The co-founder and creative director of high end jewellery brand Qeelin, Dennis Chan has been a trailblazer in the luxury market for proudly foregrounding Asian aesthetics. Established in 2004, Qeelin takes its name from a mythological creature and its aesthetic cues from Chinese cultural symbols such as pandas, Chinese gourds and goldfish.

Chan’s decision to create the brand was sparked by a 1997 trip to the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang in Gansu province, on the old Silk Road, where the ancient Buddhist artwork and in particular the jewels depicted in it inspired him to showcase Chinese culture to the world. In 2013, the company was bought by luxury giant Kering, its first acquisition in China. The brand now has more than 110 boutiques around the world, including one in Paris’s Place Vendôme.

Before Qeelin, Chan started his career as a designer in London, returning to Hong Kong to work for product designer Ken Shimasaki before setting up his own design consultancy, Longford, in 1989. He designed the official wristwatch given out by the Hong Kong government as a souvenir at the 1997 handover ceremony, while he also works as an artist and sculptor. His jewellery has been exhibited at the Louvre in Paris and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, among others; while he has won recognition from The Chartered Society of Designers, Japan G Mark, Singapore Design Awards and Maison & Object Awards.

He is married to May, with whom he has a daughter. He is also an avid collector of both timepieces and cameras.