On the wave of his growing international fame, Chan has brought his work to America for the first time. Along with the brooch, he announced the launch of a new book, Wallace Chan: Dream Light Water by Juliet de La Rochefoucauld that features 86 of Chan's 500 unique pieces.

"Wallace Chan's jewelry is like sculpture," said Keegan Goepfert, an art director with Les Enluminures gallery. "The object has such extraordinary presence and when you look at it closely, the choice and the setting of each individual stone is so technically and aesthetically amazing. The brooch itself on top of the stand moves, it's animate, it has a life."

Born in Fuzhou, Fujian province in 1956, Chan moved to Hong Kong with his family at the age of 5. They lived in poverty. Chan remembers that he would jump up to look into the windows of restaurants to see what people were eating. He wanted to know what restaurant food looked like.

"My childhood dreams were materialistic," he said. "I wanted meat, I wanted to have a chicken for New Year. I have a very humble background, and it makes me curious about everything."

Now 60-years-old with a long salt-and-pepper beard, Chan in fact looks young for his age. His eyes are clear and smile a lot.