The diamond jewelry design competition held by the Israel Diamond Institute Group of Companies in honor of Israel’s 60th anniversary is the basis for a new exhibition that opened at the Harry Oppenheimer Diamond Museum in Ramat Gan, Israel, yesterday.

 The exhibition was launched at a reception attended by Mayor Tzvi Bar, of Ramat Gan; IDI chairman Moti Ganz; Israel Diamond Exchange senior deputy president Kobi Korn; and Israel Precious Stones Exchange president Shlomo Eshed.

The competition was intended to encourage the use of Israeli diamonds by Israeli jewelry designers, to foster cooperation between Israeli jewelers and the diamond industry, and to position Israel as a manufacturer of unique and original diamond jewelry.

Eleven designs were finalists and are on display. The exhibition, titled Sixty Diamonds and Many More, is curated by Yehuda Kassif, IDI’s jewelry promotion director and art director of the museum.

The winning designs are: First prize, Tree of Life ring made of blackened gold and set with 60 diamonds, by Shaoul-Aharon Elisha; second prize, heart earrings, made of white gold with white and black diamonds, by Orly Eizenman; third prize, Eternal Light ring, made of moving parts of white and yellow gold with white and colored diamonds, by Yaniv Shapiro.

The exhibition will be shown through the end of December.

JCK