Tudor, Blancpain and Vacheron Constantin, all in pairs of gold and red. Tudor however has cut back from a pair of many tiny little shields to a single piece with just one golden embossed shield in 2019. Do you know that the shield was part of the Tudor rose before disappearing in 1947 and finally reappeared in 1969?
The one that really stood out from the rest is the 2018 Longines with the fine and delicate die-cut inner watch motif. Tik-tok, tik-tok, one can almost hear those soft ticking sound from the “calibre”, the engine of a watch that acts as the powerhouse. The internal mechanism inside the timepiece is quite mysterious and beautiful.
City Chain continues to give us colors but only in pairs for 2019 while their 2018 is a set of four with die-cut effect designed floral background and four Chinese symbols; Firecrackers, Chinese knot, Koi and the golden rice bowl, a powerful symbol of enduring wealth in feng shui. AD Time collaborated with Alain Delon, Charles Jordan and Bonia each giving us a piece of a different color and timepiece design in 2018 while in 2019 they managed to feature more brands behind the three vibrant pineapples.
Rolex continued using it's crown for both years, 2017 in gold and in red for 2018 but changed from vertical to a horizontal textured line piece in 2019. The paper is thicker and the feel definitely more luxury. Next we have Chaumet, a jewelry and watchmaking designer founded in 1780 by Marie-Étienne Nitot, is proudly parading it's 12 Place Vendôme, one of the oldest jewelry houses in Europe since 1907. IWC surrounded it's 福 'fu' with bamboo in 2019 while Piaget has it's pinwheel blind embossed. Both Piaget and IWC was thicker in 2018 with an added charm attached to the back of the packet, a mini lantern from Piaget and a real Chinese knot from IWC. Longines floral piece in 2019 is elegant but nothing as stunning as it's 2018 time piece. Zenith on the other hand took on a time piece in 2019 but rather subtly hence their 2018 star symbol shines brighter for me. Next we have the swiss watch makers, Jaquet Droz elegant jungle piece and Maurice Lacroix simple red. Moving on to Swiss Watch Gallery the authorized retailer for some of the world's iconic brands since 2001 with their Koi fishes swimming in circles and so are the ones from Panerai swimming around it's exquisite Italian time piece. Since I didn't manage to get the oinkers I can only proudly show-off the pups and chicks from Mont Blanc, Omega and Skagen.
From the fashion world we have the Paris designed clothing brand maje featuring a simple but beautiful floral while Roger Vivier the French fashion designer who specialized in shoes didn't have any stiletto heels to show off in 2018 but still as sophisticated with a floral piece. Featuring the faithful dogs are the Danish Jeweler Pandora and the Italian fashion brand Bottega Veneta, More from French is Van Cleef & Arpels with their zodiac that will greet you from the inside when you lift up the flap, a unique way to celebrate each zodiac every year. Founded in 1884 Rome, Italy Bvlgari celebrated 2019 with a pair of what looks like a firework display while featuring two pups in 2018.
It's raining pearls with all twelve zodiac peeping out the window to catch the glowing sight. Edward Kong took a break from their cheongsam motif since 2015 and presented collectors a 6pcs set of yellow inserts with red pearl casing. Each insert carries two different zodiac paired with auspicious greetings front and back. They are tucked snugly in a thick box like screen folder and finished off with a yellow ribbon tied around it. Hop over to my zodiac page (click here) to catch a closer view of these beauties or visit my dresser for those cheongsam.
p r e c i o u s s t o n e s
Jewels are always beautiful whether worn or on it's own, even the red packets carry the same elegance and beauty. I was really mesmerized by Nirav Modi piece but was totally shocked to know that the designer himself is wanted by the Interpol since August 2018 and was arrested in London on March 2019. All Nirav Modi's requests for bail have been rejected as of October 2020 and he is scheduled to appear in his ongoing extradition trial on November 3.
Jade is a gemstone made of two different minerals Jadeite & Nephrite carved into beautiful jewelry and ornaments. They have the ability to release healing properties and magnetic light filling your spirit with courage on any spiritual adventure. I am more than delighted to be able to continue my DeGem collection since the horsey and both 2018 & 2019 carry the natural Jade beauty. Find the rest of the series over at my DeGem corner (click here).
Diamond & Platinum took on the jade (as the body) with a diamond plated lion dance head and a diamond tail. While the idea is pretty cool the execution is just not the same as compared to the similar design by DeGem. Another diamond on the move is Le Lumiere with the birdies and plum blossom motif on a glossy paper finishing, definitely better quality among the jewelers. Habib doors are not prominent but has a semi holographic effect with thick paper hence a lovely pair. Wah Chan is going cute all the way with their 4pcs set of smiley eyes piggies. Lots of colors and a big semi circle flap as compared to their two tone lion dancing pair in 2018. We already know how their 2020 looks like don't we?
Another local favorite jeweler is Tomei and they have always given collectors sets that is made up of independent designs in a mixture of horizontal and vertical layout since I started collecting them in 2014. As you can see from both their 2018 and 2019 sets, the only consistency is the inconsistency of the designs but somehow I am still drawn to continue the series year after year. The cheongsam piece was my favorite in 2018 but the vase and ruby 春 'chun' piece are just as beautiful while 2019 focus was more on the floral which I like just as much.
