Nigel Wong has won New Zealand’s top jewellery award. He has just been announced the winner of the NZ National Jewellery Design awards 2010 with his piece X-Tension.
X-Tension took Nigel Wong from The Village Goldsmith over 90 hours to build and was a labour of love. This is the second time Nigel has reached the finals. Nigel has been a goldsmith in Wellington for more than 30 years and his experience shines through X-Tension, an ambitious yellow and white gold necklace that is able to be expanded and contracted. Nigel says his inspiration came from the concertina like motion of the extendable bathroom mirror but he has transported that mechanical application onto a platform of beauty: X-Tension features a resplendent 11 carat green tourmaline in a platinum setting.
This is the second time Nigel has reached the finals of the country’s premier jewellery design competition. Nigel’s 2008 piece ‘Vessel’ was a ring that reflected Nigel’s passion for windsurfing, featuring the silhouette of a sail over a blue tanzanite stone the colour of the ocean.
Along with Nigel Wong, The Village Goldsmith's Karl Williams had a piece in this year’s finals. His ring design was based around the myth of the Egyptian sun god Ra and can be read almost like a story book. Ra, the Ancient Egyptian Sun god, journeys over the Great Pyramid from day into night and features a rare yellow fancy intense marquise cut diamond.
The continued success of the The Village Goldsmith at these awards has been highlighted by having its goldsmiths make the finals in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Nigel Wong joins Nick Hensman who took out NZ’s top jewellery award in 2009.
For more of Nigel's pieces see: http://www.theinspiredcollection.com/our-people/nigel-wong
