Solidscape®, Inc., a subsidiary of Stratasys, Inc., leads the 3D printer market in high precision, direct manufacturing applications — such as jewelry. Solidscape’s high standards in accuracy, surface finish, and material castability have set a high international bar in the 3D printed jewelry sector, and its printers are also used for other applications.
On Saturday, March 21, 2015, Solidscape announced the winners
in its annual jewelry design competition, the “2015 Baselworld Design Competition,” at the Baselworld 2015 watch and jewelry show in Basel, Switzerland.
The following winners are listed here as Platinum, Gold, and Silver awards are recognized. Also, this year a new category was added for “Fine Art” and those winners are included here as well. The “Fine Art” entries are “free form expressions” of non-jewelry designs made in a manner similar to jewelry. They still require the designer to master CAD and Solidscape mechanics, creating “flawlessly castable pieces.”
Jewelry-Platinum Award
The Platinum Winner for Jewelry, for the third consecutive year, is Bialystok, Poland-based OG-Art Studio team. One look at this pendant’s detail, and you can understand how it won top prize. The Dragon Pendant’s “complex geometry” reveals imaginative and dramatic design skills enhanced by equally precise casting skills. It’s always a pleasure to see what this team enters into the competition. So far, they have not disappointed.
Jewelry-Gold Award
A chrysanthemum-inspired brooch by Hiroaki Watanabe of Japan is the Gold Winner. The chrysanthemum represents a long and peaceful life, and the intricacy of the flower petal details require rigorous design and casting methods that may have been far from peaceful at certain points in the design and printing process!
Jewelry-Silver Award
There’s a tie for the Silver Award between two very deserving parties. Sri Lanka’s W.A Chamal S Jayaratna’s Firebird Pendant (above) is tied with the House of Wittelsbach’s (US) Mermaid Ring for third place. The ring (below) has an art nouveau-inspired ornate design that holds its own next to the pendant’s own exquisite detailing with the bird plumage’s bedazzled diamond touches. A difficult decision indeed, so why not award two prizes?
In the Fine Art category, competition was also stiff but judges were able to agree on the following exceptional pieces.
Fine Art-Platinum Award
The Platinum Award for fine art is the Violin figurine from Oliver Borgardts, Higher Lyrics Art, Germany. This dancing violinist “hits the high notes in detailed design” by capturing human emotions and musical expression (seen in the figure’s playing position) in a singular 3D printed piece.
Fine Art-Gold Award
The “Cassoulet with Phoenix” design received the Gold Award. This is another winning piece from Hiroaki Watanabe of Japan; he won the Gold Award for Jewelry as well, with his chrysanthemum brooch. This incense box offers another peaceful meditation while the phoenix itself, like the chrysanthenum, is a symbol of longevity and eternal peace. Peace and a long life seem to be ongoing themes for him — along with winning competition awards!
Fine Art-Silver Award
Finally, India’s Meenakshi Rawa designed a ballerina that captured judges’ hearts and the Silver Award. Brilliant CAD design realized through Solidscape’s precision printing allowed the ballerina’s detail — which is especially noticeable in the creases of her skirt — to be on full display.
These are all the winners from this year’s 2015 Baselworld Design Competition. Entries were judged based on the following criteria:
- Successful wax modeling that was printed by a Solidscape 3D printer
- Best design (artistry and style)
- Best use of technology (CAD/Solidscape 3D printing).
Solidscape’s MAX2 has been a key exhibitor and sponsor at Baselworld for nearly a decade, and we hope you enjoyed discovering more about this year’s design competition winners. Let us know which were your favorites in the Baselworld Design Competition Winners forum thread over at 3DPB.com.
