Cultured Pearl Association design competition

[JBazar]

As many of you know I recently went on a month long trip visiting pearl farms to make a documentary. Well in each country that we visited, our hosts donated pearls that they felt would best represent their countries gem. With these pearls the Cultured Pearl Association of america is sponsoring a design competition! The goal of the competition is to show people the life cycle of these pearls, from their conception to the showcase in which each pearl will adorn a one of a kind piece. We filmed all of the areas in which these pearls were grown, and sent the designers each a video camera to document the creation of their designs. For more information please visit the links below...

http://cpaa.org/odyssey.asp

http://www.jckonline.com/2011/06/17/cultured-pearl-association-to-spotlight-designers-documentary





Donated by Heng Mei who hosted us at their farm in china (This is a huge souffle pearl)

Donated by Grace Pearl who hosted us at their farm and factory in China (12-14mm bead nucleated freshwater pearls)

(Two beautiful Tahitian Pearls)

These Pearls were donated by Otsuki they are un treated Akoyas of Hanadama quality!

Bead nucleated freshwater

Beautiful Golden South Sea pearls donated by Jewelmer.

Freshwater Neucleated pearls I dont know about you but I see an elephant on the left lol

Fiji pearls in a beautiful array of exotic colors donated by J. Hunter pearls

New Zealand blue Eyris Mobe pearls.

Their were more donations but these are the only ones that I actually have images of.


The chosen designers are Paula Crevoshay of Albuquerque, N.M.; Zoltan David of Bee Cave, Texas; Joel Greene of East Providence, R.I.;
Evelyn Huang of Los Angeles, Calif.; Dilly Kirby of Harbor Springs, Mich.; Adam Neeley of Laguna Beach, Calif.; Brenda Smith of Woodstock, Ga.;
Llyn Strelau of Calgary, Canada; and Jerry Tanaka of Honolulu, Hawaii.

 

[judimcc6]

I literally gasped when I saw these pearls.

I literally gasped when I saw these pearls.

I will be anxious to see the final pieces. Thank you for sharing

 

[pattye]

Soooo gorgeous and larger than life!! I love Paula Crevoshay's work, and like Judi, look forward to seeing the designs!

 

[Bodecia]

All so very stunning. It is no wonder we are all pearl addicts. I also think as far as beauty goes freshwater are just as beautiful as saltwater as the above photos show.

Dawn - Bodecia
eBay Seller ID dawncee333 - natural pearl collector and all round pearl lover.

 

[Miriam Reed]

Gorgeous photos. Can't wait to see the final creations made from these beauties by such talented people.

 

[JBazar]

All of the designs are now in

All of the designs are now in

one by one the custom one of a kind pieces have been coming in and they are AMAZING. Just yesterday we received the last one, we will be photographing them and I will actually post the pictures here on PG. You guys will be the first people to actually see them! I can't wait to see what you all think...

 

[Caitlin]

I can hardly wait! thanks for the gorgeous photos!

 

[Ramona]

Thank you!

 

[GemGeek]

Sounds like a feast for pearl jewelry lovers!

 

[KAC]

I will be anxious to see the final pieces. Thank you for sharing

You said it, what an interesting group of pearls!

 

[JBazar]

Link to the competition on the CPAA website

Link to the competition on the CPAA website

Check out the design competition on the cpaa web site by clicking link below! When we were collecting the pearls on our trip I could have never imagined that they would end up in such amazing one of a kind jewelry pieces. These designers are so talented I cant wait to share the final pieces.


http://cpaa.org/odyssey.asp

 

[JBazar]

one of my favorite custom piece was designed around the (12-14mm bead nucleated freshwater pearls) the level of craftsmanship is simply amazing. Here is a sneak peak of the piece below...
http://cpaa.org/odyssey.asp

 

[Caitlin]

You little devil! When and where is the unveiling?

 

[pbazar]

Next week the judging will take place next week in NYC then we can show you more

 

[JBazar]

Cultured Pearl Association Design Competition

Cultured Pearl Association Design Competition

As promised here are the final pieces created from the pearls that we collected in our travels around the world. see more at http://cpaa.org/odyssey.asp

Hanadama quality un treated Akoya Pearls Donated by K. Otsuki and Co., Japan
Designer: Zoltan David

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Golden South Sea Pearls donated by Jewelmer
Designer: Dilly Kirby

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Fiji Pearls Donated by J. Hunter Pearl farms
Designer: Imperials Joel Green

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"Edison" Bead nucleated freshwater pearls donated by Grace Pearl
Designer: Paula Crevoshay

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Tahitian Pearls donated by Yuen Hing Hong
Designer: Jerry Tanaka

Giant Souffle pearl donated by Heng Mei
Designer: Adam Neeley

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Eyris blue pearls donated by Donated by Eyris Blue Pearls, New Zealand
Designer: Evelyn Huang

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Bead nucleated freshwater pearl Donated by Sum Kam
Designer:Brenda Smith

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Bead nucleated freshwater pearls Donated by GYSO
Designer: Llyn Strelau

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[imanit]

WoW there is something for every taste...
For me: the Akoya necklace, please.... And I would take the pendant & ring with Tahitian pearls held by birds.. if I could see more of the pearls.
Mammoth & squid are cute.
GSS earrings and Edison pearls setting are too "busy" for my liking.
This is my taste... I'm sure, others will have different favorites.

 

[pattye]

Really interesting creations! As Ivona said, "something for every taste!"

 

[Caitlin]

Fantastic creativity! Fantastic pearls! Fantastic jewelry! Fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[JBazar]

Which is your favorite everyone!!! There can only be one winner.

 

[jshepherd]

For me it is a toss-up between the hanadama akoya piece and the Edison piece - both vastly different. The Edison piece is spectacular, but I saw those natural-color hanadama pearls in person in Japan and they were outstanding.