Since 1985, every two years, young and innovative designers get the opportunity to compete in the biggest jewelry design contest worldwide. But it has been in 2017 that this prestigious competition held its live red carpet final event. This year, HRD Antwerp decided, for its 18th edition, to come back and re-invent itself with the support of CIBJO (The World Jewellery Confederation) and in partnership with Vincenzaoro, Europe’s largest trade show for gold and jewelry.
“HRD Antwerp has the ambition to become a catalyst for talent. That’s why we wanted to re-invent the competition. There will be 3 categories in the competition this year. Besides the classic categories of diamond jewelry and gemstone jewelry we added a new category: Accessories. The theme of the competition will be “peace”. The winner of each category can count on the actual production of the piece of jewelry they designed and becomes member of the HRD community with all benefits included,” says Ellen Joncheere – CEO HRD: “2022 is a year of disruption. Who can make more sense of this than our young and creative talents. Let them see how they give a face to hope and a more sustainable future. At HRD, re-inventing and innovation are at the core of our business. We are on a mission to innovate grading and prepare a new generation on how to look at the quality, the value and the story of diamonds, gems and jewelry. More than ever, the time is right, to turn around this competition into a new direction and to do that with important partners such as CIBJO and Vincenzaoro. In our build-up to our final event in 2023, we will launch, besides the competition, also a new initiative that gives these designers the space they need to grow and become part of an incubator for design talent.”
We are looking for new and creative talent worldwide and specifically in the USA, Africa and Europe. We encourage design schools, creative platforms, governments and artists to encourage young talent to participate in the competition and to represent their country, school, project or just themselves within this competition and grab the amazing opportunities that come with it.
In the latest edition, we received designs from more than 800 candidates from 38 countries. This year, we have the ambition to reach more than 2.500 designers worldwide. Designers can subscribe to the competition by sending in their designs through the HRD Design website (hrddesignawards.com) until the 15th of October 2022. The final winners will be announced at a red-carpet event on January 23th 2023.
The HRD Design Awards are a tremendously successful platform for young designers who want to make their mark in the jewelry world. For the winners, it’s a marvelous opportunity to launch their own collection or to jump-start their careers into the jewelry business. Like Paola Strammiello, who won the competition in 2013 and became a senior jewel designer at Graffdiamonds.
Paola Strammiello says, “In 2013, I participated in the HRD Design Awards with my Magic Mushroom Ring and became one of the final winners. Winning that price gave me great momentum. It was the much desired and needed boost that brought me to where I am today as senior jewel designer for a high-end brand and established my name as a designer. I can only encourage all designers to grab this opportunity to showcase your talent. The feeling of seeing your work and your imagination come to life is the best feeling in the world.”
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