London: Gem-A are pleased to announce the relaunch of the Gem Empathy Award, in partnership with International Jewellery London (IJL). The award, open to all those exhibiting in the Design Gallery at this year’s IJL, will be presented at the show — to be held at Olympia, London, from 4–6 September 2016.
In previous years the award has been presented to the IJL exhibitor displaying, in the opinion of the judges, a single piece or collection of jewellery that makes captivating use of one or more gemstones. This year, however, the criteria for the Gem Empathy Award is changing. Gem-A will provide a breathtaking 10.46 ct Fantasy Cut heliodor (also known as golden beryl), sourced from award-winning gem cutter John Dyer, around which applicants will be encouraged to create a design that they feel shows the stone to its best advantage.
Gem-A Marketing and Events Manager, Elaine Ruddie DGA, commented, “There have been some incredible winners of the Gem Empathy Award over the years but we want to open the competition up, to make it more accessible and inspire creativity. To do that we knew that we had to provide a very special stone and it’s with great thanks to John Dyer that we’ve been able to do exactly that.”
The judging panel will be made up of four representatives from Gem-A and IJL, and will evaluate submitted designs based on the relationship between stone and design, the practicality of the design and the style and beauty of the overall design. Sam Willoughby, Event Director at IJL and a member of the judging panel, said: “This competition will undoubtedly inspire some beautiful designs featuring this exceptional stone by our Design Gallery exhibitors. The new criteria opens up the Gem Empathy Award to so many more designers and will make for a stunning display for visitors to the show. We are extremely appreciative to Gem-A for this creative initiative.”
The winning designer will receive the stone in order to create the piece, which Gem-A hope to display at one of their prestigious events between 2016 and 2017.
If you are exhibiting in the Design Gallery this year and would like to apply, send your design (hand sketch or CAD image), along with an accompanying paragraph describing the materials used and the inspiration behind the piece to events@gem-a.com before 14 August 2016.