S K I N C A R E , c o s m e c t i c , F R A G R A N C E S
The Skin Care Brands is a luxury experience as it has become inevitable for women to ignore the importance of staying youthful and beautiful. Besides the three cheongsam from Schrammak above, we have more oriental themes like the Chinese fan; My first Estee Lauder ever as well as La Roche-Posay with a hint of their signature blue inside and out, even on the tiny golden pig, can you spot it? Lancome on the other hand is quite simple with their chosen lantern motif. Can't seem to tell whether the little circles from Cellnique are the big planets of the universe or just tiny little cells (lol).
Besides fragrances and fashion, Dior skincare range is just as luxurious and refined and so is their money packet, subtle and tasteful. Yves Saint Laurent also has a notable presence in the luxury beauty and fragrance market took on a thick, glossy and classy design. We have a few new oinkers joining La Roche and Benefit, the tiny golden pig from Zara, the cute yellow ms piggy from Clarins, the geometric wild boar from Kens, the bouncing trio from Laneige and finally the golden ribbon hog from Shiseido.
Besides fragrances and fashion, Dior skincare range is just as luxurious and refined and so is their money packet, subtle and tasteful. Yves Saint Laurent also has a notable presence in the luxury beauty and fragrance market took on a thick, glossy and classy design. We have a few new oinkers joining La Roche and Benefit, the tiny golden pig from Zara, the cute yellow ms piggy from Clarins, the geometric wild boar from Kens, the bouncing trio from Laneige and finally the golden ribbon hog from Shiseido.
Continuing the singleton above we have the floral beauties, always refreshingly delightful from Celmonze, Kose, Dr ForHair, doTERRA and YGT. While Celmoze bottle is filled with floral Innisfree zapped up tiny little golden ones. Kiehl's city view has a few skyscrapers, among them the Shanghai Pearl tower while in the streets we have NYC taxi (grin). The sweet floral set from Dermalogica below came in two different packs, the lighter tone on the top row and the darker series at the bottom row, both just as pleasant. Together they make a beautiful contrasting set.
Sothys definitely has the largest peony this year with a top-bottom joining 6pcs set accompanied by the little white, yellow and blue butterflies. While the touch and feel of the giant peony above is almost as real as it gets, the sweetness and garden fresh from Mary Kay vibrant and captivating set of four is just as alluring. The front-back adjoining illustration is picture perfect for me and when the flower blossoms, the bee will come; Listen and let them guide you for the hum is the voice of the garden. Marie France has also given us a pair of beautiful garden window view in bright sunshine yellow and clear blue sky. While Marie France is glimmering in elegance, Nu Skin pair is soft and velvety carrying their swallows gracefully. Fun Facts: The Chinese term for swallows are referred to as 燕子 yànzi. In Chinese culture, the swallow is a bird symbolic of feminine grace and beauty. 赵飞燕 zhào fēiyàn (literally 'flying swallow Zhao') was an empress of the Han dynasty famed to this day for her slender beauty.
Besides the lovely soft touch duo from Nu Skin above Sephora has also given us a good quality pair using just pink and red on their Fu福 & Chun春. Anyone seen or has their Singapore version? Same design and paper but carries the zodiac... Unfortunately I am still waiting to complete my pair. I have always like the red packets from Sasa and still remembered how excited I was when I traded a pair of their geometric goat back when I just joined the angpow groups on FB. However ever since then Sasa has stopped using zodiac and took on floral motif for two years and then just patterns thereon. Although they have also incorporated the Chinese knot in 2019, I still prefer their older series with the goat, horse and snake skin!
Crabtree & Evelyn is giving collectors a new fresh look with their colorful lion dancing red packets. Do you remember their flowery trademark since as early as 2008? I have a special corner for my collection of Crabtree floral 2008-2017 right here (click for the link).
The down-to-earth-easy-going pig comes in all different fun and beautiful appearances in 2019. From the single sycee pig of Benefit that is basking in magenta promoting compassion, kindness and cooperation as well as encourages a sense of contentment in those who wear it. We have Laneige lantern-balancing oinkers, a pink and red duo from Singapore while a horizontal piece from Malaysia. Next is Shiseido hog all wrapped up in golden ribbon, both Laneige and Shiseido definitely outshines their Malaysia counterparts.
Before we go back to 2018, we have a 3 years series from Royal Selangor. Maintaining their paper, layout and size while changing the illustration from random patterns to the gold fishes in 2019, Royal Selangor has managed to keep me hooked on to their colorful series. Loreal Singapore has a lovely 6pcs set in 2018 featuring their product range of skin care, perfume, makeup and hair care. Clarins, Luxasia and SKII included the faithful dog(s) in their packets while Shiseido although just a single design in 2018, gave us collectors the most glittering piece of all. Kiehl's continued with the bright orange theme showing off some of the famous American structural landmarks.
Not the typical high end luxury bags and clothing brands but definitely made a name in the market with their designs and quality for decades... First up is Carlo Rino with a plain dark rose piece filled with little flowers in 2018 after which they turned to yellow in 2019 with the same background with the added pink blossom.
Not the typical high end luxury bags and clothing brands but definitely made a name in the market with their designs and quality for decades... First up is Carlo Rino with a plain dark rose piece filled with little flowers in 2018 after which they turned to yellow in 2019 with the same background with the added pink blossom.
Moving on to the year of boar we have the fashion brands from Esprit a simple but quality horizontal piece while Levi's and Dockers pockets are squarish and small size. Uniqlo is just slightly bigger but using a unique layout that can be open up and folded back which got many collectors thinking it's was a casing instead.
For more of my latest collection, please visit my facebook page or get the links to my collection by years via my facebook album here. (๑‵●‿●‵๑)