Jewelry Master WALLACE CHAN

Very few people have pushed the limit on what you can do with jewelry, quite like Wallace Chan. So he started as a gemstone Carver in Hong Kong when he was just 16 and eventually began developing techniques of his own. In 1987, after years of experimentation, he developed something known as the Wallace Cut where he casts a single image into the back of a gemstone in such a precise way that it creates multiple reflections of the image within the stone that appeared to flow. Using tools that he himself created from modified dental drills. But the jewelry itself is just as extraordinary as the techniques behind it. These pieces often look like wearable works of fantasy, including enormous butterflies, insects and other creatures transformed into what are essentially sculptures covered in gemstones. And I truly just cannot overstate the level of detail on these pieces. Creating jewelry on this scale initially presented a challenge. The pieces were really heavy. That led to Chan spending eight years mastering titanium for jewelry. As titanium is incredibly strong but much lighter than other metals such as gold, he could create enormous sculptural pieces that were still light enough to be worn. That's not all. He spent seven years developing a special type of porcelain to use in his jewelry because he wanted the delicacy of porcelain without its usual fragility. And the result is this material that is five times stronger than steel. And that some experimentation extends to how he works with gemstones, where he often sets them without traditional metal claws, often setting gemstones either within or inside of other gemstones. His work is now held in major museum collections around the world, which is a reflection of just how far his influence extends beyond just traditional jewelry. He hasn't only created these unbelievable pieces, he has spent his career expanding what jewelry can actually be. I wanna hear from you. Had you heard of Wallace Chan and what do you think of his designs?