This year’s Awards – the eighth edition of the competition – will select a finalist and winning entry from across six categories, as well as an overall Supreme Winner.
Melissa James, executive officer Diamond Guild Australia, told Jeweller, “The Diamond Guild Australia Jewellery Awards provides an important platform for retail jewellers to showcase the individuality and artisanship of designer jewellery to the public.
“In a marketplace crowded with mass produced designs, it is a great way to illustrate the possibility of jewellery design and to showcase the amazing local talent of the Australian jewellery industry,” she added.
Winners in each category will receive a trophy and certificate. “In addition, the Guild will be showcasing the finalists and winners in our chosen media partner – to be announced in March – providing an unrivalled opportunity for the winners to leverage their success in the media and to the jewellery consumer,” James said.
This year, the Fancy Colour Award has been renamed the Argyle Australian Fancy Coloured Diamond Award to pay tribute to Western Australia’s Argyle Mine, which will close at the end of the year.
It currently produces 90–95 per cent of the world’s pink diamonds, and is also a premier source of brown, yellow, and blue diamonds.
“This amazing natural resource has placed Australia front and centre of the diamond industry for over 20 years,” James explained. “Argyle has created an appreciation for the range of natural coloured diamonds among jewellery purchasers that will endure beyond the life of the source itself. We felt it was fitting to honour this in 2020.”
Finalists and winners will be chosen by a panel of judges from different fields of design, with a Diamond Guild member appointed to provide technical feedback. In 2018, the competition was judged by Good Design Australia general manager Rachel Wye, interior designer Greg Natale, and actress April-Rose Pengilly, advised by Guild member and award-winning jeweller John Calleija.
The 2020 judging panel will be announced next month, alongside major sponsors.
Diamond Guild Australia was established in 2005 as a non-profit association of leading jewellers and diamond industry professionals. Its mission is to set a benchmark for the ethical and professional sale of diamonds and promote and support the jewellery trade.
Click here for Awards entry kit and registration »
2020 Diamond Guild Australia Jewellery Awards categories
- Solitaire Diamond Award: described as ‘the simplest yet most challenging’ category, a single stone of any shape may be showcased in a unique ring setting
- Diamonds For Men Award: the category ‘celebrates contemporary jewellery for the design-conscious Australian man’
- Diamonds For Everyday Award: entries in this category may take any form, but must have a retail value of $6,500 or less, and be wearable for everyday occasions
- Emerging Talent Award: apprentices and students may submit a hand-rendered illustration of a unique diamond jewellery design, inspired by the theme ‘the beauty of Australian nature’
- Argyle Australian Fancy Coloured Diamond Award: to mark the closure of the Argyle Mine at the end of this year, entries in this category must feature at least 70 per cent Argyle-certified diamonds
- Red Carpet Award: there are no limits in the red-carpet category, with jewellers invited to show off their creativity with their most glamorous and show-stopping pieces
2018 Winners
Solitaire Award'Brilliant' ring Ben Preston-Black and Rowan Hurrell Creations Jewellers |
Diamonds for Men Award'Grill' ring Brett Wood Brett's Jewellers |
Diamonds for Everyday Award'Flame' earrings Matthew Staff MJS Jewellers |
Fancy Colour Diamond Award'Fanciful' ring Ben Preston-Black and Wisan Sarji Creations Jewellers |
Red Carpet AWARD + Supreme winner'Aella' earrings Olivar Musson Musson Jewellers |
EMERGING TALENT Award'Vogue' ring Hannah Alexander Jewels of the Kimberley |
More reading:
Diamond Awards showcase brilliant design
Aussie diamond jewellers take home accolades