Events & AwardsMar 18, 2024
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See the Winner of GIA’s Design Competition
The Gianmaria Buccellati Foundation Award for Excellence in Jewelry Design was presented to a graduate of the GIA school in Taipei.
The seventh annual Gianmaria Buccellati Foundation Award for Excellence in Jewelry Design was awarded to Suhan Wang for her design sketch, seen here.
Carlsbad, Calif.—The Gemological Institute of America has awarded its seventh annual Gianmaria Buccellati Foundation Award for Excellence in Jewelry Design.
The award was created alongside the Gianmaria Buccellati Foundation in 2018 to recognize the talent of GIA’s jewelry design students worldwide.
The award for 2023 was presented during the annual GIA Alumni Collective celebration in Tucson, Arizona, to Suhan Wang, a graduate of the GIA school in Taipei, Taiwan.
The winning design was inspired by the jungle, meant to be crafted in platinum and set with diamonds, rubies, emerald, and tsavorite.
“The inspiration came from the mellow and delicate fruits in the dense jungle. It took only a few minutes for the sketch of this design to be completed, but it took dozens of hours to refine details and finish rendering,” said Wang.
“Attending GIA was a rewarding experience for zero-to-one growth, and it certainly gives me higher expectations of myself, which motivates me in my career.”
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The award was created alongside the Gianmaria Buccellati Foundation in 2018 to recognize the talent of GIA’s jewelry design students worldwide.
The award for 2023 was presented during the annual GIA Alumni Collective celebration in Tucson, Arizona, to Suhan Wang, a graduate of the GIA school in Taipei, Taiwan.
The winning design was inspired by the jungle, meant to be crafted in platinum and set with diamonds, rubies, emerald, and tsavorite.
“The inspiration came from the mellow and delicate fruits in the dense jungle. It took only a few minutes for the sketch of this design to be completed, but it took dozens of hours to refine details and finish rendering,” said Wang.
“Attending GIA was a rewarding experience for zero-to-one growth, and it certainly gives me higher expectations of myself, which motivates me in my career.”
Larry French, chief officer for North American strategies at the Gianmaria Buccellati Foundation, congratulated Wang and the other designers in the competition on behalf of the foundation and Rosa Maria Buccellati.
“We appreciate the talented GIA design instructors whose skill and efforts helped the students on their journey to celebrate the art of jewelry design in the highest way, an art that meant so much to our founder Gianmaria Buccellati,” said French.
Gianmaria Buccellati set up a foundation in his name in 2008 to honor the artistic and cultural legacy of his work and that of his father, Mario, who established the Italian jewelry brand.
The judges for this year’s competition were:
Nanz Aalund, jewelry designer, goldsmith, and educator;
Cathy Calhoun, owner of Calhoun Jewelers;
Victoria Gomelsky; editor-in-chief of JCK;
Charles Lewton-Brain; jewelry artist and co-founder of the Ganoksin Project;
Rémy Rotenier, fine jewelry designer and design teacher; and
Shelly Sergent, collections manager of Somewhere In the Rainbow Gemstone and Jewelry Collection.
The 2024 Gianmaria Buccellati Foundation Award for Excellence in Jewelry Design competition is currently underway and open to students in GIA’s Jewelry Design course who meet the eligibility requirements.
For more information, visit the GIA website.
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