The tea set takes inspiration from the planet Venus. The Chinese translation of planet Venus is 金星 (the golden star), which coincidentally is the Chinese brand name of the 98-year old luxury jewellery retailer K.S. Sze & Sons at the Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. The owner, Dr Nien Dak Sze, has been dedicating much of his life on discovering the mystery of Venus with his research at Harvard University. He is also one of the first scientists that helped discover the cause for ozone layer depletion in the 60’s.
The design of this tea set is to simulate the planet Venus - an enigmatic planet covered by a shinny atmospheric cloud impenetrable by the human eyes and modern technology. The cloud layer surrounding the outer atmosphere of Venus has a refractive index of 2.2 which is very close to that of diamonds (2.4), making it the brightest planet visible on earth. Yet, it is also the most mysterious planet in our galaxy due to the cloud of sparkling particles that makes its core composition difficult to be revealed.
The tea set was a collaboration project between K.S. Sze & Sons and Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong.
Concept, Visual and Experience Design by Chi Chi Cheng
Photo and Food Design by Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong
