The International Gemological Institute (IGI) ran a global jewelry design competition titled IGI Expressions™ from 22nd September - 28th October 2021. IGI Expressions™ was a 100% online competition that was open to jewelry designers and enthusiasts alike. The aim of IGI's annual jewelry design competition was to provide a platform where artists' feelings can be expressed through jewelry design. This blog post gives you some insight into this year's theme, a breakdown of the competition, and the 2021 IGI Expressions™ competition winner's:
IGI Expressions™ 2021 Theme
Titled, The Freedom to Dream, IGI writes:
Dreams are stories and images that our mind creates. They can be entertaining, fun, romantic, disturbing, frightening, and sometimes bizarre. Dreams are also a representation of our aspirations, motivations, goals, desires, and hopes. Dreams give us the freedom to imagine beyond. We want you to interpret the word "Dreams" as you wish and convert it into an element of your design. You need to describe your concept and its interpretation in your design as part of your entry.IGI Expressions™ 2021 Competition Categories
IGI Expressions competition consisted of three (3) categories, namely, Millennial Light Weight Jewelry, Cocktail Jewelry, and Bridal Wear Jewelry. Learn more about the themes below:
Millennial Light Weight Jewelry
Cocktail Jewelry Bridal Wear Jewelry Small, lightweight jewelry, perfect for daily wear or what may be termed 'the millennial style.' It also includes delicate designs that could also be worn everyday to work / meetings / corporate events. A stylish piece of jewelry designed to attract attention with its size and colors; this piece should make a statement and stand out compared to any other jewelry worn. A perfect accessory for a cocktail party or a glamourous event.Every bride wants to look like a dream on her wedding day and why not, marriage is once in a lifetime event. The design in this segment must be a creation of dreams.
IGI Expressions™ 2021
IGI Expressions™ collected submissions from creatives in 21 countries from around the globe. The competition entries consisted of a plethora of rich and diverse interpretations of dreams, aspirations, motivations, goals, desires, and hopes from all compass points on the earth.
There were a total of 555 talented creatives who participated in this year's IGI Expressions™ competition. Two winners were honored in each of the three IGI Expressions™ 2021 competition categories. From each category one winner was honored for a Computer Aided Design (CAD) submission and a second winner was honored for a hand-drawn Sketch submission. The six winning designs will be fabricated and featured at the Premium D Show in Goa, India, November 24-25, where leading diamond and jewelry manufacturers showcase their designs. The designs will receive further exposure in IGI's pan-Indian ORIGIN Magazine, on the IGI GemBlog, and across the institute's various worldwide social channels. Furthermore, the winning participants each received a competition Champion Certificate, Champion Award, and small cash honorarium.
IGI Expressions™ 2021 Winners
Millennial Light Weight CAD Jewelry Competition Winner - Sanaz Ghafari
"To achieve your dreams, you must get rid of every fence and prison." - Sanaz Ghafari.
Millennial Light Weight Sketch Jewelry Competition Winner - Shirin Kazemi
"Earrings inspired by Islamic motifs that cover the whole ear and show the ear like a flower in the garden." - Shirin Kazemi
Cocktail Jewelry CAD Competition Winner - Dushyant Dave
"It's a CAD render of a concept design for Dream and Desire which is being visualized via "D". In design bridge is also being shown which connects both "D's"( Dream & Desire) together." - Dushyant Dave
Cocktail Jewelry Sketch Competition Winner - Haniyeh Mohsenizadeh
"The magical freedom. Light is a dream when its freedom turns to colorful scene which is heaven. This set is considered to be made with titanium which is best suited to metal in variety and also white gold with multicolored stones with central stones that are peridots." - Haniyeh Mohsenizadeh
Bridal Jewelry CAD Competition Winner - Malvika Vadsak
"This necklace is called "flamma". It's a Latin word for the term called "flame", I named it after my dream. My dream was to become a dancer unfortunately I couldn't, so I tried to put all my passion into this piece. The flows and curves of the design show the conflagration. It represents my feelings, love, flexibility, and burning fire inside of me, me dancing on the floor all lost in my own world, grooving on the beats. This necklace is a front open necklace I designed for bridal jewelry wear, the metal rod which goes around the neck is made of silver and is supposed to be flexible. the leaf motifs are of rose goes metal as well as silver metal with a micro-pave setting of RBCs (0.2ct diamonds)." - Malvika Vadsak
Bridal Jewelry Sketch Competition Winner - Leili Bahrami
The perfect bridal necklace for the day of love, a moment of dream come true. Weddings signify commitment and start of a new magical journey." - Leili Bahrami
IGI was "delighted and honored by the outpouring of creativity with so many participants this year from across the world." Congratulations to all of the IGI Expressions™ winners and to those who participated in this year's competition. On behalf of PriceScope, we're looking forward to the 2022 IGI Expressions™ Awards.
Which category of the 2021 IGI Expressions™ did you resonate most with? Which design particularly stood out to you? Let us know by clicking the comments button below.
