The Award Ceremony of Zhaojin 9th Gold Jewelry Design Contest and the Launching Ceremony of Zhaojin 10th Gold Jewelry Design Contest Were Successfully Held

On the evening of August 29, 2025, the award ceremony of Zhaojin 9th Gold Jewelry Design Contest and the Launching Ceremony of Zhaojin 10th Gold Jewelry Design Contest: Double Happiness · Love were grandly held at the Zhaojin Shunhe International Hotel in Zhaoyuan, Yantai. Distinguished guests from the industry, leaders from all walks of life, elite professionals, the award-winning organizations of the Design Contest, designers, and media friends gathered together to witness this grand ceremony. 

Bi Lijun, Vice President and Secretary-General of the Gems & Jewelry Trade Association of China (GAC), delivered a speech at the awards ceremony. President Bi fully affirmed and highly praised the Zhaojin Gold Jewelry Design Contest. He stated that since its establishment, the contest has become one of the most influential jewelry design contests in China. It has not only discovered and cultivated a large number of outstanding design talents for the industry, but also promoted the leapfrog development of Chinese jewelry design from “manufacturing” to “creation.” In the future, the Association will continue to deepen cooperation with all parties to build the contest into an important event with a broader global vision.  

Luan Wenjing, Deputy General Manager of Shandong Zhaojin Group Co., Ltd. and Chairman of Shandong Zhaojin Gold & Silver Refining Co., Ltd., stated in his speech that the contest has always been committed to its mission of discovering design talents and preserving cultural heritage. Currently, design innovation has become the core driving force for the development of the industry. As a member of the industry, Zhaojin Group firmly supports the Design Contest. Through this platform, it aims to inject lasting momentum for the high-quality growth of Zhaojin and the entire industry, establishing the competition as a benchmark for industry innovation.

Paloma Sánchez, a renowned Spanish jewelry designer and gemology expert, delivered a keynote speech at the event. Taking award-winning works as examples, she shared her insights as a judge of the 9th edition of the competition: they collectively demonstrate that when jewelry is endowed with meaning, it becomes a tangible cultural memory. Looking ahead to the theme of “Double Happiness·Love” of the 10th edition, she added: “Weddings are rituals of union and eternity. I look forward to seeing works that embody vows, balance individuality and commonality, and capture timeless symbols of love and commitment, condensing the essence of ‘union’ into forms we can cherish for a lifetime.”

The contest has been successfully held for nine editions. It has provided designers with a broad space for imagination and creation, connected the industrial chain with the creative end, further promoted the cooperation between high-quality talents and enterprises, and strengthened the close integration of design and commerce. At present, hundreds of award-winning works have successfully achieved commercial incubation.

The 9th Design Contest, themed “Trendy Charm of the East · Joyful Encounter with Dunhuang,” received a total of 1,395 entries from home and abroad after a 9-month call for submissions, covering two categories of the Professional Group and the Student Group. Among these, 86 international entries were received from Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand, setting a new record in the event’s history for international participation. The entries skillfully integrated traditional cultural elements such as Dunhuang murals, flying apsaras murals, and auspicious beasts with modern gold craftsmanship, demonstrating the boundless possibilities of China-chic design going global.       

After multiple rounds of review and fierce competition, five works won the Third Prize in the Student Group, namely With Buddha in Heart, My Heart is the Buddha, Fortune & Blessing · Melody of Strings, Dunhuang · Sounds of Eastern Charm, Flowing Melody and Paper’s Glowing Streams; three works won the Second Prize in the Student Group, namely Dreaming into Dunhuang, Jade One and Stacked Blessings; and the works of Green Jade Pipa · Dunhuang won the First Prize in the Student Group. For the Professional Group, five works won the Third Prize, namely Pearls & Lotus · Perfect Unity, Light of a Thousand Buddhas, Deer God, Dancing and Golden-Thread Heavenly Steed; three works won the Second Prize, namely Destiny · Light, Silk Road Neon Robes and Silk Rhyme by the Ears; and the works of Gathering Sand into a Pagoda won the First Prize in the Professional Group.

Professional Group

After the award ceremony, Bi Lijun, Vice President and Secretary-General of GAC, Zhang Yongtao, Vice President and Secretary-General of the China Gold Association, Paloma Sánchez, renowned Spanish jewelry designer and gemology expert, Ren Jin, Executive Deputy Director of GAC Jewelry Design Professional Committee, Associate Professor and Graduate Supervisor of School of Gemmology, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Wang Leyi, Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman of the Board and General Manager of Shandong Zhaojin Group Co., Ltd., Luan Wenjing, Deputy General Manager of Shandong Zhaojin Group Co., Ltd. and Chairman of the Board of Shandong Zhaojin Gold & Silver Refining Co., Ltd., Qian Hu, Chairman of the Board and General Manager of Shandong Zhaojin Jewelry Building Co., Ltd., and Wang Wei, Deputy General Manager of Shandong Zhaojin Jewelry Building Co., Ltd., took the stage together to officially launch the Zhaojin 10th Gold Jewelry Design Contest.

A specially recorded video by Richard Taylor, Academy Award winner and world-renowned master of film visual arts, was played on site. From a cross-cultural perspective, he shared his deep expectations and sincere blessings for the 10th contest. As he marked, “Love” is a universal language of mankind, while “Double Happiness” is one of the most beautiful blessings from Eastern culture to the world. When the Eastern “Double Happiness” meets the Western “Love”, the encounter is sure to spark extraordinary inspiration.   

Guided by the form of “Double Happiness” and the spirit of “Love”, this year’s competition takes the Eastern “Double Happiness culture” as its core and the beautiful moments of “life’s double happiness” as its theme. Contestants are encouraged to deeply explore the classics of Eastern and Western “Double Happiness culture”, conduct modern interpretations of traditional “Double Happiness culture” through contemporary jewelry art language, and build a scenario-based narrative of “encountering - falling in love - understanding - accompanying - commemorating” through the cross-cultural integration of Eastern “implicit double happiness” and Western “passionate love”. Using “Double Happiness jewelry,” “Double Happiness gifts,” and “Double Happiness utensils” as carriers, designers are expected to explore visual expressions of Eastern and Western aesthetics and build joyful scenarios for people. Entries should seek innovative breakthroughs where traditional and modern, Eastern and Western aesthetics converge, embodying both the solemn elegance of Chinese Double Happiness culture and an international fashionable expression.

The design competition is divided into the Student Group and the Professional Group. Participants are required to take “Double Happiness culture” as the foundation, integrate the emotional expressions of “love” from Eastern and Western cultures, and explore the contemporary resonance of cultural classics and intangible cultural heritage craftsmanship in the creative field of gold and jewelry. The goal is to create classic works of “Double Happiness culture” that combine cultural depth and commercial value, and promote the transformation of gold and jewelry from a decorative function to a carrier of cultural narratives.