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Year 3 Issue 9-- October 2004
Jewellery meets Fashion in Riches of Africa 2004
Seaman Schepps:  A Century of New York Jewelry Design 1904-2004.
 
 
 
               
    Jewellery met fashion -- with some very dramatic results -- in the winning works from AngloGold Ashanti's Riches of Africa 2004 gold jewellery design compettion.The 25-pieces collection in 18k gold featured many headturning items.
   With "Fire" as the theme ,Riches of Africa attracted 459 entrants who submitted a record 1189 designs -- more than five times the number of design entered for the first competition held six year ago.From a fire -breathing dragon to a phoenix rising from the ashes,from volcanoes and stars to Catherine Wheels and runaway fires, the 24 winners have drawn inspiration from diverse sources to come up with thier imaginative designs.the winners come from across South Africa -- 14 of them are students of jewellery design.
   The winning design were chosen by a panel comprising an international leader in jeweller marketing , Jan Spinger,from The world Gold Council;jewellery designers Isa gesseau,Gilbert Torres and Johan louw (overall winner of last year' s competition);fashion designer Gavin rajah;the fashion editor of Elle magazine,Shaldon Kopman and Tina Eboka from the CSIR.
   Gavin Rajah siad,"What captured my attention as a fashion designer was the fact that the collection is comtemporary and ona par with international trends. This is important if we aim to seek global attention and recognition for our for our creative industrie in South Africa."
   
     
               
 
   Entrants were require to submit three design -- for pieces of jewellery in 18 k gold -- yellow,rose and white gold were all permitted ,and up to a maximum weight of 400 grams - to the preliminary judging session.here the 25 designs were chosen and AngloGold Ashanti provide their creators with the gold required for the manufacture of their works.Once the pieces had been manufactured,they were then assessed according to six criteria : interpretation of the theme; originality;aesthetic impact;feasibility and functionality;visual impact;and quality of manufacture.
   Shaldon Kopman,the fashion editor of Elle Magazine ,South Africa,siad," The overall manufacturing was of high standard.In particular,I focused on the visual impact and comfort. I am pleased with the progress that we South Africans have shown in the past decade - we are hot. "
 
 
     
   
    The overall winner of the competition is 24-year - old Adele Pretorius, a final-year student at the Durban Institute of Technology.Adele,who drew inspiration from shooting stars and comets for her headpiece,wins a prize to the value of R40,000.She plas to start her own jewellery label when her studies are over.
   In second place is Alet-Marie van Zyl,25,a professional jewellery designer manufacturer from Johannesburg.Her mask representing the power of gold earned her a prize to the value of R15,000.She came third in last year's competition.
   
       
               
   
  Lungile Maseko,23,who is jewellery design training officer with the Imfundiso Skill Development programme in Pretoria, was placed third with the prize worth R10,000. He fashioned his headpiece to create the effect of themelting wax of a burning candle.
   AngloGold Ashanti established the Riches of Africa competition to encourage innovative gold jewellery design and the event is used as a platinum for promoting gold jewellery of South African design and manufacture to national and international audiences.
 
 
 
   The Museum of Art & Design, in New York is presenting"Seaman Schepps : A Century of new York Design 1904-2004", a retrospective of the development of one of America's most innovative 20th century jewelry firms.
     Featuring approximately 150 pieces of jewelry,the exhibition includes design renderings,reproductions from fashion publications,jewry molds and other necessary implements to establish an atmosphere for viewer, a sense of the developments pf the work and the culture surrounding it.
 
 
   Seaman Schepps,after many years as a dealer of jewelry and art objects,began to design his own pieces around 1962,which he gradually introduced in his lower east side showroom.Early success allowed Schepps to move uptown to various upper. East Side locations throughout the first half of the century,before setting into the current 485 Park Avenue location in 1959. Schepps,whose production studio exemplified the Art & Crafts movement,served as designer and employed a small number of highly skilled craftsmen to create one a kind works of art.
   Schepps's striking jewels have graced the covers of leading fashion magazines linke Vogue,Harpers's Bazaar and town & Country.A steller roster of clients includings the Roosevelts,the Duke and Duchess of Windsor,the Rockefellers,Marlene Dietrich and the British royal family led to Schepps 's designation in the mid-20th century as " America's Court Jewelry. "
 
 
   British Vogue (April 2004 ) wrote,"Another of America's superstars,Seaman Schepps,created jewelry full of fantasy,whimsy and colour, exhibiting a disdain for using precious stone simply for value's sake and experimenting with an avant-garde mix of materails."
   The spectrum of Schepps's work ranges from combinations of found objects with polished and carved stones, to fusions of precious and non-precious materails,such as gold and wood link bracelets or shell and diamond earrings.His work characterized a new approachto jewelry, one that reflected a society in which strong , independent women selected and purchased thier own jewelry,not so much for its graet value as for its bold personality and style.
 
 
 
 
             
    David Reverse McFadden,chief curator of the Museum of Art & design,says,"Great jewelry design depends on the dynamic interplay between imagination and skill. In his jewelry designs that combined precious and non-precious materails,ranging from diamonds to wood ,exotic carvings in coral and turquoise and ,of course,his signature sea shells,Schepps transformed an imaginative visions into wearable works of art.For over a century, the name of Seaman Schepps has been synonymous with vibrant design and excelence in craftmanship."
 
 "Seaman Schepps: A Century of New York Jewelry Design,1904-2004"focuses on the development of uniquely American sense of jewelry design,a break from the tradition approach to materails and a celebration of the style and independence of the century women.
   In this exhibition,many vintage pieces are displyed alongside their original,hand-colored renderings,helping the viewer to understand the design process.Attention is also directed to molds,raw materails and jeweler's tools,thus presenting an understanding of the craft.
 
 
     
                 
 
   "Seaman Schepps : A Century of New York Jewelry Design,1904-2004"is accompanied by full-colr catalog,publish by Vendome Press,with essays by jewelry historain janet Zapata and Seaman Schepps's granddaughter Amanda vaill.