The winning designs in this year's 10th Hong Kong Jewellery and Design Competition will be on show throughout the HKTDC International Jewellery Show.
Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) and other leading industry bodies, the competition was an opportunity for budding Hong Kong designers to create a product that was marketable and ready to wear, and to display the fruits of their labour to an international audience.
The theme of the competition was 'Design Fusion', with two categories: the Open Group and the Student Group.
The three Best of Show awards from the Open Group went to Transforming, designed by Wong Yin, Vitality, designed by Cheung Wing-man, and The day and After, by Kwan Chok-kai.
'We once again presented this competition in order to enhance the creativity and design quality of the Hong Kong jewellery industry and to promote Hong Kong jewellery products among international buyers,' said Raymond Yip, assistant executive director of the HKTDC. 'The winning pieces were of high quality and demonstrated the creativity of the winners.'
Cheung's Vitality ring design was sponsored by New Concept Jewelry and was based on a simple concept. 'Hong Kong is a place full of opportunities, and it is mainly because of all the hard work done by Hong Kong citizens,' she said. 'To express this idea in a piece of jewellery, I used the Hong Kong trademark buildings as one of the core themes. To extend my idea, I added flowers and leaves to symbolise the opportunities that are growing in Hong Kong'.
Transforming by Wong, sponsored by Noble Jewelry Holdings is a bangle made of 18-carat white gold and covered in sparkling white diamonds. Wong based her design on the Chinese cosmos and the social concept of 'ying and yang', and created a bangle with two parts that can be detached and worn as two separate bangles.
The Day and After pendant/brooch was inspired by 'a bright day always arriving after the passing of dark clouds and represents what Hong Kong is going through now in this tough economic environment', said Kwan. The piece was sponsored by KARP Jewellery.
Janice Yau Ming-yuk won The Craftsmanship and Technology award with her piece called Temptation. Chow Tai Fook Jewellery sponsored her design. 'Temptation represents a city and makes use of different materials to give a sense of diversity. The judges' acknowledgement gives me encouragement and confidence to design more in the future,' she said.
The winner of the student group was Lau Sun-chui with her creation Sleeping Beauty. She used the painting Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli as inspiration. 'I have entered this competition since 2005 and this award is proof that I am on the right track. I hope I can go on to create and design unique style jewellery.'
Fashion designer William Tang and Lawrence Ma Yung-yi, chairman of the TDC Jewellery Advisory Committee were among this year's judges. The winners received a five-day training course by Japan's Hiko Mizuno College of Jewellery and sponsored by the Hong Kong-Japan Business Co-operation Committee.
Organisers included the Hong Kong Jewellers' & Goldsmiths' Association, the Hong Kong Jewellery & Jade Manufacturers Association, the Hong Kong Jewellery Manufacturers' Association and the Diamond Federation of Hong Kong, China.