Press Release
Great Blue Hole Necklace by Jung Ki Min Receives the Bronze A' Design Award in Jewelry Design
The international grand jury of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition recognizes Jung Ki Min for jewelry design
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COMO, Italy, April 22, 2026 /DesignNewswire/ A' Design Award & Competition has confirmed the Bronze A' Design Award in the Jewelry Design category for Great Blue Hole Necklace by Jung Ki Min. The recognition forms part of the 2025 - 2026 A' Design Award & Competition and was determined through blind peer review by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members, who assessed anonymized entries against predetermined criteria.
What the Bronze A' Design Award Means
The Bronze A' Design Award is given to outstanding designs that showcase a high degree of creativity and practicality. It recognizes the dedication and skill of designers who produce work that stands out for its thoughtful development and innovative use of materials and technology. These designs are acknowledged for their professional execution and potential to influence industry standards positively. Winning this award highlights the designer's ability to blend form and function effectively, offering solutions that enhance people's lives and wellbeing.
About Great Blue Hole Necklace
Great Blue Hole is a necklace inspired by the marine sinkhole of the same name in Belize. The design translates a large natural landscape into a wearable sculptural form. Layered metal components are raised on wires of varying lengths to create dimensional volume and depth. Sawing, casting, enameling, stone setting, chasing and repousse were used to build the forms and surface textures. The necklace measures 130 mm in width, 15 mm in depth and 75 mm in height, with a pearl string of 450 mm. Movement of the body shifts light across the layers.
About Jung Ki Min
Jung Ki Min is a Korean contemporary jewelry artist and designer based in New York. Her practice focuses on translating natural landscapes and imagined environments into wearable forms through layered construction and material experimentation. Her work explores the relationship between vast environments and intimate bodily scale. She combines traditional metalworking techniques with diverse materials to create sculptural pieces that emphasize texture, depth, and structural complexity. Her work has been presented internationally, reflecting an ongoing engagement with contemporary jewelry discourse.
Award Record
Jung Ki Min is a winner of 1 A' Design Award, including this recognition.
About the A' Jewelry Design Award
The A' Jewelry Design Award is an international jewelry design competition recognizing good jewelry designs by best jewelry designers worldwide. It is organized within the A' Design Award & Competition and is open to jewelry designers, jewelry brands, jewelers and goldsmiths from all countries. Typical entries include rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, brooches and pendants. The awarded jewelry designs are published at https://dezigners.org/design-category/jewelry
About A' Design Award & Competition
Organized annually since 2008, A' Design Award & Competition is an international, juried design accolade. The competition is open to entries from all countries. The philanthropic mission of the A' Design Award is to advance society through good design, by recognizing and promoting superior products, projects and services that benefit society, and by creating a global awareness and appreciation for good design practices and principles. Nominations are peer reviewed and evaluated anonymously by an international grand jury panel of established academics, design professionals and press members against predetermined criteria such as functionality, ergonomics, engineering, presentation, innovation, usability, sustainability and technology, with score normalization applied to remove biases. Awards are conferred at Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Iron levels. Eligible laureates receive the A' Design Prize, which includes the award trophy, the certificate of design excellence, the hardcover yearbook, a lifetime license to use the A' Design Award winner logo, exhibition of awarded works, an invitation to the gala night and award ceremony in Italy, inclusion in the World Design Rankings and Designer Rankings, and public relations and publicity services. Registration, uploading a work and receiving a preliminary score are free of charge, and Professional and Digital Edition laureates are not contractually obliged to pay further fees to claim the A' Design Prize. More information is available at https://competition.adesignaward.com
Press Resources
- Winner Page: https://dezigners.org/182523
- A' Design Award Page: https://competition.adesignaward.com/182523
- Media Showcase: https://www.designnewsroom.com/!182523
- Laureate Profile: https://dezigners.org/d/278450
Media Contact
Giulia Ferrari, Press Office
Designers.Org
Via Leone Leoni 32, 22100 Como, Italy
press@designers.org
+39 031 4491953
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Fact Sheet
The Work
- Project
- Great Blue Hole Necklace
- Function
- Necklace
- Category
- Jewelry Design
- Discipline
- Fashion Design
- Industry
- Luxury and Fashion
- Colors
- Cadet Blue, Dim Gray, Light Slate Gray, Dark Slate Gray and Slate Gray
- Images
- 5
The Recognition
- Laureate
- Jung Ki Min
- Country
- United States of America
- Recognition
- Bronze A' Design Award
- Edition
- 2025 - 2026
- Design ID
- #182523
Credits
- Image Credits
- Photographer Jung Ki Min, Great Blue Hole, 2019.
Design Details
- Unique Properties
- This piece reinterprets a monumental marine formation as a wearable sculptural structure through layered metal construction and dimensional assembly. Its distinction lies in translating vast geological space into an intimate bodily dimension, where organic irregularity is balanced with controlled craftsmanship to create a tactile landscape experience.
- Inspiration
- Inspired by the Great Blue Hole in Belize, I was drawn to its ultramarine depth and the diverse ecosystems surrounding it. Through visual research and material experimentation, I sought not only to extract its visual characteristics but also to convey the site's atmosphere and sense of mystery. By combining various materials and metalworking techniques, I harmoniously translated a distant, life filled marine environment into an intimate wearable scale.
- Research
- This project represents a research process aimed at translating distinctive natural landscapes and geological formations into the form of jewelry. Through the harmonious arrangement of diverse materials and techniques, I experimented to determine the optimal color relationships, proportions, and structural balance that could effectively convey the site's atmosphere and defining characteristics. The research also explored multiple approaches to articulating organic forms within a controlled metal framework, seeking methods to express natural irregularity with clarity and precision.
- Challenge
- The primary challenge was developing a structural system capable of integrating diverse elements into a cohesive form. To achieve the intended atmosphere, careful planning was required for stone placement, setting techniques, and layering. Establishing the correct order of fabrication was critical. Through extensive trial and error, I refined the composition so that each element could coexist harmoniously while retaining its individual presence.
- Realization and Technology
- This work involved selecting materials corresponding to the site's visual and spatial characteristics and conducting extensive texture studies. Test pieces were produced to experiment with varied surface treatments and forms. To achieve the desired atmosphere within a limited scale, appropriate techniques were carefully selected. In addition to piecing and sawing, casting, enameling, stone setting, chasing, and repousse were employed. Components were elevated using wires of varying lengths to create dimensional volume and layered depth.
- Operation and Interaction
- Due to its layered colors and condensed elements, the piece offers tactile detail and visual richness to both wearer and viewer. As the body moves, shifting light and depth create subtle variations in perception, inviting closer observation. By bringing a distant landscape into intimate proximity, the work provides a subtle sense of refreshment.
- Project Duration and Location
- The project started in August 2018 in New York, USA, and was completed in May 2019.
- Specifications
- Width 130 mm x Depth 15 mm x Height 75 mm Pearl string length 450 mm
- Keywords
- silver, necklace, jewelry, natural
