Biggest Worldwide Jewelry Design Contest Makes Comeback at Vincenzaoro

HRD Design Awards - 18th edition:

Biggest worldwide jewelry design contest makes comeback at Vincenzaoro

2nd August 2022 - ANTWERP: Since 1985, every two years, young and innovative designers get the opportunity tocompete in the biggest jewelry design contest worldwide. But it has been in 2017 that this prestigious competitionheld its live red carpet final event. This year, HRD Antwerp decided, for its 18th edition, to come back and re-inventitself with the support of CIBJO (The World Jewellery Confederation) and in partnership with Vincenzaoro, Europe’slargest trade show for gold and jewelry.

HRD Antwerp as a catalyst for talent and innovation in jewelry

HRD Antwerp has the ambition to become a catalyst for talent. That’s why we wanted to re-invent the competition. There willbe 3 categories in the competition this year. Besides the classic categories of diamond jewelry and gemstone jewelry we addeda new category: Accessories. The theme of the competition will be “peace”. The winner of each category can count on theactual production of the piece of jewelry they designed and becomes member of the HRD community with all benefitsincluded.

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 coreof our business. We are on a mission to innovate grading and prepare a new generation on how to look at the quality, the valueand the story of diamonds, gems and jewelry. More than ever, the time is right, to turn around this competition into a newdirection and to do that with important partners such as CIBJO and Vincenzaoro. In our build-up to our final event in 2023, wewill launch, besides the competition, also a new initiative that gives these designers the space they need to grow and becomepart 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 designschools, creative platforms, governments and artists to encourage young talent to participate in the competition and torepresent their country, school, project or just themselves within this competition and grab the amazing opportunities thatcome with it.

2.500 designers worldwide by 15th October 2022

In the latest edition, we received designs from more than 800 candidates from 38 countries. This year, we have the ambition toreach more than 2.500 designers worldwide. Designers can subscribe to the competition by sending in their designs throughthe HRD Design website (hrddesignawards.com) until the 15th of October 2022. The final winners will be announced at a redcarpet event on January 23th 2023.

An exclusive opportunity for young designers

The HRD Design Awards are a tremendously successful platform for young designers who want to make their mark in thejewelry world. For the winners, it’s a marvelous opportunity to launch their own collection or to jump-start their careers into thejewelry business. Like Paola Strammiello, who won the competition in 2013 and became a senior jewel designer at Graffdiamonds.

Paola Strammiello:”“In 2013, I participated in the HRD Design Awards with my Magic Mushroom Ring and became one of thefinal winners. Winning that price gave me great momentum. It was the much desired and needed boost that brought me towhere I am today as senior jewel designer for a high-end brand and established my name as a designer. I can only encourageall designers to grab this opportunity to showcase your talent. The feeling of seeing your work and your imagination come tolife is the best feeling in the world.”

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