The Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand (Public Organization), or GIT, emphasizes the strategy of developing jewellery designers and maintaining
development of expertise of Thai gemmologists, in the drive toward excellence, propelling the Thai gem and jewellery industry forward.

      This entails effective training courses in gemmology and jewellery design, and the constant urging of Thai gem and jewellery designers to display
their work at the global level, where it can be judged.

       The 7th GIT Design Award 2013 is the largest jewellery design competition in Thailand, with prizemoney exceeding Baht 400,000. The design theme for the competition is “Jewelry Design Inspired by Cubism.” From the 438 entries submitted, the judges select the top 6 design drawings, which are then manufactured as actual pieces of jewellery. Then Thailand’s leading models will display the pieces at a dazzling grand final fashion show to be held at the Fashion Hall of Siam Paragon in November. Interested persons may vote for the piece of their choice for the Popular Design Award 2013, through the website www.git.or.th until 1st November 2013.

       Ms. Pornsawat Watthanakul, director of the Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Commerce, has the policy of aiming to develop jewellery design capability in promoting and supporting the Thai gem and jewellery industry, which shows continual growth. This will propel the Thai gem and jewellery industry forward, making it the gems and jewellery centre of the AEC and of Asia. One of the main strategies of the Institute is to focus on creating jewellery designers, and on continuing to develop the capabilities of Thailand’s jewellery designers, having them move forward toward excellence, and creating the strength to propel the Thai gem and jewellery ahead. This entails effective training courses in gemmology and jewellery design, and constantly urging Thai gem and jewellery designers to display their work, and let it be seen at the global level. In this jewellery design competition, the 7th GIT design Award 2013, there is prize-money of $13,000, or over Baht 400,000, to promote skills and designs under the theme “Jewelry Design Inspired by Cubism.” This opens up opportunities for makers, students, and the general public who love design, to enter the competition. This will create a flow and an awakening in the industry and among interested people, to show their potential for creative thinking and imagination in
jewellery design.

       In addition, there is the promotion and support for jewellery design; presenting the work to appear in the public eye, at the same time as the development of production technology, enabling them to compete with the world’s leading nations of fashion. A competition is the ready place to display the obvious capabilities and capacities of the new generation of Thai designers. For the community of foreign designers, a competition opens up opportunities for them to take part and enter their work, together with the exchange of ideas and opinions, and the observing of the diversity between them.

       Ms Pornsawat said that for this year’s judging, it was clearly divided into categories. The two categories were jewellery for gentlemen, and jewellery for ladies. The deadline for entries was 26 June 2013. Over 438 drawings were submitted as entries to the competition by designers and students. These included professional designers, both Thai and Asian, from Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam and India. In the category of gentlemen’s jewellery there were 83 entries, and for ladies’ jewellery 355 entries. Thai entrants submitted 334 drawings, and foreign entrants 104 drawings.There are 6 qualified people on the committee, namely, Mr Vibul Hongsrichinda, managing director of Piyapoon Jewelry Co Ltd; Mr Suriyon Sriorathaikul, managing director of Beauty Gems Factory Co Ltd; Mr Maitri Kanburapa, managing director of Marvel Jewelry Co Ltd; Ms Suwaluck Mahantakhun, managing director of B Creations Co Ltd and proprietor of the brand ‘B Bijoux;’ Mr Pradit Rattanawichitrasilp, deputy director of the Textile
Industry Development Institute; and Ms Saengrawi Singhawibul, manager of the packaging products development division and Thai craftsmanship design,
SUPPORT Arts and Crafts International Centre of Thailand (Public Organization).

The Institute director said that concerning the judging, each of the 6 committee members select 6 designs. They then vote to select the top 30 drawings, with 15 in each category. Then the 6 finalists are selected, 3 in each category, which will be manufactured as actual jewellery pieces. The manufacturing is being supported by Beauty Gems Co Ltd, Marvel Jewelry Co Ltd, and Cifac Co Ltd. The operational arrangements are being supported by Benson Jewelry Co Ltd, Lee Seng Jewelry, and PK Gems and Gold Co Ltd.
The 6 items that have passed the judging process and are made up as actual jewellery are:
Category gentlemen’s jewellery:
1.“Rare to Real” by Ms Saowasuphatchana Limwong
2.“Natural Golden Cubism” by Mr Thiraphon Thanamonthon
3.“Lucky Number” by Ms Wichuda Taeraphonphanit
Category ladies’ jewellery:
1.“Rose Surgery” by Ms Supharanan Kanchanakun
2.“Asteroid” by Mr Manop Buadaeng
3.“Phantasy” by Mr Atthawut Chenprasoet
Interested people may join in casting their vote for the piece among the finalists they prefer. The may vote in the Popular Design Award 2013 via the website
www.git.or.th until 1 November 2013. All persons voting will have a chance to win a piece of gold and diamond jewellery, including the 6 finalist pieces which have been made up as actual jewellery.

