International Pearl Design Competition 2018

Call for Applications: International Pearl Design Competition 2018

The International Pearl Design Competition (IPDC) was created in 2009 to recognize design excellence with all types of cultured pearls under the authority of the Cultured Pearl Association of America. The Awards are international in scope, and have garnered international recognition for both emerging and seasoned artists from all over the world. The judging process is anonymous, transparent, and confidential. Judges are leaders of the jewelry industry and include retailers, editors, buyers, and pearl jewelry craftsmen.

Purpose of the Competition

Awards are given to entries that demonstrate high levels of design achievement in accordance with the judging criteria. Media opportunities, including coverage by industry publications and on the CPAA website, will be available to winning designs.

U.S. based award winners will receive physical awards associated with their particular designation, while international winners will receive certificates.

Awards routinely garner media opportunities in print and online publications, including coverage by jewelry trade magazines and this website.

Award Divisions

Two award divisions—international and domestic—are new for 2018. Those who live outside the U.S. will compete by submitting renderings, CAD drawings, and sketches only, while those who live within the U.S. will compete in two stages with finished jewels.

Award Categories

President’s Trophy
This top prize will be given to the piece deemed the most beautiful and original design concept that is well made, celebrates pearls, and leaves a lasting impression of pearls as must-have gems.

Luster Award
These winning pieces represent the evolution of best-selling pearl jewelry designs and bear a covetable and marketable concept with wide appeal for the retail marketplace.

Orient Award
These winning pieces appeal to an emerging pearl jewelry collector—someone who has never before thought of wearing pearls—through attractive designs, innovative uses of pearls, and accessible prices.

Visionary Award for Classic Styles
These winning pieces are attractive, creative, and salable, championing a fresh look for an iconic pearl style—strands, studs, bracelets, or a ring—to help change the dated perception of pearls in the market.

Wedding Day Pearls
These winning pieces best capture what a contemporary bride might wear on her wedding day.

Fashion Award
These winning pieces feature a creative compilation of materials fashioned into a youthful, high fashion, and original pearl jewelry design that looks as if it came straight from a Paris runway.

Spotlight Award -Akoya Pearls
This new category for 2018 focuses on designs where 75 percent of the piece features one type of pearl—the akoya pearl for this year. These winning pieces should make viewers think about akoya pearls and all their colors, including natural-color baby blue akoyas in addition to classic white, in a way that is fresh, modern, challenges the standard of designs that feature it, and entices a non-pearl-lover to start collecting.

Popularity Award
These winning pieces will be chosen by followers on the @PearlsCPAA Instagram account. All entries will be considered for awards in this category. More information about voting for this Award category will be shared on Instagram in the coming months.

Competition Timeline

Entries will be accepted from Monday, June 25, 2018, until 6 p.m. EST on Thursday, 27, September 2018.

An email confirming receipt of entry will be sent to all applicants within seven days of submission.

For more information