GAA is proud to support and celebrate Australia and New Zealand’s most exciting jewellery designers and retailers.
The entrants
Designer: Leon Parry
Item: Bangle
Name of piece: Supernova
Description of piece: Supernova is innovative, she has seven rotating spheres, each embellished with its own individual colour and complemented by a few diamonds thrown in for good measure. She has a playful and intriguing nature, captivating all who look upon her and sits supremely on the arm of anyone who desires to wear her.
Motivation: To challenge my skills and to make a bold statement by creating a unique piece and to introduce a new medium to the jewellery industry.
Designer: Halina Kaufman
Item: Pendant
Name of piece: Galaxias
Description of piece: 18-carat, 3-tone pendant featuring a 6.91-carat zircon in the centre with various coloured gems and white diamonds. Galaxias is designed as three individual sections that screw together so the middle piece orbits the centre on a handmade bearing and thread.
Motivation: To design and make a piece inspired by space and planets with moving sections to show the orbit of the planets around a beautiful blue sun.
Designer: Don and Vanessa Kennedy
Item: Pendant
Name of piece: Duplicitas Araneae
Description of piece: 18-carat yellow gold pendant featuring a 50mm onyx ‘donut’ disc, cabochon citrine, chrysoprase, amethyst and garnet along with black and white diamonds with bi-coloured tourmaline briolettes on yellow and white gold chain.
Motivation: A vibrant world of luscious jewels set against a dark sensuous onyx centre. By day, this world is home to Araneae, our bi-coloured tourmaline spider, whom at night retreats to the other side. Both worlds of the design feature chains with bi-coloured tourmaline faceted drops of venom.
Designer: Rhys Turner
Item: Ring
Name of piece: Facets of Morality
Description of piece: The ring is an angular, architecturally inspired form containing a tension set Parti sapphire. It has multiple finishes including sandblast, polish and emery finish.
Motivation: My aim was to create a unique object that reflects, balances and compliments the shape of the sapphire to draw focus to it as an object in itself. The ring is unique from all angles viewed.
Designer: Craig McKim
Item: Interchangeable Earrings and Pendant Set
Name of piece: The Desert Sunset collection
Description of piece: Earring and pendant set with interchangeable feature. Slide the Tiger’s eye sapphire suspended features either onto the studs to wear as earrings or extend the pendant by sliding one of the Tiger’s eye features onto the back of the pendant.
Motivation: Reflecting the richness and beauty of our country, shimmering tiger’s eye, unearthed from the Pilbara, glitters with stunning Australian yellow sapphires. The gold represents the desert sands connecting the Pilbara to QLD’s Anakie gem fields.
The award categories