Trapped Beauty bracelet wins 3D printing contest

Materia has announced the winners of the 3D Printing Jewellery Contest. Dutch designer Gerard Mekenkamp has won the first prize with his design for the bracelet ‘Trapped Beauty’.

The jury had to evaluate 91 entries from around the world. The assignment was to design jewellery using 3D technologies and material samples of Polyjet Technology Objet. The jury consisted of designer Frank Tjepkema (Tjep.), Malcolm Riesewijk (Igepa Nederland), Marisa Richter (Materia) and Els Zijlstra (Materia).

The bracelet of Mekenkamp was praised by the jury as being a jewel that can be made only with 3D technology. The closed form of the bracelet is interrupted by a number of cuts in different places. Beneath these cuts, a new “form” is realized that roll back and forth within the bracelet. Mekenkamp’s design was awarded with five hundred euros.

Second prize was won by Hunk Design with its Tradaball chain. This necklace represents the trade routes between different parts of the world in the twentieth century; routes that might disappear when 3D printing conquers the world. Third prize was won by Czech designer Vit Jan. He designed the necklace Sort of Slimy, that combines a soft centre with hard outer edges.

The three award winning designs will be realised and exhibited at the Materia Inspiration Centre in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The contest was, together with two successful lecture days, part of the exhibition ‘Materia goes 3D Printing’, that will run until 18 January 2012.