There will be a fashion show with Thailand’s leading models in the Fashion Hall of Siam Paragon, Bangkok, on 8 November 2013. The committee will then hold the final round of judging there.

Enquiries may be directed to the Training Division, Gem and Jewelry Institute of Thailand (Public Organization), telephone 02-634-4999 ext. 301-306, 311-
315.

       Bec Astley-Clarke of retailer Astley Clarke agrees, noting Solange-Azagury Partridge’s Ballcrusher ring as one such innovative use of South Sea pearls
that sets a benchmark for pearl jewellery today. Astley-Clarke recognises, also, that there has been a shift in the kind of design that consumers of pearl jewellery desire today. “[Consumers shop for] jewellery that offers a point of difference from traditional pearls – it’s all about playing with colour combination, pearl variety and metal finishes, with a modern design approach,” she says. “With a cutting-edge, fresh approach to design, pearls now appeal to a wider audience and can be worn in myriad ways.”

       The use of coloured pearls, or combining pearls with a shock of colour, also adds certain modernity to these round little gems. Pink pearls have been in strong demand at pearl jewellery supplier London Pearl, says managing director Daniel Vecht. The company has also created a richly colourful range, in
homage to The Duchess of Cambridge, called Catherine’s Collection, featuring splashes of colour from gemstones and pink leather to complement the lustre of white South Sea and Tahitian pearls.

       At Jersey Pearl, adding a pop of colour has been a winning move that has given pearls a new appeal. The brand has enjoyed great success with its Joli range of brightly coloured and metallic leather bracelets that are knotted in a bow and topped with a white freshwater pearl. “Contemporary, engaging
design, has allowed the pearl market to grow,” explains Jersey Pearl’s Martin Beesley. “The market has evolved as demand for pearls and [as a result] their presence throughout the fashion, jewellery and celebrity press increases.”

       For Diane Hall of Dower & Hall, a brand that uses grey and white pearls heavily in its seasonal collections, Mrs Obama comes immediately to mind when she thinks of today’s trendsetting pearl wearers. “She is now one of the world’s style icons – incredibly stylish and well presented, with more often than not, a beautiful pearl necklace finishing off her immaculate outfits,” says Hall.

       Harry Brown, co-director at retailer Chisholm Hunter, also points out that Mrs Obama has become a pearl style icon, which in turn has lead to more interest from high street shoppers looking for pearl jewellery that fits with current trends. “Pearl drop earrings and multi-stranded layered necklaces for a more dramatic look are popular, along with products from fashion brands such as Thomas Sabo, [which] women influenced by fashion trends are most likely to buy,” explains Brown.

       Fine jewellery retailer Nigel Milne notes that the style of pearl jewellery that customers are buying into has gone back to the future somewhat, with a return to oncepopular designs, but worn in a new way. “After a gap of more than 10 years we are being asked for multirow choker necklaces and many
clients are bringing their own back to us for re-stringing and re-fitting,” Milne explains. “It is now much more fashionable to wear multi-row pearl necklaces at the base of the neck, rather than higher on the neck.”

       Chrissie Douglas of Coleman Douglas pearls concurs that the ways in which pearl jewellery is being worn have changed. No longer is it just for dressing up; pearls today are there to be layered, mixed’n’matched or worn with everyday fashionable jewellery. “Customers are opting for a musthave
piece and mixing it with their existing jewellery, rather than buying sets [of pearls],” she notes. For Astley-Clarke and Bradby, it is also about how the pearls are worn. “We encourage our customers to Go Precious Everyday and wear their pearls with everything from a LBD to off-duty jeans and a Tshirt,”
Astley-Clarke states.

