Former bad boy finds joy in jewelry

From feckless youngster to world champion, Zhang Yupeng's path to success has been hard won, Yang Feiyue reports.

Once he's at his workstation and has opened his bag of tools, Zhang Yupeng develops a quiet, serious demeanor of someone years beyond his age.

As the 22-year-old sits hunched over scattered pieces of metals, stones and drills, he meticulously inspects every detail of the piece of jewelry he's making with a magnifying glass.

The stones are tiny, and the welding points are nearly invisible to the naked eye.

He scans for the slightest imperfections, checking if the joints are flush, the interior surfaces are smooth, or any traces of tool marks remain.

Every so often, he reaches for a drill tool, fine-tuning the piece with care.

"Everything requires extreme precision," Zhang says. "For certain procedures, such as (gem) inlay, a microscope is required to make sure the tiny stone is secure, as any gap will affect the quality of the whole piece."

Under his magic touch, raw metal and rough stones are transformed into mesmerizing artifacts that radiate elegance and artistry.

Zhang says that quality demands perfection, down to the millimeter.

"A piece can take hundreds or even thousands of hours, with constant revisions and adjustments, before it's ready to be placed in the spotlight," he adds.

A bird-themed hairpin — complete with twigs and flower blossoms — won him a gold medal at a jewelry craft event at the 47th WorldSkills Competition in Lyon, France, in September.