ABOUT

Jean Z. Poh lives and works in New York City. As a fourth-generation jewelry professional, her career spans the luxury industry, from bespoke jewelry designer to founder of Swoonery, a pioneering multi-brand jewelry e-tailer that facilitated the migration of designer jewelry brands online, to CEO of luxury brands. Her work has been recognized by industry leaders, including LVMH Luxury Labs, and featured in Forbes, the Financial Times, Robb Report and other publications. In 2017, she was named one of Luxury Daily’s “Luxury Women to Watch.”

 

Although Poh has successfully founded and scaled companies, her true passion lies in creating work that is deeply personal and meticulously crafted, where the hand of the artist is evident in every piece. This focus on quality, attention, and personal involvement allows her to ensure that each creation is imbued with meaning and intention, reflecting the ethos of what Poh calls “conscious luxury.”

 

Poh’s design process is deeply personal, delving into the identity and values of those she works with. Her bespoke jewelry designs capture her clients’ unique styles and values, serving as lasting markers of life’s most important milestones. In parallel, her ceramics offer a more introspective form of expression, allowing her to explore her own ethnocultural identity and evolving experience of femininity. Poh began her study of ceramics at C.R.E.T.A. in Rome, Italy, and her works have since been showcased at Salone di Mobile in Milan (2021) and published in 1000 Vases, a coffee table book designed by Pier Paolo Pitacco.

 

Her expertise is grounded in a blend of academic rigor and hands-on training. Poh holds a graduate degree in diamonds from the Gemological Institute of America and apprenticed under her father, Zheng Z. Poh, and master goldsmith Leo Genkin. She also holds a JD from Cornell Law School and a BA from Barnard College of Columbia University and practiced corporate law for several years at Curtis in New York and MoFo in Shanghai before finding her calling in luxury. This multifaceted background reflects a rare blend of artistic talent, intellectual depth, and entrepreneurial vision that defines her approach to jewelry and ceramics.