WALLACE CHAN’S JEWELS
ARE MARVELS OF NATURE!
he art of jewelry making is considered a
highly individualistic journey. It represents the unique
vision of a person who finds absolute pleasure in
creating nothing “ordinary” but only “exquisite”
pieces of jewelry women love and often seek to own
as per their sophisticated taste.
Then, the designs created by a renowned Hong
Kong-based artisan jewelry designer Wallace Chan
really stand out for that exceptionally high attribute
whenever one comes across his work.
In an exclusive interview with EuropeanLife, we
caught up with him to find out what lies beneath his
mesmerizing fine jewelry, how it has shaped his life
to date and much more.
Chan’s love of jewelry became apparent when he
started learning the craft of gemstone carving at
the age of 16. So, the first stone that he came in
contact with was a piece of malachite known for its
healing wonders. With this, his incredible journey
with gemstones began. “My curiosity increased
through time, and I started to explore the properties
of different kinds of gems. Nurtured in the generosity
of Mother Nature, gemstones tend to narrate stories
of the universe’s past and present,” he says.
What makes Chan’s success story even more riveting
is that he didn’t go to any prestigious design
school because his family couldn’t afford a formal
education. Even if he couldn’t and only spent a few
years in school, he showed steely determination to
change the circumstances in his favor.
“My study on Western sculptures began when I
gathered my courage and entered a bookshop
one day,” he says. “The first book that came my
way was a book on Michelangelo’s sculptures. I
was overwhelmed by the dramatic expressions of
light and shadows, the tensions of muscles and the
compelling contours.”
Moreover, what he discovered in them was way
too different from the Chinese carvings he was
familiar with. In order to know more about Western
sculptures, he did the insanely impossible when he
spent some nights sleeping in the cemetery just to
observe the Western marble sculptures there.
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By and large, he finds solace in the colors, crystal
structures, textures and forms of gemstones as
they reveal the invaluable relationship between
humankind, nature and the universe. “Be it carving,
sculpture or jewelry, gemstones are the best medium
that I use to interpret life, express resonance
and get in touch with the future. They inspire my
creativity, from ideas and forms to craftsmanship
and inventions. I like to embrace constant changes
in my path,” he says. “The whole thing is an exciting
journey for me as it pushes me to explore the various
facets of the unknown.”
While there are so many established brands battling
it out intensely to draw the customers toward their
products, he doesn’t feel fazed by it. Rather he
proudly supports the imminent competition and
says, “I’m delighted that my works happen to draw
a lot of people. That’s good to know. I find it greatly
rewarding.”
According to Chan’s clear-cut insight, people who
collect jewelry art pieces are cultivated persons
highly knowledgeable in gemstones and jewelry.
Artistic values and refined craftsmanship appeal
to them immensely. They also prefer jewelry pieces
that are unique. “From the way I see it, they aren’t
confined by the so-called hyped traditions and
trends, but they do feel engaged with pieces that
contain stories and have deeper meaning,” he says.
“In essence, each piece of mine is what it’s here for.”
Today he has such a big influence in the world
of fine jewelry simply because of his one-of-a- kind
technique “Wallace Cut” that is often talked about by
the industry. It’s a carving technique which creates an
illusion in transparent materials by combining medieval
360-degree intaglio into 3-dimension engraving. The
resulting quintuple reflection unifies these features
with precise calculation and angle casting and forms a
3-dimension and multi-line reflection. Chan achieved this
milestone not in days or months. It took him eight years
to master the technique constantly experimenting on
titanium.
“I invented a gemstone-setting technique. In order to
minimize the appearance of metal claws, this
technique uses gemstones to function as claws. In simple
words: Function is beauty. Titanium is light, hard, colorful
and bio-friendly, but it’s also stubborn. It takes a long time
to communicate with titanium so as to have it tamed the
right way,” he says. “To be able to use titanium the way I
wanted to has solved a lot of obstacles in jewelry making,
thus expanding the canvas for my creativity, and it also
allows me to create jewelry pieces that are ergonomically
correct.”
His creations are designed and adorned with utmost
detailing to make sure women wearing them feel on
top of the world. This is when Chan tends to focus on
visualizing a woman’s figure. “A jewelry piece should not
only be wearable, but it should also be comfortable. This
conviction frequently leads me to study the human figure
and understand how the bones, muscles and skin work
in tandem,” he says. “It’s not intuition, but a lot of hard
work. But through constant practice you start to believe
it’s intuitional. I try my best to make my pieces universal,
so they aren’t confined by a particular body type, and
they’re able to accommodate all.”
Always pushing the envelope to enhance a woman’s
beauty, his muse can only be someone special — a
cultivated and confident soul who is passionate about
life and arts. Chan’s multiple works speak volumes about
his engaging philosophy to be reckoned with at the
international level and for that reason he is graciously
invited by TEFAF (the world’s leading art fair) to show
his collection there every year. “I feel really honored to
be invited to participate at TEFAF. When art lovers of
different cultural backgrounds gather here, it’s not just
cultural exchanges that take place but also I get a chance
to establish mind-to-mind connection with different
individuals. I take this in my stride as a process of art
practice,” he says.
It comes as no surprise that all his pieces are inspired by
his experiences from different periods of his life journey,
including his reflection on the mysteries of life.
While Asian jewelry especially from India and China is the
most sought-after style in the world and it has had great
influence on the West, inspiring jewelry creators who
traveled far into the East and studied the history of the
East, it would be wrong to say that there is one culture
more unique than another culture as he puts it,“Today, the
world is so globalized that cultures inspire and borrow
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