PONTE D’ORO COMPETITION RECOGNIZES DESIGNERS

Susan Sarantos of Newport, R.I., won the grand prize of $5,000 in the Ponte d’Oro Competition with this rendering for a brooch.

The contest was sponsored by JCK, the Centro Affari e Convegni Arezzo, the Tuscan Chamber of Commerce Foreign Trade Center, Banca Monte dei Paschi de Siena and local authorities of Arezzo.

Sarantos’ jewelry rendering was one of 25 semifinalists chosen to be produced by manufacturers in the Tuscan region of Italy. The duality theme of the competition inspired Sarantos to create a binary brooch composed of elements that move in opposition. The design incorporates 18k yellow gold with a yellow sapphire and 18k white gold with a white diamond. It was manufactured by Falcinelli Diamanti of Arezzo.

Other winners (as noted in JCK, August 1996, p. 204) were Ronna Lugosch, Round Pond, Me., first place, $3,000; Paul Robilotti, Kingston, N.Y., second place, $2,000; and Bree Richey, a first-year student at the Museum School inBoston, Mass., student award, $2,000. All winning pieces will become part of the Oro d’Autore permanent collection in Arezzo.

Judges were Lynn Ramsey, president of the Jewelry Information Center; Ruth Fortunoff of Fortunoff, NewYork, N.Y.; Gary Gordon of Samuel Gordon Jewelers, Oklahoma City, Okla.; and jewelry designers Whitney Boin, Michael Bondanza and Pam Levine, all of New York, N.Y.