Australian jewellery designs light up Oscars

2.0 k views | Posted March 05, 2012 | By Aaron Weinman

Australian and international designers showcased their winning Rio Tinto Diamond jewellery designs at the Oscars.

A number of the stars were sparkling a little brighter at last week’s Oscars ceremony as they showcased the award-winning designs from last year’s Rio Tinto Diamonds Global Design Competition, boasting winners from both Australia and abroad.

Held at the Style Lab jewellery suite in California’s Beverly Hills, the gala was attended by a variety of celebrities and their stylists. Academy Award nominated actresses Marcia Gay Harden, Allison Janney and television actress Barbara Eve Harris wore the winning designs for the exclusive red carpet event.

Nine winning designs by designers from Australia, the US, Canada, India, China and Hong Kong had their pieces showcased exclusively for this year’s Oscars.

The winning designs stemmed from four categories, Champagne Diamonds, Silvermist Diamonds, Canadian Diamonds and Sustainable Jewellery – with two winning categories per diamond type, Master Craftsman and Rising Star.

Australian Stacey Lindsell, of WA-based Smales Jewellers, took out the Rising Star award in the Champagne Diamonds category, while Nadia Neuman from Sydney’s Mondial won Sustainable Jewellery’s Master Craftsman award and Dean Walker of Dean Walker Designs in Tasmania got the gong for the Silvermist Master Craftsman.

As previously reported by Jeweller, the judging panel consisted of jewellery designers, fashion experts and celebrity stylists. All were impressed with the variety of designs, which ranged from classic pieces to contemporary interpretations.

Judge Michael O’ Connor said the designs were beautiful and highlighted the use of Rio Tinto’s diverse diamonds portfolio.

“I was extremely impressed with how each of the designers interpreted the challenge,” O’Connor told IDEX Online. “They came up with unique and beautiful jewellery pieces.”

Rebecca Foerster, manager for Rio Tinto Diamonds in the US mirrored the judges conclusions and said she looked forward to working with the winning designers.

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Rio Tinto Diamonds announces competition winners
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