Hong Kong: JNA recognised the winners and finalists of its inaugural
JNA Jewellery Design Competition 2018/19 in a prize presentation ceremony on 18 September 2019 during the Fair Reception of the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair 2019 at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre.
Organised by JNA of Informa Markets, the competition celebrates creativity, innovation and excellence in jewellery design.
The JNA Jewellery Design Competition 2018/19 announced one Champion and four Merit recipients in each of its three categories during the June Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair. At the prize presentation ceremony, renowned jewellery designer Fei Liu, who chaired the judging panel, called to the stage the Champions and Merit recipients to receive their trophies.
In the Dancing Stone category sponsored by Crossfor Co Ltd, participants were required to incorporate the innovative and patented Dancing Stone mechanism in their design entries, with the theme “New Fashion Tech.” Crossfor Co Ltd CEO Hidetaka Dobashi presented the trophies for the category.
Mami Ochiai from Japan was named Champion for her spectacular Heptagram jewellery design. “I am honoured to receive such a prestigious prize. My design embodies my wish for peace and happiness on earth,” she remarks. “The Heptagram is a seven-point star drawn with seven straight strokes. It is a symbol of perfection, light, eternity, perpetuity and victory as well as the seven notes of music, the seven colours of the rainbow, the seven alchemical metals and the seven days of the week. Seven is a lucky and mystical number traditionally associated with Venus. The mysterious Heptagram combined with Japanese cutting-edge technology and traditional craftsmanship is a perfect representation of ‘New Fashion Tech,’ adds Ochiai, who was represented at the ceremony by Nobuyuki Horiuchi.
The Merit recipients in the Dancing Stone category are Sanat Karmakar from Egypt, Ming Cheng Hsiao from Taiwan Region, Allison Ice from the USA and Wang Zi Ting from China.
The Platinum category, sponsored by Platinum Guild International (PGI), had participants produce entries reflecting the theme, “Platinum Attitude.” Liang Fan from China emerged as Champion for his remarkable piece, Star Lingers.
According to Fan, his design was inspired by a famous Chinese song that compares the universality and ever-presence of love to the relationship between stars and clouds. “Only when the sky gets darker can the brilliance of stars be seen and appreciated. Using a simple modern style with layers, my design alludes to this beautiful starry concept to evoke a sense of peace and romance,” he explains.
Fan along with Merit recipients Chin Ban Loke from Malaysia and Liu Fu Wei from China received their trophies from PGI Business Development Director Tai Wong. Merit recipients Meng Fan Hua and Shi Xiao Yu from China were unable to attend the ceremony.
Sponsored by the Tahitian Pearl Association Hong Kong (TPAHK), the Tahitian Pearl category asked contestants to submit their design interpretation of the theme, “Asymmetric Perfection.” Trophies were presented by TPAHK Co-Presidents Amy Yan and Johnny Cheng, and TPAHK Honorary Life Founding President & Supervisor Chan Ming Wing.
Alessio Boschi from Italy was declared Champion for his exceptional “The Leonidas Man” set. The intricately adorned men’s necklace is an homage to the Spartan warrior-king Leonidas, with each detail laden with symbolic ties to different eras of Ancient Greece and its bejewelled artifacts. Boschi says, “The design is bold, daring and masculine yet full of intricate details. The real protagonists are the Tahitian pearls with their different shapes and mesmerising shades from dark silver to peacock nuances. I personally handpicked the most suitable shapes, sizes and colours in order to underscore the Ancient Greek themes that are the background and inspiration behind this masterpiece.”
Merit recipient Eugene YJ Chen from Taiwan Region attended the ceremony. Chen Hui Ci was represented by Katie Cheng of Man Sang Jewellery (Hong Kong) Ltd, while Rebecca Cheng of Rio Pearl accepted the trophies for Shahrzad Givi from Iran and Rozaliya Nicheva from Bulgaria.
Informa Markets Director of Jewellery Fairs Celine Lau presented plaques of appreciation to the JNA Jewellery Design Competition 2018/19’s three sponsors, represented by Crossfor Co Ltd’s Hidetaka Dobashi, PGI’s Tai Wong and TPAHK’s Amy Yan, Johnny Cheng and Chan Ming Wing.
The JNA Jewellery Design Competition 2018/19 attracted a total of 2,588 entries from jewellery designers and students from 39 countries and regions.
