Antique porcelain pieces can be converted into stunning, stylish jewelry that appeals to high-end consumers. Many people like to wear such jewelry as it gives them a sense of history, says 28-year-old Su Nan, the owner of Caicifang, a workshop where these porcelain fragments are collected.

Although he majored in Antiques Studies from Capital Normal University, he worked in an engineering company after graduation and says he never thought that one day he would specialize in selecting antique porcelain pieces to design jewelry.

His brooches, bracelets, earrings, pendants and hairpins, all made with colored porcelain bits, are inlaid with beautiful filigree work. While there are other Beijing stores that have jewelry made with porcelain fragments, it is the delicate filigree work that makes Su's pieces unique.

Calling attention to a butterfly pattern he says: "This has been made from a piece of a pink porcelain bowl belonging to emperor Kangxi's period." To keep its original shape, he designed it as an irregular pendant and outlined it with exquisite silver filigree work.

"I kept looking for these two bat patterns for a year to match these two ancient coin patterns," he says, pointing to another creation. He recalls his excitement over finding the two bats on the cover of a glazed porcelain teapot made during Emperor Daoguang's time (1821-1850). "Luckily, one bat piece had the words 'made in the year of Daoguang' written on the reverse," he says. The Chinese believe the combination of bats and coins signals good fortune.

The family of Su's girlfriend, Wang Jing, has been making silver jewelry in Qianmen district for the past 100 years. Her grandfather collected several antique porcelain fragments from the Palace Museum during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76). Su guarantees that every piece from Caicifang is handcrafted and made from genuine antique porcelain.

"I was amazed at the thousands of porcelain fragments collected by her grandfather, a veteran filigree craftsman," says Su. He and Wang came up with the idea of converting them into ornaments years ago. They made their first piece with the help of her uncle and in 2005, they opened their first online shop. They later registered the logo, Caicifang.

"Most of our customers are Chinese in the 25-45 age group. However, some Japanese and Koreans have also placed orders," he says.

During the Olympics this year, a teacher from Peking University asked Su to design several pieces to gift to an overseas friend. He selected two Chinese chess patterns to make a pair of cufflinks. He also used a crab pattern for a money clip and the auspicious cloud pattern for a tie pin.

Some boutique stores near Chaoyang Park have approached Su to work together with porcelain produced today to widen their stock but he has refused as he believes only the use of genuine antique porcelain makes the jewelry pieces valuable.

"I don't just want to earn money; I want to use my creativity to make something special," he says. "That's the reason I won't sell some pieces that I really cherish."