The winners of the inaugural Leading Lights Awards have been announced today at a special ceremony at International Jewellery London (IJL), on the first day of the show.
The awards, in association with Jewellery Outlook, is a new feature initiative for IJL 2019, created to celebrate the innovation, craftsmanship, design and distribution of fashion forward talent across the globe.
Lucy Quartermaine was awarded Jeweller of the Year. The judges called Lucy “an inspiration to other UK designers” who “has created a balance between superlative design and manufacturing excellence in jewellery, to inspire a multiple stockist, Ernest Jones”.
Best Fine Jeweller went toBirmingham-based Domino for its “carefully planned production process”, with the judges commenting “every stage, from training to marketing, is carefully nurtured.” Birmingham got another win with Birmingham City University School of Jewellery awarded Course Provider. The judges said they are “the most professional and enthusiastic body, closely integrated with the industry”.
De Beers Group Industry Services won Best Use of Technology, with the judges praising its “outstanding commercial relevance and accurate solutions to tackle challenges in the industry for the ultimate benefit of the end consumer.”
Fashion Fusion was awarded to Kastur Jewels for directing “Indian inspiration to the mainstream” and Indian-based blogger Preeta Agarwal Workroom (bejewelledfinds.com) won the Blogger Award forher “informative and passionate posts”. The judges were impressed with how she “takes the audience behind the scenes, showcasing much more than beautiful jewellery from across the world”.
Lingjun Sun took home the Bright Young Gem Award crown, for “showing innovative use of materials and settings” and “bringing opals to a new contemporary market”.
Katie Morris, Events Director, International Jewellery London (IJL) said: “The winners of the inaugural Leading Lights Awards show the incredible innovation, creativity and dedication of the jewellery and watch industry today – from designers, to education, to technology, they all add so much IJL is so pleased to be able to shine a light all the winners’ amazing achievements. Congratulations to all!”
David Brough, Editor of Jewellery Outlook, said: “”The judges were extremely impressed by the high standard and wide variety of applicants in the inaugural Leading Lights awards. We were delighted to see such fabulous talent and professional commitment across the categories.”
The full list of the inaugural Leading Lights winners is below:
Best Use of Technology
De Beers Group Industry Services
Fashion Fusion
Kastur Jewels
Course Provider
Birmingham City University School of Jewellery
Jeweller of the Year
Lucy Quartermaine
Best Bright Young Gem
Lingjun Sun
Best Fine Jeweller
Domino Jewellery
Blogger Award (sponsored by NAJ)
Preeta Agarwal Workroom – bejewelledfinds.com
IJL is an unrivalled opportunity for the international jewellery trade to network and find out about the latest industry trends and market developments which will help retailers and suppliers make the right commercial decisions.
For buyers, the show is the once-in-a-year chance to shop for the widest range of gems, jewellery, packaging and services, and to find out about the most topical issues in the industry. IJL also offers buyers the largest variety of gemstones under one roof in Britain today.
IJL is sponsored by the NAJ and supported by the GIA, Gem-A, The Houlden Group, The Company of Master Jewellers, and the Goldsmiths Craft and Design Council.