The potentially revolutionary work of New Zealand jeweller Ian Douglas has been acknowledged with an award for Product Design at the 2022 Red Dot Design Awards in Germany.
The potentially revolutionary work of New Zealand jeweller Ian Douglas has been acknowledged with an award for Product Design at the 2022 Red Dot Design Awards in Germany.
Douglas is the founder of The Village Goldsmith. He spent more than two decades developing what’s known as the ‘Floeting Diamond’ – a diamond-set jewellery collection without metal clasps or claws.
The Floeting Diamond was launched in 2021 by VG Jewelers as an innovative approach to solitaire diamond setting. The design eliminates traditional claws, clasps and prongs which hold diamonds in their setting. Prongs impede the light return and sparkle of the diamond and obstruct the view of the gemstone.
The Red Dot Awards feature more than 18,000 design professionals, companies, and organisations from more than 60 countries each year. This year’s Red Dot jury comprised 50 international designers, design professors, and journalists from 23 countries.
Red Dot Product Design awards are judged on aesthetics, quality, durability, functionality, and symbolic and emotional content.
The Floeting Diamond nomination featured diamond studs, a pendant necklace, and a solitaire ring.
“Less is more – this formula fully applies to the jewellery series The Floeting Diamond,” the jury’s statement reads.
“The focus is on sparkling diamonds, set in a way that the entire attention is drawn to the brilliance of the gemstones. Almost invisible, the bezel is remarkable for more than one reason. It is made of a special space-age titanium that is combined with high-quality gold and platinum and provides particularly long and secure hold for the cut diamonds.”
The standard six-claw diamond setting technique has been used since 1886.
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