The winners of the HRD Awards contemporary diamond jewelry contest were announced by HRD Antwerp at a gala event in Beijing.
The winner was designer Paola Strammiello from Italy. The other four finalists were: Wan Hei Tung from Hong Kong, Evi Bakker from The Netherlands, Ma Chao from China, and Shen Feng from China.
Strammiello is a senior jewelry designer and consultant for Forevermark De Beers Group in Milan. The focus of her work is high-end jeweler, wedding and bridal collections and diamond jewelry.
Her jewelry design was called Magic Mushroom and is a ring that plays an optical illusion. "Just like in Wonderland, reality seems to be the result of a hallucination triggered by a mushroom. Based on the physical law of two mirrored parabolas, the diamond located inside the jewel is revealed only in the form of a mirage if viewed through certain angles.
"The real diamond is hidden and can only be viewed by a careful observer when viewed at a certain angle, thanks to a complex game of mirrors. In this trompe-l'oeil jewel, what is visible is not real and what is real is not visible. Just like the magical inner world of every dreamer," the HRD Antwerp said. The diamond sponsor is Blooming Star, while the jewelry sponsor is CGS Gioielli.
A jury of jewellery industry experts selected 31 winning designs, out of a record number of 1,350 entries. The 31 chosen were then invited to make their jewelry pieces, and out of the final 28 jewelry items, the top five winning jewels were unveiled in the China National Convention Centre in Beijing. The winner receives a cash prize of $10,000, while the other four finalists each receive $2,500.
The event also saw the granting of the “First Person of the Belgian Cutting Diamond Promotion in China” award to Richard Shen, the CEO of TESIRO, to mark the cultural and business relations between Belgium and China.
The theme of the HRD Awards 2013 was "Trompe l’oeil"or Nothing is what it seems, with the creation of the perfect illusion into a jewelry item being the challenge.
It aims to promote creative talent, to extend the limits of the modern diamond jewels and to translate avant-garde ideas into trendsetting jewellery. In addition, it promotes diamonds and jewellery in general.
