Our Story
OTTO Jewellery is a family owned business, specialising in bespoke jewellery and jewellery remodelling for over 30 years. Our business has been built up on values of honesty, quality and integrity.
John Li, owner and Master Jeweller, decided to move to Australia to search for opportunity. He now owns his own workshop, crafting one of a kind bespoke pieces of the finest quality, as well as repairing and restoring precious memorabilia and antiques. He continues to challenge his creative boundaries through designing and handcrafting grand masterpieces, and his creativity and craftsmanship has been rewarded with gold and silver prizes at international jewellery competitions.
At Otto Jewellery, we create your personal narrative in the form of precious metals and precious stones so it can be cherished for generations to come.
Each design element is guided by your style and choice. Every element is thoughtfully considered. We provide expert advice and service, guiding you from the design, precious metal and gem choices, to the plating and finish of your piece.
We have a commitment to creating exquisite pieces in high quality materials, and continually remodel, repair and recycle to create your heirloom piece.
John Li's Story
Shanghai, CHN
The Beginning: Aspiring Artist
Raised by his father, an interior designer, and his godfather, who specialised in Chinese calligraphy and traditional ink painting, John dreamt of becoming an artist from a young age.
He spent a significant time of his childhood in the countryside, and Mother Nature’s beauty greatly influenced his style of art and imagination. He was drawn to nature’s shape, form, colour and mesmerised by the way objects moved. This led him to chose a different medium to express his creativity - gold as his pen-line and colour stones as his paint.
He graduated from university with a degree in Eastern Art and further trained and worked as a jewellery designer and producer in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Sydney, AUS
Miles in Search for Opportunity
John moved to Sydney to search for opportunity in his early 20s. He continued to work as a jewellery designer and producer in Sydney, and was mentored by multiple Master Jewellers. With decades of dedication and practice under his belt, John is a Master Jeweller today, an expert in an array of skills including jewellery design, drawing, engraving, hand building, soldering, wax carving and setting.
Australia broadened John’s choice of ‘paint’ in his work. John gravitated towards the unique gemstones Australia offers - opals, south sea pearls and Argyle pink diamonds. He is particularly drawn to the Opal, which takes on many unpredictable shapes and colours so no one piece is the same. This speaks to John’s philosophy of creating bespoke pieces that only one of its kind exists in the world (獨一無二).
John Li’s Achievements
In the 90’s, John was also a part of a generation of Chinese-Australian entrepreneurs that encouraged trade between China and Australia under Bob Hawke’s government. John was one of the few who supported the Opal trade.
Over the past recent years, John has challenged his creativity and in exquisite masterpieces. The many months of craftsmanship and intentional concept design was recognised by several awards:
Shanghai Jewellery Design Award 2023 | Gold Medal - “Fire Bird” (2023)
Shanghai Jewellery Design Award 2022 | Silver Medal - “Ocean Sam” (2022)
International Opal Jewellery Design Awards 2017 (OJDA Association) | Professional Jeweller Award - “Ocean Life” (2017)
Seeing his creative visions and ideas turned into a wearable piece of art is rewarding and gratifying and it motivates John to continue to do what he does.
