Three Brisbane-based artisans have taken home the Jeweller of the Year award at the 2023 Australasian Jewellery Awards for their handmade diamond clutch.
Artisans Bespoke Jewellers designer Tammy Keers and jeweller Kathy McLay, alongside Studio Queen 318 leather smith Stella Petrou, designed the diamond clutch called ‘Amelia’ - named after Amelia Earheart, the first woman to fly non-stop solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
The kangaroo suede and leather clutch is embellished with an 18 carat white gold wing insignia that features over 6 carats worth of natural white diamond, and reportedly took over 300 hours to design and craft by hand.
The winning design will be displayed at the 2024 Hong Kong International Jewellery Show.
Keers said Amelia is sustainable and transcends the style of jewellery adornment.
“The wearer can choose to wear Amelia as a diamond-encrusted clutch with a wrist chain. Alternatively, the one-of-a-kind clutch has a detachable diamond feature that can also be worn on the diamond set chain as a pendant,” Keers said.
Jewellers Association of Australia operations manager Megan Young, who oversees the 2023 Australasian Jewellery Awards, applauded all the candidates this year.
“Each individual piece exhibited its very own story on how it came to be, from conception to final delivery,” Young said. “An incredible amount of thought and passion was put into every creation.
“Eye-for-detail, craftsmanship, design, and finish – absolutely second to none. The expertise demonstrated in the entries presented a difficult challenge for our esteemed judging panel.”
The Jeweller of the Year was announced 26 August at the JAA Soiree event held at the Carriageworks in Sydney.