The teacher and the student

Jewellery designer Wallace Chan brings storytelling, heritage and a surprisingly diminutive teacher to his Christie's exhibition

Wallace Chan is an acclaimed Hong Kong-based jeweller who has attained international success through his innovation in techniques and materials. Born in Fujian Province, Chan found his artistic calling early on, fashioning flowers out of plastic at age eight. At 16, he began an apprenticeship with a sculptor in a traditional workshop for nine months. Over the next 40 years (and counting), Chan has experimented with a wide spectrum of techniques and materials to realise his artistic vision. In the process, he invented a jadeite thinning and luminosity-enhancing technology, and introduced the "Wallace cut" of carving designs within a gemstone. Most recently, he has patented Wallace Chan porcelain, a product said to be unbreakable and five times stronger than steel. CDLP met up with him in his Stanley Street studio on the eve of his new exhibition with auction house Christie's, Shapeshifter: The Multiverse of Wallace Chan, from January 14 to 25.