Last evening, an eminent jury comprising renowned fashion, design and jewellery experts completed the first Jury round for the 3rd Artisan Jewellery Design Awards 2020 organised by Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) in Mumbai.

The theme Architectural Gems, the Artisan Awards 2020 looks at celebrating three key periods from different architectural eras - Art Deco, Islamic Arabesque and Neo-Futurism.

The jury comprised of Interior Designer Ashiesh Shah, Fashion Designer Rimzim Dadu, Fashion Photographer Jatin Kampani, Jewellery Expert, Richa Goyal Sikri, along with luxury couture jewellers - Pavan Anand of Dagmar Jewellery and Abhishek Haritwal of Symetree.

This year the Council received a total of 625 entries from talented designers across the globe belonging to various design disciplines – fashion, jewellery, architecture, animation, typography.

The designs received this year are truly remarkable, innovative and futuristic and comprised of jewellery categories - Rings, Pendants, Brooches, Pins, Earrings and Bracelets.

"After viewing the participant entries, I am delighted to see the emerging design talent of our country in the gems and jewellery sector. With this platform we want to create visibility on a global scale to reinforce India’s design talent and not limit it to just being a manufacturing centre for jewellery,” said, Pramod Agarwal, Chairman, GJEPC.

Milan Chokshi, Convener – Promotions & Marketing, GJEPC said, "We are happy to see the number of entries increasing with each passing year for the Artisan Jewellery Design Awards. The jury judged the 89 shortlisted entries on their relevance to the theme – and additionally evaluated them particularly on design & innovation. India has an abundance of talent in design and manufacturing. This platform is a great opportunity for the designers to unleash their skills and with the help of the best manufacturers in the industry, they can see their vision come alive.”

“The Council has come up with an incredible theme this year. Architecture and jewellery design are both inspirational denoting the play of structure and form. They touch the human soul and that's what makes this theme so special,” shared jewellery expert Richa Goyal Sikri.

Interior Designer Ashiesh Shah said, “For me jewellery design is about fluidity between heritage and heritage-turned modern pieces. I have evaluated these beautiful designs on the thought process and the visual language they have created keeping the theme in mind.”

Fashion photographer Jatin Kampani, said, “Being a student is to explore, but not let your thoughts be guided in a certain way. The whole idea of innovation is to break boundaries. With this platform, the Council provides the guidance required and the resources in a commercial aspect to help young talent make their mark in the industry.”

“Being a part of the trade, I can see the impact the platform has had on emerging young talent - from a 360 degree perspective, from design, to saleability and pushing the boundaries to create something out-of-the box”, shared Abhishek Haritwal, Founder, Symetree.

Fashion Designer, Rimzim Dadu said, “As a designer, seeing the enthusiasm of jewellery designers and ideas is very refreshing. It has been exciting to witness their thought processes and the way that they have incorporated architecture to showcase their vision.”

Jewellery couturier Pavan Anand shared, “As the world becomes accessible because of global access, it has never been more important to see design, and specifically jewellery design, through an international lens. I am happy that GJEPC presents this platform annually to give impetus to young talent from India. The next step for the current and upcoming generation of jewellery designers is to bridge creativity with business; create brands with international resonance. The Artisan Jewellery Design Awards is a wonderful first step towards this direction.”

The Round 2 Jury is scheduled for January 2020 and the winners from each category will be announced at the Grand Finale, which will take place in February 2020 in Mumbai.