Robin Waynee: First Place Winner of 2010 Saul Bell Design Award Competition

This is part of an ongoing series looking back at past Saul Bell Design Award Competitions as all of us here at Rio anticipate the upcoming announcement of the 2011 winners at JCK, Las Vegas on June 4. Today we have a video clip featuring Robin Waynee of Chimayo, New Mexico. Robin was the 2010 winner in the Silver/Argentium® Silver category.

Robin’s winning design, “Rolling Tahitian Pearl Bracelet,” is a personal favorite of mine—I’ll freely admit, I’m a sucker for dark luster.

Completely hand-fabricated, this sterling silver and 18K gold bracelet was assembled using both soldering and laser welding. Each link houses a Tahitian pearl sleeved in tubing and pinned so that it rolls freely as the bracelet is worn, constantly being polished by the skin’s natural oils. The channels of the bracelet are set with diamonds and natural yellow sapphires.

Here is a portion of the video featuring Robin, which was produced for last year’s gala awards dinner:

To catch a peek of this year’s finalist designs or to learn more about the categories, the judging or the history of the competition visit the SBDA website.

Comment on this article

---

Rio Grande’s Jewelry Book and DVD Contest!

Time to get educated! And to help get us all started, we’re holding a books and dvds contest. . .

...Read the Rest

---

Inside Rio: Empowerment at Rio Grande

Each individual at Rio must make his or her own choice to be empowered. What we can do is provide an environment that nurtures and supports empowered associates. And so, a number of ideas and sources coalesced into a list of four items critical to achieving empowerment. . .

...Read the Rest

---

Come See Rio Grande at SNAG 2011: May 26-29

The 2011 SNAG conference is May 26th – 29th in Seattle. Rio is proud to be the conference sponsor. In addition to sponsoring the conference, we will have a booth in the vendor room with five industry experts on-hand to demonstrate the latest products and answer your questions. Read more about what we’re planning for the event. . .

...Read the Rest

---

Susan Suh: The Luxury Is In the Design

Susan Suh’s newest line of jewelry challenges conventional thinking about luxury, designer jewelry and precious metals. . .

...Read the Rest

---

Thomas Dailing and Geoffrey Giles: 2008 and 2009 Saul Bell Design Award Grand Prize Winners

Thomas Dailing and Geoffrey Giles: Saul Bell Design Award Grand Prize Winners of 2008 and 2009. Take a look at their inspiring work. . .

...Read the Rest

---

The Santa Fe Symposium: Twenty-Five Years of Elevating the Jewelry Industry

This year we are happy to be celebrating the 25th anniversary of The Santa Fe Symposium! The event kicked off Sunday morning with over 160 attendees eagerly awaiting presentations covering topics from jewelry technology, inspiration and design, to hard core metallurgy. . .

...Read the Rest

---

New Green Chaser’s Pitch Gets Rave Reviews

Last fall we began reading good things on the internet about a new chaser’s pitch being made by Debra Montgomery of Fresno, CA. We brought some in and gave it to Sessin Durgham to try out. . .

...Read the Rest

---

Rio Grande Associate Arts and Crafts Fair

Associates here at Rio Grande are a diverse and talented bunch. My fellow associates have passions that include jewelry making, photography, leather tooling, painting, fabric-crafting and many more. Shannon Demoulin, a graduate gemologist who works on Rio’s Gemstones Team is also a painter and jeweler, and it was her vision ten years ago that Rio should host an annual Rio Grande Associate Arts and Crafts Fair. Every year since, it’s been Shannon’s dedication and energy that has made the event possible. . .

...Read the Rest

---

Eva Martin and Heather Bayless: 2006 and 2007 Saul Bell Design Award Winners

As part of our ongoing Saul Bell Design Award retrospective, we’re devoting today’s post to past winners Eva Martin and Heather Bayless. . .

...Read the Rest

---