Awards

The 2017 Jewellery Design Awards celebrates the jewellery industry’s most talented jewellers, bringing together some of Australia and New Zealand’s best imaginations and design aptitudes. The inaugural Jewellery Design Awards competition was developed with the aim of showcasing the design and manufacturing prowess of Australia and New Zealand’s most talented jewellers working in all areas of the trade. In 2017, there were 105 entries submitted, with finalists being judged by an independent jury on criteria including relevance to the design theme, intelligent use of materials, presentation in a retail environment, as well as commercial viability.

I was selected as a finalist in both the pearl and diamond categories, for the pieces shown here.

Pearl Category

My inspiration for this piece was to modernise the necklace style that was used in the 1920s Art Deco period into something that could be worn in contemporary society. I was intrigued by the extravagant size, beauty and attention to detail within the pieces of the Art Deco era, and wanted to impose those elements by using contemporary materials and creating an industrial look while keeping the design soft, classy and elegant, alluding to an updated and revamped historical heirloom. Enjoy a cléopâtre

Specifications:
Materials: 18k Rose gold, Fine Silver, Rubber ‘O’ Rings
32 x cultured black freshwater pearls 11.5-13.6mm
15 x cultured white freshwater pearls 5.3mm

Diamond Category

The piece is inspired by the look of a mother of pearl and shell, but instead of using a pearl and shell, I made it with a big bright diamond and little diamond ‘walls’ to represent the mother of pearl shell. I always wanted to make a diamond ring where the type of gemstone/diamond can be changed. The ring allows the jeweller to use different types of marquis cut gemstones in different sizes; the diamonds and gold colour of the insert between the shell walls can also be changed.

Specifications:

Materials: 18k White and Yellow Gold

Centre Diamond: 0.94ct – Marquis Cut D Colour

146 Brilliant Cut Diamonds – TCW: 1.32ct

Total Carat Weight: 2.26ct