(PRESS RELEASE) CARLSBAD, CA – Recognizing the outstanding talent of GIA (Gemological Institute of America) jewelry design students from around the world globally, the Institute recently awarded the seventh Gianmaria Buccellati Foundation Award for Excellence in Jewelry Design. The award, created with the Gianmaria Buccellati Foundation in 2018, was presented during the annual GIA Alumni Collective celebration in Tucson, AZ, to Suhan Wang, a graduate of the GIA school in Taipei.
“On behalf of the Gianmaria Buccellati Foundation and Rosa Maria Buccellati, we want to congratulate Ms. Suhan Wang, this year’s award winner, plus all the other designers whose work has honored this competition,” said Larry French, chief officer for North American strategies at the foundation. “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.”
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; Remy Rotenier, fine jewelry designer and design teacher; and Shelly Sergent, collections manager of Somewhere In the Rainbow Gemstone and Jewelry Collection.
“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, the winner of this year’s competition. “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.”
The 2024 Gianmaria Buccellati Foundation Award for Excellence in Jewelry Design competition is underway and open to students in GIA’s Jewelry Design course who meet the eligibility requirements. For more information, visit GIA.edu/buccellati-foundation-award-jewelry-design.
GIA’s Jewelry Design course teaches drafting, shading, design theory and illustration using several mediums. At the completion of the course, students have a hand-developed portfolio of their work and a digital copy. The course is offered at GIA campus locations in Bangkok, Carlsbad, Hong Kong, London, Mumbai, New York, Taipei, and at locations in Shanghai and Shenzhen, China. GIA also offers programs in Jewelry Design & Technology, Comprehensive Computer-Aided Design and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) for Jewelry and the Graduate Jeweler Program.
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