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| “Ivy” earrings by Alessio Boschi with a detachable drop. Left view is with the drop and right view is without the drop. The leaves are diamonds with shaded green tsavorites in dark rhodium. The berries are purple sapphires and the twisted trunks are inertwined diamond lines with dangling chrome diopside. Leaf backs are handmade and invisibly set. Suggested retail price: $16,500. |
Three designers from different countries were selected from among a record number of entries as the winners of the Centurion 2013 Emerging Designer Competition.
The winners—Alessio Boschi of Australia, Erika Bertin of the United States, and Shar-Linn Liew of Thailand—were announced prior to the 2013 Centurion luxury jewelry tradeshow held February 3-5 in Scottsdakes, Ariz. All three designers made their U.S. tradeshow debut at Centurion where they received free exhibition space as part of winning the annual competition, now in its fifth year.
The competition drew almost 70 entries from luxury jewelry designers around the world. More than 300 retailers voted to narrow the field down to 12 finalists; the Centurion Board of Retail Advisors voted again to select the three winners.
Boschi of Lux2Lux Jewels, is a native of Italy who has spent time designing in his home country, Greece and Thailand before moving to Australia to work with pearl jewelry manufacturer, Autore, where he created the popular and critically acclaimed “Oceania,” “Ice and Fire,” and “Venezia” jewelry collections.
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| Rose gold medallion and ring inspired by a medieval incense diffuser top, and come with handmade double gold chain and white diamonds. Retail prices: Medallion chain, $9,755 for 18k and $5,815 for 10k; Ring, $4,985 for 18k and $2.790 for 10k. |
Bertin of Alasia (erikabertin@yahoo.com) previously worked as a luxury brand builder in London before becoming a full-time jewelry designer. She moved to New York in 2000 to set up Arte Italiana, the US branch of Favero, as a partner to the owner. Favero jewelry found a responsive audience in the Americas and saw healthy and successful growth, becoming a recognized brand. Many of the Favero pieces distributed in the USA were either designed or merchandised by Bertin.
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| Sharart Design’s Shinto blue sapphire earrings are fully articulated. Gem content: blue sapphire (8.15ct.) and white diamond (0.71 ct.). Suggest retail price, $9.800. |
Jewelry designer Shar-Linn Liew of Sharart Design grew up in Singapore and was exposed to designing as a young girl by her mother, who was a clothes designer. But it was her husband who exposed her to the world of gemstones and fine jewelry. After a two-year stint as a jewelry merchandiser at a TV jewelry network, Liew decided to focus on her own collection. Her pieces are handcrafted by her husband's jewelry manufacturing house. Her inspirations are constantly evolving around the designer’s Asian heritage blended with old European allure.
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