Carving humans into precious stone

Wallace Chan is one of Asia's most influential jewellery designers.

His fans range from the Princess of Monaco to the Hollywood actress Salma Hayek.

The Hong Kong artist started work as a sculptor's apprentice aged 16, and went on to develop what has become known as the Wallace Cut, in which he carves designs inside precious stones.

Behind every piece of jewellery lies a story. So what's the tale behind his latest design, a necklace featuring the largest purple sapphire in the world?

BBC News went to find out.

Real Time is a series for the BBC News website in which ordinary people tell their own extraordinary stories.