From Traditional Amulets to Contemporary Jewelry in Just 9 Days
MUTELU Challenge — When Belief Must Not Only Inspire Beautiful Design, but Also Become a Tangible Creation
After the previous challenge, where CREW CUTTERS explored the world of Gen Z and experimented with AI as a supporting tool in the creative process, this next challenge brought us back to something deeply rooted in Thai society and culture.
“Belief.”
The challenge was to design Mutelu-inspired jewelry or auspicious objects, with CREW CUTTERS assigned the theme of “Metta Mahaniyom” — a traditional Thai belief associated with attracting kindness and goodwill, enhancing personal charm, encouraging successful communication and business interactions, and gaining support from those around us.
But the real challenge went far beyond creating a beautiful design.
This time, every team had just nine days to develop a concept, finalize the design, and transform it into a real, finished piece of jewelry to present to the judges.
What had previously existed only on paper now had to enter the world of production, where creative ideas would be tested against the realities of craftsmanship, materials, and time.
Before Designing, We First Had to Understand the Beliefs Behind Our Creation
The concept and design direction for this challenge were developed by Thanawat Panachaweng of Charites Gems, who began by sharing his knowledge of traditional Thai auspicious objects and exchanging ideas with the team.
In Thai cultural traditions, auspicious objects and amulets take many different forms.
Some originate from natural materials that have long been regarded as possessing special significance. Others take the form of sacred figures or symbols connected to religious traditions and mythology. There are also auspicious objects created according to specific local beliefs, spiritual traditions, and inherited practices, each carrying its own symbolism and cultural meaning.
For this challenge, Thanawat Panachaweng of Charites Gems chose to explore the latter category. He wanted to avoid using religious figures as the central elements of the design. Nor did he want to simply place a traditional amulet inside a decorative setting or turn it into a pendant. Instead, his approach was to begin with “the meaning behind the belief” and reinterpret it through the language of contemporary jewelry design.
This led to a defining question: How could we preserve the original meaning of a traditional amulet while giving it the aesthetics, functionality, and value of contemporary jewelry?
From the Twin Sarika Birds to THE GOLDEN SPELL
With Metta Mahaniyom as the central theme, Thanawat Panachaweng of Charites Gems chose the “Twin Sarika Birds” as the heart of the design.
In traditional Thai beliefs, the Sarika is associated with charm in communication, persuasive speech, successful negotiations, prosperity in business, and the ability to attract kindness and goodwill from others. Rather than reproducing the Sarika in its traditional amulet form, the team reimagined its symbolism through contemporary jewelry design, giving rise to a collection named: THE GOLDEN SPELL (SARIKA)
The design features two Sarika birds facing each other, perched above an egg-shaped structure. The team drew structural inspiration from the renowned Fabergé Eggs, celebrated for their intricate details, exceptional craftsmanship, ingenious mechanisms, and the hidden treasures often concealed within. And this led to another defining idea at the heart of the design: If belief is to become part of jewelry, it does not have to remain merely a symbol. It can also become a function.
When Belief Becomes Function
The egg-shaped compartment beneath the Sarika birds was designed with an open-and-close mechanism, revealing a small space inside to hold “Si Phueng” (traditional Thai sacred wax), which is associated with beliefs surrounding Metta Mahaniyom.
Wearers could open the compartment to use the sacred wax according to their personal beliefs and refill it whenever needed. In this way, the jewelry would become more than a beautiful object worn on the body. It would create a meaningful interaction between the wearer and the piece itself, transforming a traditional belief into a personal experience through contemporary jewelry design.
The piece was also designed to be worn as either a pendant or a charm, allowing what was once a traditional amulet carried for personal protection or good fortune to become a natural part of everyday life and contemporary style.
Every detail of the piece was designed with a purpose beyond aesthetics.
Symbols associated with the traditional beliefs of Metta Mahaniyom were subtly incorporated into the jewelry, adding layers of cultural meaning to its contemporary form.
The result was a thoughtful integration of three essential elements: Symbol, Function, and Jewelry. The original meaning remained intact, but it was now expressed through an entirely new design language.
9 Days — When Design Meets the Realities of Production
For us, this marked another important turning point in the competition.
