Mr Raymond Chui, Director of China Strategic Development

Long known as Hong Kong’s premier crystal lighting outlet, Blue Heaven is expanding by establishing a new brand in China, BXL•JingKe (Crystal Glamour). The company is building boutique shops offering home décor items made of crystal, such as vases, glassware, crystal jewellery and sculpture to introduce the concept of crystal glamour.

There is some crossover between BXL•JingKe and BaoXiLai, as the boutiques in Shanghai and Beijing feature BaoXiLai’s top-of-the-line crystal chandeliers along with more affordable but no less desirable crystal jewellery and products made with other materials, such as marcasite, cubic zirconium and semi-precious stones. BaoXiLai in Chinese implies “Imperial Luxury,” reinforcing the crystal glamour theme.

“I’m doing more than just selling crystals,” said Raymond Chui, Director of Blue Heaven (China). Hired in 2000 to create, promote and expand the original brand, Chui, an architect and digital art director, has romantic plans to change buying habits in China. “Crystal is not traditional in Chinese culture, but young people today want to experience modernity, to own a little bit of luxury.”

For example, all showrooms of BXL•JingKe in Shanghai and Beijing feature BaoXiLai’s crystal chandeliers, forming what Mr Chui calls “Crystal Life.” For BXL•JingKe, Mr Chui sources crystal objects of desire from top crystal manufacturers, such as Moser and Halama from the Czech Republic and many other famous brands from Italy and France. He described the crystal pieces as “an important step in appreciating life, moving up to better quality and glamour. It’s like driving an unostentatious everyday car, and then stepping into a Ferrari. It’s a life-changing experience. Crystal can bring a certain change to a person’s lifestyle and bring an emotional feeling of pride. When others admire a special piece, the owner feels happy about it.”

Blue Heaven Crystal Lighting Ltd started its move into China in 2000, after nearly 40 successful years in Hong Kong as the leading supplier of high-quality, European crystal lighting products and services. The company already had showrooms in Shanghai and Beijing, and has opened some distribution agents.

“Our company is growing because the attitude of Chinese shoppers is changing. Although our luxury decorative lighting products anchor the company, I want to expand into the luxury lifestyle space with high-quality, wonderfully designed objects that are smaller and more affordable. To appeal to the younger Chinese consumers, we are basing a lot of our jewellery on Victorian ideas and designs that capture a certain sophistication, an elegant and refined look,” he said.

He mentioned the advertising campaign for BXL•JingKe that “crystalises” the whole concept and redefines the crystal image for the whole market. “We manipulate the photos of our models wearing our jewellery by adding crystal chandeliers as well, as if they were also jewellery. We are creating a ‘crystal glamour’ attitude in China,” he explained.

People in China are creative. “They may buy a traditional chandelier, but they may not hang it over a table. Rather they hang it in a corner or some other unusual place. Many hotels, spas, restaurants, and even coffee shops and chocolate stores, are buying crystal chandeliers to dress up the premises,” Chui said. “People are using crystals in unexpected ways, bringing a sense of the unusual to life. BaoXiLai is acting as the conduit for people to realise dreams they don’t know they have.”

He explained that even if a shopper buys an expensive diamond, he or she wouldn’t wear it all the time. But crystals, marcasite, semi-precious stones and cubic zirconium can be worn every day. “Marcasite is particularly attractive and makes up one of our key products. It is a mineral that mimics black diamonds, sparkles and shines, but is very easily adapted to many different designs and shapes, so the pieces are very interesting. It is said that this substance absorbs peoples’ negative energy and helps them feel better. If a small piece falls out of the necklace, bracelet or ring, we will replace it for free. We give a life-time guarantee so people trust us.”

By offering semi-precious stone jewellery and accessories, BXL•JingKe can also satisfy the customers who enjoy owning the “real thing” but who don’t wish to spend as much as diamonds would cost. The crystal costume jewellery will also be affordable enough so people can buy one piece for a special occasion.

The showrooms are predictably dazzling, with spectacular chandeliers dangling over the sparkly showcases full of jewellery and crystal accessories.

“We started to train our staff to not only serve our customers but also to know the entire business by visiting the suppliers and understanding the entire product cycle. We made a big investment in our people, which has paid off,” he said. “By offering superior service along with the highest quality products, our customers are happy and recommend our brand to others.”

BaoXiLai is small compared to the huge Chinese crystal makers, but it wants to stay small and unique, providing the best-quality crystal lighting. Chui plans a further consolidation of “Crystal Lighting” and “Crystal Glamour” products into China’s second-tier and third-tier cities. His ambition is to make the BaoXiLai and BXL•JingKe brands on a par with the big players, Swarovski, Baccarat and Waterford. “I like a challenge,” he said.
- Bonnie Engel

PHILOSOPHY
"Crystal Glamour" is more than a lifestyle, more than an attitude. It's a pride and a quietly emotional appreciation of the finer things in life. More than lighting, more than jewellery, more than accessories, "Crystal Glamour" is a statement about life and happiness. There is a subtle connection between crystal and glamour only available through the BaoXiLai and BXL•JingKe showrooms in China.

FAST FACTS
2008
• Plans for further expansion into China
2007
• Opens two more shops in Shanghai
2006
• Opens first showroom in Beijing
2001
• Chosen to be the supplier for the VIP Hall for the APEC venue, Shanghai
2000
• Starts expansion in Mainland China, Shanghai
1969
• Established in Hong Kong