Five Questions With: Grace Wong, Founder & Designer, Jewels & Aces

There’s something deeply satisfying about watching someone completely reimagine an entire industry category. Grace Wong, founder of Jewels & Aces, did exactly that when she took her frustration with an overflowing jewellery box and transformed it into The Earring Capsule™ – a brilliant system that turns four pieces into over ten different looks.

Wong’s journey from Chartered Professional Accountant at firms like PwC to self-taught jewellery designer wasn’t planned, but it was purposeful. After her first son arrived in 2014, she found herself craving simplicity in every aspect of her life, including her wardrobe. That desire for intentionality led her to question why jewellery couldn’t work like a capsule wardrobe – fewer pieces, more possibilities, greater creative freedom.

What started as a personal solution has evolved into something much bigger. Her pieces have graced screens on HBO’s The Bear and The Today Show, while her commitment to sustainable practices using recycled metals and lab-created gemstones set the standard long before “responsible design” became a buzzword. But perhaps most importantly, Wong has built a community around the joy of creative expression and the confidence that comes from making something truly your own.

In this interview, Grace reflects on what it takes to leave a secure career to pursue your vision, why systematic thinking can revolutionize how we approach personal style, and how building depth over breadth creates lasting impact in both business and creative expression.

1. You went from being a Chartered Professional Accountant at firms like PwC to becoming a self-taught jewellery designer whose pieces have appeared on HBO’s The Bear and The Today Show. What was the moment in 2014, after your first son arrived, when you realized you could reimagine an entire jewellery category?

As a new mom, I was craving simplicity. I was tired of having a closet full of clothes and still feeling like I had nothing to wear, so I started building a capsule wardrobe and became more intentional about what I was buying. Getting dressed suddenly felt easier.

One day, I looked at my overflowing jewellery box and wondered why I was still wearing the same earrings every day. That disconnect became my “aha” moment. Why couldn’t my jewellery work like a capsule wardrobe? And that’s how The Earring Capsule™ was born.

2. The Earring Capsule™ is brilliant in its simplicity, turning four pieces into over 10 different looks. How did your business background inform this approach to jewellery design, and why do you think the fashion industry has been slow to embrace this kind of systematic thinking?

It gave me a fresh perspective on the jewellery industry. As a self-taught jeweller, I wasn’t bound by the traditional way things had always been done. I’ve always loved reverse-engineering things to figure out how they work, and my background as a Chartered Professional Accountant sharpened that instinct, especially around finding efficiencies. Instead of asking, “What’s the next design, and how do we sell more of it?” I asked, “How can a few pieces do more?”

The fashion industry hasn’t always been set up to think this way. It often focuses on designing new pieces or collections each season rather than looking at how everything works together over time. For me, I don’t design for the sake of newness. It’s about designing for our customer — fewer pieces, more ways to wear them, and the confidence that everything works together.

3. You’ve built Jewels & Aces as a sustainable brand from day one, using recycled metals and lab-created gemstones when “responsible design” wasn’t yet trendy. How do you balance educating consumers about sustainability while building a business that celebrities and tastemakers love.

Building a responsible manufacturing process was part of our DNA from the very beginning. Using recycled metals and lab-created gemstones wasn’t a marketing decision; it was simply the right way to build the brand. For me, responsible design should be the standard, not the headline.

Rather than leading with sustainability messaging, we focus on sharing the uniqueness of The Earring Capsule™, and the versatility and creativity it gives the wearer. People are drawn to the concept and design first, and they feel good knowing the pieces are thoughtfully and responsibly made. That balance has always felt authentic to me: creating something people genuinely love and building it in a way that stays true to my values.

4. Through your “Office Hours” initiative, you’re demystifying entrepreneurship for other women founders. What patterns do you see among women trying to scale their businesses, and how does your finance background give you a different lens on the challenges they face?

From the women I’ve talked to, a common theme is the belief that there’s a playbook they should be following. I felt the same way in the early days, like the founders I admired knew something I didn’t. What I’ve learned, and what I try to share through Office Hours, is that there isn’t one right way to build a business. Every brand is different, and part of the work is defining your own north star and building toward that.

My finance background gives me a practical lens when it comes to scaling. It allows me to support or challenge my gut instincts with numbers. When you’re growing a business, there are endless paths you could take, and that can feel overwhelming. My financial foundation helps narrow my focus to decisions that align with my north star and make sense for the bottom line. I’ve learned that it’s less about having all the answers and more about knowing how to evaluate your choices, and trusting that if you make a mistake, you can recover and keep moving forward.

5. You’ve chosen to focus entirely on earrings despite opportunities to expand, saying there’s so much more to be done in this category. What future are you working toward for personal expression through jewellery, and how do you see The Earring Capsule™ concept evolving?

My ambition is for The Earring Capsule™ to become synonymous with earrings, not just as a product, but as a new way of thinking about the category. It’s about giving women the tools to define their own style, to play, experiment, and create different looks with intention, without feeling like they need more.

As the concept evolves, my focus is depth, not expansion. Every new earring we design must earn its place by adding creative possibilities to what already exists. It all goes back to following my north star: building thoughtfully, designing with intention, and creating for our customers first.