Ok so I’m the last person you should ask about jewellery. Save for a watch and a piercing on the top of my left ear, my personal philosophy for accessorizing has always been No Party Is A Good Party. Hannah Ren, on the other hand, is Beyonce’s solo to my KTV howl in terms of jewellery knowledge (vocal talent too no doubt).

I first met Hannah at a brunch a long cold-ass winter ago. My first impression: Damn this girl has a good laugh. A fellow banana, she was born in China but moved to Australia and later did her undergrad and Masters at RMIT in Melbourne, majoring in Gold and Silversmithing. She moved to Beijing around 4 years ago.

When I saw her latest ring designs on WeChat, I immediately wanted to photograph her in them. Not only is the concept (which I’ll talk about later) great for this day and age of modern Chinese women, but I love it when talented girls really push their work out there. It’s not always easy.

So I spent an afternoon photographing Hannah in the real parts of Beijing, learning about the jewellery-production process and chatting about work, life and love.

She’s currently the International Business Development Manager at Hiersun – China’s biggest jewellery retailer, which carries the popular ‘I Do’ brand. But, as all badass ambitious and successful girls, I’ve realized there are dualities in their careers. There’s always the ‘werk’ and then there’s always the ‘twerk’.

It’s like nachos and guachamole. You love it as it is, but sometimes you add more guach because it’s just so fucking good.

Is this metaphor working?

Consider the following:

Hannah’s Werk: Working with local and international designers on either distributing their existing collections or working on exclusive collaborations with ‘I Do’.

Hannah’s Twerk: She just released a collection of ‘Signet Rings for Girls’. Signet rings are quite bold and masculine in shape, traditionally worn by men as status symbols. But Hannah’s versions are engraved with girlboss-type mantras meant to give you a boost whenever you need the extra sass.

We’re in this new world where looks play assistant to pure grit and talent. And this is a wonderful world for women to thrive in. So fuck it if signet rings are usually meant for men. So were pants. But now I wear them, you wear them, and I know your girlfriend wears them. So let’s support this revolution. The power is in – and on – your fingers.