So many fantastic jewellery events happening around the world during fashion weeks, it’s just too exciting. From Copenhagen Fashion Week and Scandi jewellery at The Jewellery Room to Milan Fashion Week and 140 contemporary, emerging jewellery artists and designers at Artistar Jewels 2019. Who will win the GEMOLOGUE Jewellery Award at Artistar Jewels this year?

More than 400 modern jewellery artists from all over the world entered to win the Artistar Jewels Award Italy 2019. Together with other jury members, I had the difficult task of narrowing the winners down to just three amazing designs.

Congratulations to Brazilian designer Bia Tambelli, Korean sculptor Sowon Joo and Russian artist Veronika Kuryanova. The winners were chosen based on the artistic value, technical skills, design, originality and technological innovation. The winners’ designs will be available for sale online at artistarjewels.com. I’ve already laid my eyes on some beautiful jewels!

For the winner of the GEMOLOGUE jewellery award, I focused on the originality of the design, technique, skill, unique craftsmanship, and wearability, as well as sustainability and the life and soul behind the jewel. Stay tuned for my next article dedicated solely to the Artist Jewels 2019 GEMOLOGUE award winner!

For more contemporary jewellery from last year, check out my previous visit to Artistar Jewels exhibition in Milan.

After careful consideration  I would like to share with you my GEMOLOGUE curation of the top 10 contemporary jewellery designers at Artistar Jewels:

BIA TAMBELLI 

If you’ve read my “10 Things to Know about Brazilian Jewellery Style”, you could instantly see the strong signature and powerful energy in the jewels of Bia. We have a lot of things in common: love for Brazil and a passion for beautiful stones and jewels since childhood. Bia pays homage to the symbolic value of the gemstones in her creations, placing them at the centre of the jewel’s balanced aesthetic.

This Trindade Bracelet instantly attracted me, due to my love for spiritual jewellery! The 18k gold and diamond pyramid structures with mini citruses on top express an intellectual and spiritual order, invigorating the wearer with a feeling of clarity, so fundamental for spiritual growth.

ANASTASIA DUBROVA

Still a student at the prestigious Moscow State Stroganov Academy of Design and Applied Arts at the Art Metal Department, Anastasia has already shone at several Russian competitions and has now debuted at Artistar Jewels 2019. A young and talented jewellery designer, she has shaken up the competition with two sleek minimalist rings.

Her Roly-Poly doll-toy-inspired ring is the quintessence of smoothness and fluidity with polished metal and a spherical stone playing with light to create the unity of form and content. In contrast, Anastasia’s Portal ring is a harmonious marriage of opposites: sleek and edgy forms in a single whole whole.

FRANCESCA PAOLIN

A skilled designer from Latin America, Ecuador with work experience in the UK and a mind-blowing creative flow, Francesca’s style is unmistakable! Combining 3D technologies and handmade craftsmanship, her work presents an avant-garde aesthetic halfway between Brit Pop and tropical exotics.

Crafted from nylon and metal alloy and dyed by hand, these red Circle Feather earrings have a futuristic look and other-worldly vibe, yet they are a mix of inspiration stemming from ancient Mayan cultures and the Amazonia rainforest to Venice and the delicate art of lacemaking. A modern statement and light as a feather!

STANISLAV DROKIN 

This Ukranian designer, jeweller, gemologist and engraver has drawn me in with his titanium works. In a search for new forms and colour combinations his workshop becomes a creative laboratory producing one-of-a-kind contemporary design pieces with an abundance of sparkling gemstones!

This Nest ring with quartz, diamonds and sapphires evokes my love for the striking titanium jewellery of Wallace Chan. The inspiration behind this ring explores the meaning of homeland and the borders that divide us. Art has no limits and transcends these boundaries, touching the lives of other cultures.

NAYIBE WARCHAUSKY

The proud winner of my GEMOLOGUE Award at Artistar Jewels 2019! An architect and jeweller by profession, Nayibe strives for the breathtaking balance between matter and form. Her jewellery encompasses so many layers of cultural significance: the way she experiments with Italian Murano crystal, how she’s inspired by the architectural movement of Constructivism, and how it all ties into her Russian origins developed in Venezuela.

These rings just blow my mind! Handmade and created by melting and cooling silicate mixtures, these crystal rings have tridimensional facets for a boundless, intergalactic effect. A balanced mix of craftsmanship and modernity, almost like wearable micro-sculptures, whose extraordinary detail had me entranced.

