Chinese queuing to shop at Tiffany and Cartier rival Laopu Gold, the ‘Hermès of gold'
Vivian Wang bought a gold medallion decorated with a carved dragon from Laopu Gold, a Beijing-based jeweller known for its handmade accessories, nearly a decade ago, but forgot about the brand until last year, when it appeared all over her social media feeds.
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Swiping through post after post about
Laopu Gold , the sales and marketing professional from Shanghai came across her dragon medallion, which was now selling for 220,000 yuan (US$30,370), double what she paid.
Wang decided to brave the queues outside Laopu's Shanghai store in tourist hub Yu Garden to make another purchase, this time an intricate jewellery box constructed from thinly woven gold strands with a dragon and phoenix on the lid.
Wang said she would like to pass it on to her eight-year-old daughter one day.
After the [Covid-19] pandemic, people want to pursue something more elevated that offers some spiritual sustenance
Vivian Wang, shopper at Laopu Gold in Shanghai
'I'm a jewellery lover. Tiffany,
Cartier or Bulgari, these are all brands I have bought,' Wang says, citing rival retail chains owned by LVMH and Richemont.
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