The use of alternative materials in high jewellery, alongside precious gemstones, is drawing attention through Soaring Spirit, a dragonfly-inspired brooch by Chinese jewellery artist Wallace Chan, worn by Nita Ambani at the opening of The Library at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre (NMACC) in Mumbai on October 31.
The brooch, created in 2017, is estimated by media reports to be worth between Rs 12 crore and Rs 15 crore. Its appearance has brought renewed attention to Chan’s approach to combining gemstones, unconventional materials and intricate engineering in high jewellery.
The piece features a 17.67-carat tsavorite garnet, along with demantoid garnets, rubies, pink sapphires, yellow diamonds and other fancy-coloured diamonds. Titanium forms an integral part of its construction, allowing the dragonfly’s body to remain flexible and move with the wearer.
Chan took 10 years to develop the creation. Its wings draw inspiration from the abacus, linking the design to ideas of measurement, movement and the passage of time. The dragonfly motif also provides a sculptural form through which the artist explores movement and balance.
For the jewellery trade, Soaring Spirit illustrates how material selection and technical construction can influence the design possibilities of high jewellery. Titanium’s lightweight and flexible properties allow it to be used in ways that differ from conventional precious-metal settings, particularly in pieces that require movement and complex structures.
The brooch also demonstrates how gemstone selection, metal engineering and artistic design can work together to create a piece that extends beyond conventional ornamentation. Its significance lies not simply in its reported valuation, but in the technical and creative possibilities it represents for high jewellery.