Xennox Diamonds at the Showcase Jewellers Gala Awards Dinner

Xennox Diamonds at the Showcase Jewellers Gala Awards Dinner

As Beyoncé declares, "if you like it then you should have put a ring on it", and that's exactly what a Brisbane jeweller has done, scooping top honours in best engagement ring design in Australia. The winning announcement and presentation of the award was made to Xennox Diamonds at the Showcase Jewellers Gala Awards Dinner in Sydney on Friday 28th August 2015.

The twelve designers from 30 national stockists entered in the PASSION8 Design Award category, at the biennial Showcase Jewellers Design Awards 2015, remained a mystery to the judging panel who had the unenviable task of selecting the winning piece through a 'blind' judging process.

Pieces were judged on creativity, marketability, strength & durability, custom design, craftsmanship, quality & finish, styling, uniqueness and practicality; were required to feature a Passion8 *hearts and arrows diamond with a RRP under $10,000.

"The idea behind our winning design was to capture the essence of timeless elegance with wearability," said Xennox Diamonds Managing Director and Head Designer Karl Schwantes.

"Why I'm particularly proud of winning this award, which set a maximum value of $10,000, is that it proves you don't need a million dollar budget to create the ultimate engagement ring that will last the test of time.

"This philosophy is emulated in every piece that Xennox Diamonds creates, that way our clients can continue to love their ring as much today, as they will in 50 years," added Mr. Schwantes

Xennox Diamonds is a second generation family business that specialises in premium Russian and Belgian cut diamonds and has been offering Brisbane's largest range of diamond engagement and wedding rings for over 39 years. Their professionalism, experience, design skills and superior local manufacturing capabilities have earned them more than ten national design awards and with more than 80 years of manufacturing experience from all around the world, there is nothing that Xennox Diamonds master jewellers cannot make.

Mr Schwantes (aka 'dream ring designer') is a designer, gemmologist, diamond grader, valuer and published author and has worked in the jewellery industry for nearly 20 years. He is passionate about his commitment to his customers and in doing so has comprised a five step method that is designed to assist any love-struck gentleman on his quest to find the perfect ring to 'pop the question'.

Talented craftsmen and women of the Australian Jewellery community came together for the Showcase Jewellers Design Awards 2015. The Award Gala is an event created to encourage the craftsmanship and creativity of its member jewellers.

As Australia's leading diamond brand Passion8 Diamonds were selected as naming rights partner for this exclusive design award category as they offer the highest quality diamonds perfectly cut to mathematical proportions. This means that Passion8 Diamonds exude a more brilliant sparkle, are two to three times whiter than a generic diamond and display eight perfectly proportioned hearts and arrows. 

As reward for Xennox Diamond's hard work in creating this stunning Passion8 piece, Valentino, design name, will be included as a limited edition article in the Passion8 range of the Hearts & Arrows Diamond jewellery portfolio to be promoted internationally as Passion8's first featured designer.