A design that looks beautiful on paper does not always translate into reality exactly as imagined. And with only nine days to complete the finished piece, every team faced an entirely new set of questions. Could the structure actually be produced? How would the opening and closing mechanism work? Would the finished piece be too large or too heavy to wear comfortably? How much of the intricate detailing on the Sarika birds could realistically be achieved? And perhaps most importantly, how could everything be completed on time without compromising the original concept? This was the moment when designers had to allow the realities of production to become part of the creative process. Not to limit creativity, but to find a way to make those ideas truly possible.
From Concept to Product — A Creation That Takes More Than One Person
As part of the challenge, The Cut Reality also required each team to send representatives for an on-location filming session at Rajamangala University of Technology Phra Nakhon, North Bangkok Campus.
The filming offered a behind-the-scenes look at the jewelry-making process, following the journey from initial sketches on paper to the practical stages of bringing a design to life.
For CREW CUTTERS, Worapong Junpreuk of Luvia, Ekkrai Puangmanee of SEWN Handicraft, and Areeya Chaiwan of Minella played important roles in the production development stage.
Working together, they helped bridge the gap between creative vision and practical execution, finding ways to transform the concept and design into a finished piece of jewelry within the limited time available.
This experience revealed another important dimension of jewelry creation: The person who develops the concept may be one individual. The person who designs the piece may be another. And the people who find ways to bring that design to life may be an entire team.
The final creation, therefore, was never simply the result of a single sketch. It emerged through an ongoing exchange of ideas between designers, makers, and the production team, all working toward a shared vision.
From a Finished Piece to a Bigger Question: “Who Are We Designing For?”
Once the jewelry had taken shape, CREW CUTTERS faced another important question:
“Who would actually wear THE GOLDEN SPELL?”
The team began by identifying people whose personal and professional success often depends on communication, persuasion, and negotiation. This included sales professionals, business owners, individuals who regularly attend meetings or deliver presentations, and influencers whose work relies on connecting with and engaging others. These audiences aligned naturally with the symbolism of the Sarika, which the team had chosen to reinterpret through its traditional associations with charm in speech, effective communication, and Metta Mahaniyom — the belief in attracting kindness, goodwill, and positive relationships with others.
For the Thai market, the team proposed a POP-UP Experience where customers could discover the jewelry firsthand — exploring its story, trying it on, and experiencing the meaning and functionality behind the design. After all, jewelry of this nature may not be valued for its appearance alone. The experience and storytelling surrounding the piece can become an essential part of what makes it meaningful to the customer.
At the same time, the team explored potential opportunities in the Chinese market, setting an ambitious sales target of 100,000 pieces within its proposed business plan.
The strategy included digital channels such as TikTok, WeChat, and Xiaohongshu, alongside potential collaborations with Chinese influencers through Live Commerce. The team also envisioned building brand awareness through fashion shows and TV direct-response marketing.
What we found particularly interesting was how a clearly defined product concept could become the foundation for an equally cohesive marketing strategy.
When the product has a clear story, the marketing can grow naturally from that same story.
From identifying the people we were designing for, to imagining how customers would discover and experience the jewelry and finally selecting the channels that could connect the product with its intended audience — every decision could be guided by the same central idea.
In the end, Pawaranan Sinlapawanich of Morakot Gallery and Jitapa Auramornrat of Siamwell represented CREW CUTTERS in presenting THE GOLDEN SPELL to the judges.
The team finished this challenge in 4th place.
Great Design Must Make the Journey from Idea to Reality
For Be'Shine, the MUTELU Challenge reinforced an important realization:
Great design is not simply about making something traditional look new. It is about understanding its original essence deeply enough to reinterpret it in a contemporary form without losing the values that made it meaningful in the first place.
THE GOLDEN SPELL taught us far more than how to design jewelry inspired by traditional Thai beliefs. It showed us that belief can become design, meaning can become function, and storytelling can become an experience in which the wearer actively participates.
This is a perspective Be'Shine hopes to carry forward into future creations.
Not simply to create jewelry that tells a story, but to ensure that the story has a meaningful reason to exist within the design itself. Because ultimately, meaningful jewelry is not defined merely by its ability to “tell a story.”
Every line, every function, and every detail should be able to answer one essential question:
Why does it belong there?
— Be'Shine
Watch CREW CUTTERS' creations and follow the team's journey on EP. 5 - The Cut Design Identity Challenge - ศึกประชันอัตลักษณ์ เจียระไนฝันสู่เวทีโลก
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