The Fairmined 100 Challenge, an event created by the Alliance for Responsible Mining, announced the winners of its 2022 contest yesterday, in seven categories as well as an award voted on by the public.
While the challenge sought to launch 100 collections made using Fairmined gold, silver, or gold plating, its entrants exceeded expectations—127 collections from 97 brands, 47 of which were creating their first-ever collections in Fairmined metals.
An all-female panel of judges (including our own editor-in-chief, Victoria Gomelsky) decided the winners of the seven categories below, while the public voted on their favorite collections for the final award.
Winner, Best Solid Gold Collection: Salomé, Adoro Mi Oro
Salomé, by the Barcelona, Spain–based Adoro Mi Oro, is inspired by Richard Strauss’s Dance of the Seven Veils. “Through the flowing movement of the over length earrings a sense of dignity, of tallness, uprightness, mystic, and elegance is arising,” reads a note on the collection.
Winners, Best Solid Silver Collection: Cross the T’s and Dot the I’s, Christine Dwane; Aura Silver by Minrl
The Montreal-based Christine Dwane’s Cross the T’s and Dot the I’s collection features bands in sterling silver with contrasting patterns. “When I first thought of these rings, I was thinking they would be interesting wedding bands,” says the designer’s notes on the collection. “The fact that they are paired by design but with opposite colors of metals for each pair made me think of couples. The contrasting properties of the metals reminded me of the contrasts in character and the contrasting roles each person has in a couple.”
The Aura Silver collection from Minrl features heavy rounded shapes in pendants, earrings, and a ring. “The smooth finish, the round shape, the symmetry, proportions, and weight that characterize this collection calls on this superior force that we would like to protect us, bring us good health, well-being, order, and stability in moments of uncertainty,” read notes on the collection.
Winner, Best Gold Plated Collection: Fables by Alex Monroe
With inspiration from Aesop’s fables, pieces like the earrings featuring the tortoise and the hare are featured in the Fables collection by U.K.-based Alex Monroe. “Passed down over centuries of storytelling, Fables sees Alex and our design team craft a world of folklore and morality inspired by the age-old wisdom of Aesop. In Fables, every treasure has a tale to tell and a lesson to be learned,” read the notes on the collection.
Winner, Best Diamonds Collection: Bombé by Aether Diamonds
Featuring a wide range of pieces, the Bombé collection by Certified B Corp. Aether combines pavé and full-cut lab-created diamonds with favorable designs. “The Bombé collection represents a celebration of new opportunities, creative transformation, and evangelistic self-expression,” read notes on the collection. “The collection symbolizes the release from an uncertain future as a joyous awakening.”
Winner, Best Colored Gemstones Collection: Integration by Dana Bronfman
Remarkable gemstones are the hallmarks of the earrings, rings, pendants, and bracelet from the Integration collection by the New York–based Dana Bronfman. “The pieces in this collection are intentionally beautiful and balanced (while not always symmetrical) yet simple in design, drawing a parallel to this obvious fact that we conversely seem distant from while on the hamster wheel of modern life,” read notes on the collection. “Yet the fact that we wear these pieces on our bodies reminds us of our connection to the earth, sky, and sea. The inclusions, patterns, and shapes present in these jewels symbolically bring their owner and wearer back to a grounded place, where we recognize our integration with nature and our duty to care for it and its inhabitants.”
Winners, Groundbreaking Innovation: Collection Étreintes Chapitre III by JEM; Wwake x Fairmined Drop 1 by Wwake
Parisian jeweler JEM’s Étreintes Chapter III comprises rings with architectural lines, negative space, gemstone inlay, and pearls. “Architecturally inspired, the harmonious lines featured in the collection remain pure, capturing the strength of simplicity and the beauty of form. Enigmatic and playful, the curves both puzzle and entice,” reads a note on the collection.
One-of-a-kind Mosaic rings are featured in the Drop 1 collection by Wwake, designed with stones the Brooklyn, N.Y.–based jeweler collected over time in a range of shapes and sizes.
Winner, Best Sustainability Story: Origins by Mazahri
Designer Zulaikha Aziz honors her Afghan roots with the Origins collection, featuring 18k Fairmined gold, fully traceable De Beers diamonds with Code of Origin, and lapis lazuli from Afghanistan in ancient Afghan motifs. “This capsule collection is called Origins. It explores the connection between the origins of the designs and materials used in each piece and their impact,” read notes on the collection.
Winners, Public’s Favorite Collection: Mind Bubbles by Sandrine Diodati; The Minimalist Collection by Lakdawala; Lend Me Your Ears by The Jewelry Edit
“My first collection was inspired by people in the world and includes those close to me. This is a limited edition collection made from Fairmined gold, and the individual pieces are named after my muses,” said Netherlands-based designer Sandrine Diodati in her notes on the collection. “They are all designed around a cluster of bubbles—thought bubbles that I first saw as a child and have incorporated into my designs.”
Inspired by minimalism, the New York–based Lakdawala’s collection includes hoop earrings, studs, and a number of rings. Each piece is designed to be worn on its own or stacked.
A collectible range of earrings and rings from The Jewelry Edit “reflects our values and is an accessible introduction to clean, beautiful jewelry made with responsible practices,” reads the collection’s notes.
To see all entries and more from the Fairmined 100 Challenge, visit fairmined.org.
Top: Earrings from the Integration collection by Dana Bronfman, winner of the Best Colored Gemstones Collection category (photos via Fairmined 100)
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