This past summer I was awarded 2nd Place in the 2009 George A. Schuetz Design Contest, a contest exclusively dedicated to fostering the best in men’s jewelry design. My winning design, Dog Tags with Hidden Pico Drive, was a CAD (computer aided design) entry – my first in any design competition. Recently, the Gemological Institute of America released a press release about the three winners with pictures of their designs. You can see it here. I’m pleased to have put Glendale, WI on the map in my own small way!
"Dog Tags with Hidden Pico Drive" by Joana Miranda Takes 2nd Place in 2009 GIA George A. Schuetz Contest
Champagne Wishes 2nd Place Award-Winning Tango Earring Design by Joana Miranda
Earlier this summer I was delighted to win the Champagne Wishes 2nd Place Award in the Rio Tinto Champagne Diamond Contest. My Tango Earrings featuring rose gold, champagne diamonds and Akoya pearls, were manufactured by D. Navinchandra Gems, a well established, award-winning diamond jewelry manufacturer. To learn more about the dates and locations of the trunk shows where these earrings will be appearing, please read on here.
The finished earrings:
Award-Winning "Tango" Earrings with Rose Gold, Champagne Diamonds and Akoya Pearls Designed by Joana Miranda
Please visit Rio Tinto’s Champagne Diamonds Blog to see great pictures and descriptions of all four winning entries in the recent Rio Tinto Champagne Diamond Contest. My Champagne Tango earrings took the “Champagne Wishes” 2nd Place award and are currently being manufactured!
While you’re on the site, don’t miss the short YouTube video entitled Champagne Diamonds Inspire New Designs. Rio Tinto asked Curtis of Australia to design a fountain pen using champagne diamonds. The Colours of Australia Fountain Pen has over 500 hand-set white and champagne diamonds and features intricate hand engraving as well as titanium design elements that are evocative of the Sydney Opera House. In the video you’ll see the process from rendering to stone-setting, buffing and polishing, as well as the torch heating of the titanium to enhance its color.
"Dog Tag with Hidden Pico Drive" Takes 2nd Place in 2009 George A. Schuetz Design Contest
I recently submitted the computer aided design (CAD) above for the 2009 GIA George A. Schuetz Design Competition. Recognizing the best original designs in men’s jewelry, this international competition was created in honor of the late men’s jewelry designer George A. Schuetz. The inspiration behind my Dog Tag with Hidden Pico Drive design was to create a man’s accessory that would be masculine, handsome and still functional. My design uses polished white metal, channel-set rubies and black onyx inlay. Hidden inside the flip-top compartment is a Pico Drive. The Pico Drive or thumb drive is currently the smallest on the market, is waterproof, and measures a mere 38.7 mm, or just about the size of an American quarter.
I’m delighted to win a prize in the George A. Schuetz Design Contest two years running and am grateful to the Gemological Institute of America for sponsoring a competition that has inspired me to try to design in elegant and stylish ways for men.
Special thanks also go to my good friend Jamie Hofman who told me about the Pico Drive in the first place.
Joana's Champagne Tango Earrings win Champagne Wishes 2nd Place category in the Rio Tinto Champagne Diamonds Contest
If you are curious to see the other prize-winning designs in the recent Rio Tinto Champagne Diamond Contest, please see the nice article released today in the Jeweler’s Circular Keystone online publication.
In one of those “life must be going my way” moments today, I landed in Denver after a nice flight, checked my cell phone, and learned that I have won another design award. I am delighted to report that my Champagne Tango Earring design has won the “Champagne Wishes” Second Place category in Rio Tinto’s Champagne Diamond Competition. Rio Tinto will be sending a press release about the winning designs to jewelry trade publications and other media sources later on today.
Prize-winning Champagne Tango Earrings Rendering by Joana Miranda
My winning design features graduated color, brilliant-cut, round champagne diamonds in the C1 to C4 range. The lightest diamonds at the top of the earrings give way to the darkest shade as they meet the suspended peach color, pear-shaped pearls at the bottom of the earrings. A lever-back function allows the design to appear to twist magically through the ear. The diamonds are bead-set in rose gold.
My love for movement – the tango in particular – together with all things glittery, was the inspiration behind these earrings.
Special thanks goes to my husband, Andy, who encouraged me to burn the midnight oil and submit an entry to this competition after I discovered to my great chagrin that I had gotten the entry due date confused in my mind with the judging date.
