About Us

NuwaJewels is named in ode to the Chinese mother goddess Nuwa. According to Chinese mythology, heaven did not originally cover earth and earth did not uphold heaven, thus creating widespread disaster. As the mother of creation, the goddess Nuwa repaired heaven by smelting together five-coloured stones, patching up the sky. Thereupon, balance was restored. A typical fairy tale of good vs evil, NuwaJewels’ rich history was born and the story’s soul lies at the heart of both our business and values.

Lau Su Ping began her life in China in the 1920s, at a time when her country was broken; rife with destruction and genocide. Finding herself within this hurricane of disaster as a solo young teenager and despite much turmoil, she tenaciously, fearlessly and resourcefully survived; making her way to Hong Kong with a carefully hidden pocket full of jewels.

Those jewels, some of which are still with NuwaJewels today, bought her way into safety; her passion and knowledge of the trade secured her future.

Lau Su Ping arrived in the United States in 1955 and along with the love and support of her American husband, opened her first shop ‘Little Asia’ in Bloomington Minnesota in 1972. She owned several shops over the years and in 1983 her youngest daughter Patricia graduated as a Gemologist at the Gemological Institute of America.

Many years later, after moving to London, Patricia continued her interest in gems and jewellery first by writing and lecturing on the therapeutic properties of gemstones and continued building a collection whilst working in the trade.

The legend of the goddess Nuwa lives on through Patricia and her children who work to pass on this story of transformation, courage and life after loss.

Each of our pieces not only hold beauty but also their own unique history. They retain their value and forge paths across generations.

Responsibly Sourced & Sustainable

All our jewellery is made from at least one material that came from the earth; the gold, the silver, the diamonds, the gemstones; often found in some of the poorest regions of the world. This makes sourcing ethical and sustainable jewellery challenging. At Nuwa Jewels, we are determined to play our part by only selling jewellery that has no further negative impact on the people who made it or the environment it was produced in.

Since the 1870s, most of the world's gem-quality diamonds have been mined in Africa and diamonds often pass through many hands before reaching the consumer, making traceability almost impossible. Consequently, ensuring ethical production for modestly priced diamonds is challenging. For this reason, we are committed to recycling older diamonds, gemstones and precious metals.

Whilst we cannot guarantee the history of each piece, we are not contributing to the current or future environmental impact of new jewellery production.

Therefore, by selling vintage pre-loved jewellery we are reducing demand for new jewellery that does.

Honesty and transparency are at the centre of everything we believe in and we will never make claims about our products that aren’t true. Even the very best jewellers will never achieve 100% traceability of their supply chains; it’s simply not possible with mined diamonds.

Craftsman often historically created jewellery in times when quality was paramount and the consequences to our Earth or its inhabitants were not prioritised. However, we believe that recycling doesn’t mean sacrificing quality for making ethical or environmental choices. We carefully select our range to deliver sustainable value for money.

We hope you enjoy our collections of jewellery and feel secure in the knowledge that we take great care in sourcing it, with our commitment to the environment at the forefront.

Our Mission

Our mission is to uphold dignity and transparency in the diamond and jewellery trade by ensuring our gems and jewellery are responsibly sourced. For example, currently there is a drive to popularise synthetic diamonds, which is an excellent way to preserve what jewels we have buried deep within our planet because not only is there a human rights issue around the production of naturally sourced diamonds, but there is an idea that we are robbing our precious earth. Having said that, it is known that synthetic diamonds are being sold as natural diamonds and there is a significant cost difference; natural diamonds are more valuable.

Buying vintage gems from Nuwa Jewels is one way to ensure that what you are getting has not been procured as a result of either crimes against humanity or a misrepresentation of source.

As a Graduate Gemologist, our director Patty Deppe personally guarantees our products, as she has inspected and verified each and every item. You are in safe hands with us, and if there is any reason you are unhappy with your purchase, we will give your money back within 14 days of purchase. If you decide you would like to upgrade in the future, we will give you the fairest price in the market and apply it towards a bigger, better piece.