The assignment Its starting point are historical ornaments which are part of traditional costumes. This year jewellery designers are invited to select a traditional ornament from a costume tradition and come up with a new form and/or application for it.
Explanation:
The increasingly personal interpretation of coping with the death of a loved one is also reflected in the work of jewellery designers. Mourning jewellery is as old as mankind and working on a comeback. “Necklace in C Amorphous” is a creation of Carla Nuis. This year she scored with another necklace made by her which won her the Dutch Design Award for Free Design and Fashion. “Necklace in C Amorphous” is made of compact charcoal beads. The ‘C’ stands for the chemical element of carbon, the amorphous variety of diamond. The beads have facets, just like the jets (also made of carbon) of 19th century mourning chains which are part of the Zeeland traditional costume.
The jury is impressed by the simple as well as effective treatment of the material and the way in which Nuis plays with its light effects. Entirely in keeping with the tradition of a mourning ornament, the beads are opaque and dark. The extraordinary silky reflection displays a range of gradations in greys and blacks. This is in reference to the strict rules of old for gradations in mourning.
With this almost minimalist necklace Nuis has added a new chapter to the tradition of mourning jewellery, says the jury.
