HRD Antwerp announces the winners of the 18th HRD Design Awards at Vicenzaoro

In the fully packed Teatro Palladio at Vicenzaoro, the reinvented design competition came to its conclusion with the announcement of winners in 3 design categories and the Global Winner of the overall competition. That ¬final honor falls upon the young and new talent Wang Xuerui from China. HRD CEO Ellen Joncheere also launched a new initiative to support young designers worldwide: the young Designers Community.

The jury, under the professional guidance of CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri, selected 3 winners that made a design within the selected theme: peace. Storytelling, technical skills and the ability to translate this into the design were the decisive factors that led to the choices of the jury. More than 1500 participants entered about 1600 designs, which is a big jump from the 800 contestants we had at the last edition.

Wang Xuerui’s piece called “Mutualistic,” a bold display of metal work and detailed artisanship.

Jonchere commented about the contestants, “in general, we were surprised by the high level of the designs that we received, and it’s proven that with the right platform you eliminate all obstacles and make room for new potential designers.”

FINAL WINNERS

Global winner 18th edition HRD Design Awards: Wang Xuerui - China

Category winner accessories: Wang Xuerui - China
1st runner-up: Jun Yuying Zhang - China
2nd runner-up: Yi-Wen Chen - Taiwan

Category winner gemstones: Amelia Rachim - Italy
1st runner-up: Maho Nozawa - Japan
2nd runner-up: Chao Yu - China

Category winner diamonds: Indika Wjayarathna - Sri Lanka
1st runner-up: Benoit Schrijnemakers - Belgium
2nd runner-up: Lily Leung - China