ANNA MACCIERI ROSSI 

With an impressive history of working with big brands like  Cartier, Bulgari and Tiffany & Co. Watches, Anna is perhaps the most experienced designer of all. Only recently has she decided to create her own line using the finest materials to create these jewels of elegant modernity. Her jewellery designs and beautiful colours sent my imagination into a spin of dancing jewels!

This ring is just one example from a stunning array of dreamy jewels showcased at the Artistar Jewels competition. Crafted from white gold, mother-of-pearl, labradorite and diamond, this ring tells the story of a wolf howling at the moon, representing strength and unity between nature and living beings.

JESSICA PASS

Of course I couldn’t leave out a British designer with a love for nature-inspired jewels! Growing up in Peak District, Jessica found inspiration in her beautiful surroundings, drawing and painting the birds and insects that inhabited it. Her talent derives from a natural fascination with the mechanics of things that reflects well in her jewels. She loves the hidden details and creating unseen elements.

Just look at this elaborate Cicada necklace! All metalwork from sterling silver, yellow gold plate, black ruthenium and  golden beryl, the body of an insect opens to reveal a miniature figure inside. The Flying Cicada ring complements this piece perfectly and sits dramatically on the hand looking almost alive.

ANASTASIA KUCHERENKO

I was delighted to see so many talented artists from my home country Russia exhibiting their unique creations at Artistar Jewels 2019! Anastasia started her journey as a jewellery artist and designer at a young age, later becoming a professional in art and design and creating her own brand of custom jewels. Her work is all about resourceful creativity and developing an idea, rather than focusing solely on the materials.

These Pomegranate earrings with cabochon garnets, sapphires and diamonds look just so natural and organic to me. An array of gemstones sparkling in the sun as if I have just cut a slice of ripe pomegranate, rich and red, to adorn my ears!

NINA OIKAWA

Tokyo born and Melbourne based jeweller, Nina has studied Gold and Silversmithing at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Nina is a jewellery artist at heart, whose passion for drawing and designing began in early childhood. She brings a fun, noble character and eccentricity to her jewellery designs.

This is definitely not your average cocktail ring, but a statement I could definitely pull off at an exquisite party! Yet, the idea behind this opulent lapis lazuli, ruby and Akoya pearl ring is delicate and tender. The visual movement represents the soft warm spring winds bringing beautiful cherry blossoms to life.

DENIS SOZIN

To cap it all off, Russian contemporary jewellery artist Denis Sozin blew me away with his creativity! Expressing his worldview in jewels, he creates a whole new realm of thoughts, senses, feelings, dreams and wishes. His works are true art, making you wonder and actively seek explanation to every meticulously crafted detail.

Glasses necklace is a creative experiment, showing an ordinary object in the new light and giving me this extraordinary steam punk feel. Using sterling silver, titanium, steel, leather, lattes, Swarovski crystals and enamel, Denis turns it into glasses of childhood, where unconditional happiness and colourful fantasies rule our imagination!

Thanks for stopping by! Which contemporary jewellery designer of these 10 is your most favourite? Let me know in the comments below!

Make sure to check out 10 Jewellery Designers to Know at JCK Luxury Las Vegas and Fashion Jewellery Designers to Know at Scoop, Saatchi Gallery London!

If you loved this article share with your girlfriends on Pinterest!

I am extremely happy to announce that my new jewelry book – GEMOLOGUE: Street Jewellery Styles & Styling Tips – is now on Amazon. I’m so excited. It’s the first book of its kind solely dedicated to jewellery. 

You can sign up for GEMOLOGUE newsletter below and I also share  jewellery on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook  and Youtube if you’d like to connect, or feel free to say hello info@gemologue.com

SHOP MY FAVOURITE JEWELRY ONLINE:

GEMOLOGUE jewelry blog by Liza Urla is a celebration of fine, fashion and vintage jewellery featuring talented jewellery designers, trendy urban street style, exclusive interviews and rare jewellery reviews. This jewellery blog’s goal is to encourage and educate about jewellery online in a fresh and original fashion to inspire women and men across the globe in a fashion and travelling context.

Jewellery blogger, writer Liza Urla, the founder of GEMOLOGUE, is a London-based and NYC-educated gemologist, who has travelled to and lived in many countries. She is now one of the most influential digital jewellery tastemakers. Her jewellery influence has been acknowledged by Financial Times, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.

*Styling and Art Direction by Liza Urla. All photos belong to GEM Kreatives for GEMOLOGUE.

Material on this website may not be copied, broadcasted or adapted without written consent.