Rebel Chique, the new subsidiary of legendary diamond house Royal Asscher, announced the the winners for it’s first international design competition.
Among the winners are Americans Annie Fensterstock and Allison Nagasue -- both of whom have won several industry awards in recent years and gained much recognition for their imaginative work. Georgina Teng of the Philippines won two categories in this year’s competition while Amelia Rachim of Italy and Bimal Koley of Dubai rounded out the international roster of design stars. Designers from 11 countries entered this inaugural competition and they represented companies large and small with a few being total amateurs while others having created award-winning designs for decades.
These designers “took on the challenge of rebelling against staid diamond designs to create chic jewels that show off the innate beauty and glamour of Rebel Chique’s man-made diamonds (physically, chemically and optically the same as Mother Nature’s stones) in a dazzling array of colors,” said Mike Asscher, vice president of Royal Asscher Diamond Co. and CEO of its Rebel Chique subsidiary.
“It was quite difficult for our judges to choose from among the many great designs for our first ever Winners Collection, The designs will be put into production and available for sale on www.RebelChiqueDiamonds.com soon. Our manufacturing team has begun working with the designs to create the most sellable interpretations of these great ideas.”
The judges were: Royal Asscher’s US president and designer, Lita Asscher; famed “red carpet jeweler” Erica Courtney; jewelry blogger Monica Stephenson; international design stars Reena Ahluwalia and Gitta Vandenbroeck and jewelry editor/creative director Talya Cousins.
The 2013 Winners:
Earring Category ~ Winner: Bimal Koley, Dubai
Honorable Mention: Sonam Shah, Mumbai
Necklace Category ~ Winner: Georgina Teng, Philippines
Honorable Mention: Annie Fensterstock, USA
Ring Category ~ Winner: Amelia Rachim, Italy
Honorable Mention: Remy Rotenier, USA
Bracelet Category ~ Winner: Annie Fensterstock, USA
Honorable Mention: Vijayshree Sovani, India
Menswear Category ~ Winner: Georgina Teng, Philippines
Honorable Mention: Brenda Smith, USA
Rebelwear Category ~ Winner: Alison Nagasue, USA
Honorable Mention: Scott Cusson, USA
