Chow Tai Fook has partnered with Flont and Adrian Cheng’s venture capital firm C Ventures to launch a jewellery rental service in Asia.

Flont, which touts itself as the pioneer of the ‘Jewellery as a Service’ concept, describes the deal as a “massive expansion” of its jewellery-sharing platform creating an “unparalleled luxury network” across Asia, including 2500 Chow Tai Fook stores and Cheng’s growing network of K11 art malls.  

Flont, headquartered in New York, enables consumers to discover and wear high-end jewellery they may not be able to afford to buy. Its sharing model targets millennials and Gen Zers, and has been likened to the Uber or Airbnb concepts merged with e-commerce. Consumers can borrow, experience and even buy fine jewellery, with insurance and shipping included, through rental or membership subscription services.

Cheng, who is executive director of Chow Tai Fook, orchestrated the partnership through C Ventures, which he co-founded with Clive Ng. Besides the retail and mall networks, Flont gains a gateway to more than 9 million VIP members of the Chow Tai Fook and K11 organisations.

Flont will open a standalone lounge in Hong Kong’s in Victoria Dockside, where customers can view new pieces added to the catalogue, return rented pieces or exchange them for new ones.  

“In our first year, Flont surpassed 10,000 members in the US, by forging meaningful partnerships with brands and businesses in the fashion, beauty, travel and retail industries,” said Cormac Kinney, founder and CEO.

He describes C Ventures and Chow Tai Fook as the best-possible partners in the region. “Their consumer relationships, retail network, logistics and luxury heritage, will enable Flont to grow rapidly, and provide exceptional service.”

Cheng says Flont’s jewellery-as-a-service offer has “amazing potential in China and the rest of Asia, where luxury rental is still at its infancy”.

Through Chow Tai Fook, Flont will gain rapid access to consumers in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Taiwan.