       At pearl supplier Euro Pearl, which offers three sub-brands of pearl jewellery from its fashion-led silver line Perlissimo through its premium Yoko range, sales manager Justin Simons has noted a shift in the demographic of pearl shopper towards more fashionable younger women; a change that will
potentially mould Euro Pearls’ future collections. “We’ve noticed a younger, more fashion-conscious consumer enjoying pearls and I expect to see more contemporary designed pearl jewellery with a younger audience in mind during 2013,” he says.

       Bradby, meanwhile, describes the way that pearls can be worn in a much more informal way, pointing out how Sarah Jessica Parker styled a long string of pearls with a grey Tshirt and jeans while at the Sundance Film Festival. “My perfect look,” says Bradby.

Marketing Pearls to Modern Clientele
       But in this modern age of shopping, how are retailers and pearl companies marketing pearls to customers. Are they playing on tradition or keeping things wholly contemporary? “The best marketing for pearls is to use them in a really unique way,” states Breitmeyer. “I don’t think pearls need to be
marketed to customers, however how the pearls are worn, and their settings, making them new, exciting and more modern.”

       At a customer-facing level, the use of social media has helped retailers to position pearls to techsavvy shoppers, who will scout online sites looking for quality products with designs that speak to them and feel relevant. For retailer Chisholm Hunter, Facebook and Twitter have become key marketing tools. “Our customer base has grown and become more diverse and with this we use various mediums to market [pearls],” explains Brown. “That’s the beauty
of technology – we can instantly message our customers via Facebook, Twitter and our online offering.”

       Miranda Raw of pearl trade supplier Raw Pearls notes the rise in sites like Pinterest, which has many pages dedicated to celebrities wearing pearl jewellery, as something that retailers and designers could emulate by creating their own Pinterest page filled with images of their own pearl jewellery
designs or photographs of inventively worn pearls. It all works to inspire consumers shopping for pearls.

       At Winterson Pearls, a London-based online pearl retailer, investment has been placed in the presentation of products to make them as clear and innovative as possible. Winterson Pearls director Andrew Fraser describes the kind of tools the company uses to market its product: “As our business is
mainly online, we have introduced high-resolution video to some of our most popular pieces and can really see the impact that it has made.”

       Film has also become a marketing tool for brands such as Dower & Hall, whose white and grey pearl jewellery was worn by Dame Judi Dench when she played M in the latest James Bond movie Skyfall. Coleman Douglas Pearls has also supplied pearl jewellery to films and TV shows such as Miranda, Lewis, The Debt and Chalet Girl.

Educating Staff and Consumers
       Staff training has also become important, not only from a trends point of view – knowing who is wearing pearls now and making them a must-have can lead to a strong sales edge – but also a technical one, as staff should be able to advise customers about pearls as eloquently and competently as possible. “We think staff training has to be key right now,” states Raw. “In 2012 we ran two seminars at Holts Academy [as] pearl education is key to providing the customer with a sense that they are buying from a knowledgeable and enthusiastic source. Raw Pearls have seen how this can differentiate
the jeweller from their competition.”

       Beesley concurs. At Jersey Pearl the brand strives to educate every single consumer that buys its product to ensure that, in the future, they feel equipped with a knowledge of pearls. “We provide as much information as possible at point of sale to help customers understand why the best quality, excellent lustre, real pearls are so special,” he explains, adding that each purchase is sold with an information card about the pearl type that piece is made from.

       “People are becoming more ethically aware in regards to their purchases so it would be beneficial to provide more information on where and how the pearls are sourced and to have this information easily accessible,” states Hall, something she believes will raise the ethical profile of pearls.

       So are pearls still relevant to jewellery shoppers today? Very much so, and it is vital that retailers and designers should not ignore the gem because of its perceived stuffy heritage. “Pearls can be kept relevant by designing items to be worn that are relevant to the lifestyles we now lead, rather than very
unimaginative pieces that will sit in a drawer unworn and unloved,” Bradby asserts.

And the continued love affair of pearls and fashion, from Coco Chanel through to runways of edgy Australian brand AJE, means the gemstone forever has its place in modern design, as notes Fraser. “Designers reference pearls at the major fashion shows every year, so it is perhaps a gemstone that is
already being constantly reinvented,” he states. “We love the tradition and history that is associated with pearls, but there is also space too for more
contemporary jewellery design.”

So there you have it. Now is a time for showing consumers that pearls can be cool, irreverent and daring, because they most certainly can be.