Winged Beauty

"When I was a young boy, butterflies were flying colours – I knew not their name. Then butterflies became the Butterfly Lovers: a tragedy, a love story, a symbol of eternal love. As I grew older, I found them to embody the words of a great philosopher: life is but a dream; only we need to decide whether we want it to be the dream of a man, or the dream of a butterfly. I could not decide, and so I became The Butterfly Man." – Wallace Chan

Father of The Wallace Cut – an illusionary three-dimensional gemstone carving technique – and The Wallace Chan Porcelain – a ground-breaking material five times stronger than steel – Wallace Chan is a guiding light in the world of jewellery design. Always innovating, always testing boundaries with his materials and technique, Chan's creations are as stunning as they are intricate. Compiled by jewellery experts, this book explores the cultural and personal significance of Wallace Chan’s most famous emblem: the butterfly.

Wallace Chan: The Butterflies of Wallace Chan features approximately 30 of his finest pieces. Enter a butterfly house of colourful gems, with brooches and necklaces so delicate they might have flown down and alighted on the page.

100 colour illustrations

About the Authors

Emily Stoehrer is curator of jewellery at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Melanie Grant is the luxury editor at The Economist and 1843 Magazine.

Juliet Weir-de La Rochefoucauld is a jewellery expert and author of books including Women Jewellery Designers (ACC Art Books 2017), 21st-Century Jewellery Designers: An Inspired Style (ACC Art Books 2018).

Ming Liu is a lifestyle writer for the Financial Times who often writes special articles on watches and jewellery.

Vanessa Cron has been a Jewellery Archivist and Senior Cataloguer at Christie's for 15 years.

Wallace Chan was the first Chinese jewellery artist to exhibit at prestigious western art fairs such as The European Fine Art Fair (Maastricht 2016-2020; New York 2016 & 2017) and Biennale des Antiquaires (Paris, 2012 & 2014). Venues for his multiple international solo shows included Asia House (London, September 2019); Christie's Gallery (Hong Kong, 2019); the Gemological Institute of America Museum (Carlsbad, 2011); and the Capital Museum (Beijing, 2010). He has delivered lectures at the British Museum (London, 2019), the British Academy of Jewellery (London, 2019); Royal College of Art (London, 2019); University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong, 2019) and many more.

His work has appeared in Forbes, CNN Style, Tatler Asia, The Telegraph , the Financial Times, The Economist and The New York Times.