What happens when you invite jewelry designers from all over the world to break free from constraints, expectations and precedents and to accept the challenge of a lifetime? Excellence in jewelry design.

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"The Queen" by designer Garen Garibian. First Place Gold/Platinum winner from the 2015 Saul Bell Design Award contest.

Over 300 designers from around the world entered for a chance to be recognized for reaching greater heights of skill and creativity. Seven winners were announced at a dinner held on May 15 for the 16th annual Saul Bell Design Award in Albuquerque, NM. The judges, a panel of accomplished and respected jewelers, business owners and engineers, chose 1st- and 2nd-place winners in 7 competitive categories, including the Emerging Jewelry Artist category for designers 21 years and younger.

“I consider the Saul Bell competition a breath of fresh air, you never know what to expect, other than it will be authentic and something you have never seen before, often born of genius. It is a celebration of the jewelry arts, unconstrained by tradition or conventionality. It is the ‘Tip of the Spear’ as a jewelry competition.” - Zoltan David, First Place in Alternative Metals

Rio Grande, a member of The Richline Group, a Berkshire Hathaway Company, is proud to open the Saul Bell Design Award competition to jewelers and hollowware artists worldwide. Final designs were to be composed predominantly of the material specified in the chosen category: Gold/Platinum, Hollowware/Art Objects, Silver/Argentium®, Enamel, Alternative Metals/Materials, and Metal Clay. For the Emerging Jewelry Artist category there were no limitations on media as long as the entrants were 21 years or younger, the piece was wearable jewelry and fabricated by the entrant.

Visit the Saul Bell Design Award website to learn more.

About Rio Grande

One of the world’s largest suppliers to the jewelry industry, Rio Grande was founded in 1944 and purchased in 2012 by Richline Group, a Berkshire Hathaway Company. Through more than 70 years of evolution, the company’s commitment to jewelers remains the bedrock of its business. Rio supplies everything a jeweler needs to succeed, including findings, gemstones and metals; bench tools, equipment, and fabrication and manufacturing technology; display and packaging products; and customization services. From its solar-powered facility in Albuquerque, N.M., the company proudly manufactures nearly a quarter of the tens of thousands of findings, tools and equipment it sells.

Richline GroupMark Hanna, (212) 886-6368Mark.Hanna@RichlineGroup.com