Britt’s Pick: Haoyang’s Titanium Garden Brooch

By Brittany Siminitz | October 27, 2026

I had this Haoyang piece earmarked about a month or so ago, drawn to its technicolor garden coaxed out of metal, lending a playful side to an otherwise stately brooch. But after returning from the JIS Fall show in Miami, I’m glad I held onto it—if only because it gave me confirmation of its relevance beyond just being pretty.

During her trends talk on the show floor, our editor-in-chief, Victoria Gomelsky, noted that titanium is gaining traction at the high end of jewelry, in part because its light weight gives designers the freedom to work at a scale that would be far more difficult—and considerably heavier—in gold. For a customer “looking for art,” she said, titanium opens up possibilities that gold simply can’t (you can read more on the discussion here).

And so I returned to Haoyang’s Garden brooch, making Gomelsky’s case rather spectacularly.

The piece is made in titanium, its saturated colors created through an anodizing process developed in the brand’s own workshop. Steven (Hao-Yang) Lai of Haoyang Art Jewels says extensive experimentation allows the team to achieve virtually any saturated shade, while mixing polished and matte finishes creates additional depth. That control over color matters because Haoyang doesn’t treat it merely as decoration. Gemstones often determine the titanium palette surrounding them, with the designers either working in related hues for harmony or deliberately setting up contrast. “Our work begins with abstract ideas that evolve into sculptural lines,” Steven says. “We focus on bringing rich color and three-dimensional form together.”

Alongside the jewel’s eye-catching color, its sculptural quality is what held me. Despite all that metal, the petals don’t read as hard or mechanical. They curl, overlap, and seem almost soft enough to bend beneath your fingers. According to Lai, achieving that effect comes down largely to proportion, something the team refines extensively during the wax design stage before the piece reaches its final form.

That’s a useful reminder of why titanium has become such an interesting material for jewelers working at this end of the spectrum. Its lightness is practical, certainly, but that practicality affords creative freedom: more volume, more dimension, and more drama, without asking the wearer to carry the equivalent weight (or price) in gold.

From the showcase, that story is worth telling after the initial wow factor settles. Lai recommends articulating both the designer’s vision and titanium’s particular properties: “Explaining how an abstract idea is transformed into a wearable work of art helps customers appreciate the technical journey and the value behind the designs.”

Such is the case that Gomelsky made in Miami: Titanium isn’t compelling because it is trying to imitate gold, but rather because it lets a designer do something else entirely.

In this case, evidently, it’s capable of growing a garden.

Top: Garden brooch in titanium with amethysts, topaz, and diamonds, price on request; Haoyang Art Jewels