The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) is partnering with the Kering group of luxury brands to launch the Kering Generation Award X Jewelry. Aiming to support visionary talent whose work demonstrates excellence in sustainable design and practices in jewellery making, the international contest will be coordinated by Poli.Design, a consortium of Politecnico di Milano, Italy’s leading technical university.
Under the theme “Second Chance, First Choice,” the inaugural “Kering Generation Award X Jewelry” will invite students at jewellery design schools and industry start-ups to reimagine waste as a resource, by creating jewellery created from discarded materials. The initiative is intended to challenge the traditional concept of waste by exploring the potential of creative reuse.
Participants will encouraged to design a jewel — whether a single piece or a collection — changing the waste into something valuable, and in so doing highlighting the intangible power of creativity.
The first edition of the international contest will involve 10 world-renowned universities and academies that offer courses on jewellery and sustainability, and also start-ups already active in jewellery.
Each school will have to present at least three projects, and the students will be assisted and mentored by local professors to develop the projects that will be presented to the jury. The start-ups will present their own innovations.
Four finalists from among all the projects submitted – two from the students’ category and two from the start-up category – will be presented to the jury in June next year at the 2025 JCK Show in Las Vegas.
Gaetano Cavalieri, President, CIBJO, said, “CIBJO is proud to be part of a project that promotes innovation and creativity among jewellers taking their first steps in our industry, and the same time underlines our commitment as an industry to the Sustainable Development Goals, and in particular those that aim to protect the health of the environments in which we live.”
Professor Alba Cappellieri, Head of Jewelry at Politecnico di Milano and scientific coordinator of the Awards, added, “Kering Generation Award X Jewelry” embodies the values of innovation and sustainability that are essential for shaping a future where beauty aligns with ethics. By bringing together young talents from leading academic institutions worldwide and start-ups, we are creating a collaborative platform that celebrates creativity and sustainability.”