RIYADH, 11 April 2007 — A diamond jewelry design competition will kick off throughout the Gulf states this month as part of an organized move to boost the market for diamond jewelry, of which bridal sets alone net around SR740 million in annual sales.
Dubai-based Diamond Trading Company has announced that its GCC Diamond Jewelry Design Competition is now open for entries. The deadline for entries to the competition, which seeks to promote talent in the GCC Jewelry industry, closes on April 15.
The diamond jewelry sets market in the Gulf is said to be the largest in the world. In fact, diamond jewelry sets outstrip all other diamond jewelry sales in the Middle East, accounting for more than half of all diamond jewelry sales. Both amateur and professional designers have been invited to participate in the GCC Diamond Jewelry Design Competition to demonstrate their ability to craft designs specifically for the region. Entrants to the competition must send their design renderings with an official entry form on or before April 15.
The entry form can be obtained from the Diamond Trading Company representative on [email protected]. To enter the competition, participants will be required to draft a design for a new piece or set of diamond jewelry, inspired by Arab culture, under one of five categories listed on the entry form: The New Innovative and Extraordinary Piece of Diamond Jewelry, The Rayana Set, The Whisper Three-Stone Ring, The Bridal Set, Melange and the Black Attraction categories. The designs will be reviewed by a selection committee who will choose the final 12 designs, which will then be produced into final pieces.
“The competition has been designed to help develop young, successful and dynamic jewelry designers in the region. Prospective participants can now enter the competition, which seeks to aid the development of diamond jewelry designs created here in the Arab world specifically for the Arab market,” said Anan Fakhreddin, Diamond Promotion Service (DPS) director of the Diamond Trading Company, the sales and marketing arm of the De Beers Group.
The final 12 designs will be selected by April 30 and will be presented at a gala event in June 2007 where they will be finally judged by experts such as the international fashion designer Walid Atallah. Other judges include well known industry leaders such as Ahmed bin Sulayem, chief operating officer of the Dubai Multi Commodities Center. These 12 designs will go on to form “the 2007 collection”, which will be revealed at a gala event in Dubai where the five category winners will then be finally selected. The competition is being held in partnership with the Dubai Multi Commodities Center (DMCC), a strategic initiative of the Dubai government and the Dubai Gold & Jewelry Group, a prestigious trade body with over 700 members aimed at promoting the Jewelry industry of Dubai, both locally and internationally.
Meanwhile, the Kingdom’s foremost jewelers gathered in Jeddah recently to launch Bridal, a brand new program for diamond jewelry sets. “The Bridal program is a new inspiration for jewelers across the Gulf to design diamond jewelry sets that are as rare and unique as the bride herself,” said Fakhreddin. Using the tagline ‘You’re the one for life’, the Bridal campaign captures the moment when a man sees something rare and unique in a woman and realizes that she is the right one for him for life.
“A diamond set expresses a groom’s recognition that his bride is the perfect and only partner for life because each diamond is as unique as the bride herself. Many men find it hard to articulate their true feelings and a Bridal set enables the man to express what words cannot to his future wife,” added Fakhreddin. DTC’s Bridal program will be supported by a full media campaign to the value of $2.5 million, which includes a new television commercial and print advertising. At the event, representatives from jewelry industry are to be educated about the bridal season and how they would benefit from this new program.
