mineralART Design Competition 2012

Topic of the competition - ‘inside quartz - precious imperfection’

Quartz, the second most common mineral found in rocks, comes in many different varieties: from quartz sand to the clearest of rock crystals.

It can be used in a wide range of fields: as indispensable basic material for piezoelectricity as well as for the production of glass and porcelain and as a gemstone. In its translucent form, quartz is among other things popular as rock crystal, amethyst, citrine or smoky quartz.

Whilst in the past, perfect purity and a clear refl ection of light were the top criteria used for measuring the beauty of quartz, these days, apart from haematite, pyrite, tourmaline or rutile crystal inclusions, it is the natural, shell-like cracks and fi ssures with heir oily sheen as well as the druse intergrowth that are considered as truly precious.
What is particularly prized is phantom quartz where one or several phantom crystals are crystallised on top of each other in one rock crystal.

Hence, the features of crystal that used to be seen as imperfections have now become the starting point of creative design-led ideas. They are looked upon as imagination - inspiring landscapes or – as in the case of rutile inclusions – as thunderously stormy natural phenomena onto which an onlooker can project his own emotions.

Subject matter of the competition
The competition focuses on the production of an innovative piece of jewellery or object made of or in connection with quartz that inspires the designer through inclusions of other crystals or structural qualities. It is all about the actual design of the object. There are no restrictions as to the origin or variety of the quartz used. 

Conditions

Participants
The competition is open in particular to jewellery and gemstone designers, trainees, pupils and students from specialist colleges and polytechnics, from universities and academies in Germany and abroad.

Terms of entry
Each participant can submit up to four pieces of work of which no more than two can receive an award. All submitted work must comply with the following terms.

Each piece of work must be given a randomly chosen
six-digit code number. A closed, neutral envelope must be
added to the submitted pieces, which, apart from the same
six-digit code number, must contain the following details:

■ Entrant’s/Entrants’ address and professional activity
■ A declaration that the submitted work has been designed and produced by the entrant/s himself/herself/themselves and/or details (name, address) of the person(s) who has(have) been involved in producing the dispatched work
■ A declaration that the submitted work has been produced for this specifi c competition and has never been exhibited or marketed before
■ A short description of the object and its possible use (wherever possible together with a photo or sketch)
■ A declaration that the sender agrees that his/her work is going to be exhibited and shown to the public
■ The insurance value of the submitted work

Entries that do not meet the competition terms cannot be assessed. 

Deadline
Using the heading “mineralART” participants must send their work by 9 January 2012 to the following address:

Kreissparkasse Birkenfeld / Marketing Department
Auf der Idar 2
D-55743 Idar-Oberstein
Germany

(Important: The competition entry must arrive at the organisers by that day; the date on the postage stamp is irrelevant.)

The entries will be insured during the duration of the evaluation and awarding process at the value indicated by the sender. The dispatch to and from the venue shall be at the entrant’s risk.

Contact

www.ksk-birkenfeld.de
marketing@ksk-birkenfeld.de
Telephone: 0049-6781-6015103