Time to Shine: Enter the Debut Katerina Perez x Osmium Institute Design Contest

I am thrilled to announce an inaugural competition that will put your jewellery design expertise to the test! The Katerina Perez x Osmium Institute Design Contest (Osmium Visionary Contest) is new for 2025, fusing the best of innovative, experimental and creative fine jewellery design with the world’s rarest precious metal – osmium. With tons of brand promotion, an exhibit of the best designs at GemGenève, and the chance to win €30,000, €20,000 or €10,000 worth of osmium to bring your design to life, this is the ultimate test of any design professional’s ingenuity and skill.

How often do you hear the phrase, “Everything has been done before”? The naysayers among us may claim there’s no room for growth in a saturated market, but I entirely disagree. Last year, I had the pleasure of writing about osmium, the world’s rarest precious metal, which has an incredibly reflective, crystalline surface. Osmium can’t be melted down or bent, which means it is best suited as an inlay material in the place of traditional hardstones on flat surfaces. Personally, I was blown away by the brilliance of osmium; its sparkling crystalline surface is unlike anything else I have seen and lends itself perfectly to forward-thinking, innovative high jewellery creations that push boundaries.

Design Direction to Follow

Now, let’s talk about the Katerina Perez x Osmium Institute Design Contest (Osmium Visionary Contest), which opens for entries on February 3. Together with the Osmium Institute team, we are looking for the most striking, inventive, creative and beautiful fine and high jewellery designs featuring osmium as a key material. You are not limited to a specific theme, but please keep in mind the properties of osmium and its unique finish. Osmium can be cut in flat shapes of different sizes and used as inlay. You can combine this material with other metals and gems that exemplify your signature style as a designer and highlight the distinctive crystalline fingerprint of osmium.

Who Can Enter

The competition is open to jewellery companies, professional jewellery designer-makers, manufacturers and bench jewellers with a focus on experienced craftsmanship. The top three winners in the competition will be expected to showcase innovative and engaging design concepts. Further details about the terms and conditions associated with the competition can be found here: www.visionary-contest.osmium.com.

The Osmium Visionary Contest instils in me a sense of childlike wonder… who knows what the future of jewellery might look like with osmium in the maker’s palette? Perhaps, through this competition, you can show us all what a future fuelled by osmium will look like! Katerina Perez.

How to Enter

The judging panel will be looking only for exceptional, high-quality drawings, 3D renderings and/or gouache paintings of jewellery design concepts (let’s celebrate jewellery design as a form of art in its own right!). You may submit up to three designs per entry. It is anticipated that these will be meticulous and accurate interpretations of jewels that are achievable in real life.

Rough sketches won’t be accepted as entries, so this is an opportunity to brush off your best skills and put them to the test. You will also be required to provide the story behind your design concept, your inspiration and a brief description of the materials you would like to use. Please note that the rights to your design concept will remain firmly with you – this is your talent on display.

When to Apply

Submissions must be made digitally via the form here: https://visionary-contest.osmium.com/submission-page/. The deadline is March 25, 2025 (meaning you have 50 days for the creation of your design). For further information about submitting your concepts, please read the full terms and conditions here: https://visionary-contest.osmium.com/terms-conditions/.

The Judging Panel

Once all entries are received, our panel of judges will choose a first, second and third place, as well as a host of honourable mentions, who will be showcased on the Osmium Institute website, social channels, on KaterinaPerez.com and on Instagram @katerina_perez. Together, we will be looking for the brightest design sparks who can do osmium justice.

The esteemed judges are:

Scarlett Claus, Vice Director of the Osmium Institute, Germany

Richard Reis, State Institute Manager at the Osmium Institute, Germany

Katerina Perez, Jewellery Editor and Key Opinion Leader, France

Lorenz Bäumer, Renown Jeweller at Place Vendome famed for his creativity and unconventional designs, France

Frédéric Mané, Award-Winning Parisian Jewellery designer and founder of his eponymous design studio, France

Anthony Garcia, jewellery designer who has already worked with osmium, Brazil

Tania Chan, jewellery designer who has already worked with osmium, Hong Kong

Prizes & Benefits

The winner in the debut Osmium Visionary Contest will win the following to use in their final creations:

1 place – €30,000 worth of osmium

2 place – €20,000 worth of osmium

3 place – €10,000 worth of osmium

All designs that meet the entry criteria will be presented as part of a special competition catalogue, with the ‘Top 20’ entries being given special attention on Instagram, in the Osmium magazine, and at the Osmium Institute booth at GemGenève (where the winners will be officially announced, and prices will be handed over). Your design concepts and, when created, final jewellery pieces, will also be taken on the road as part of a travelling osmium exhibition in Asia (e.g. Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, India), Europe (e.g. Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Lithuania, Portugal) and North and South America (e.g. USA, Brazil) among other destinations.

Announcing the Winners

The winners in first, second and third place will be notified confidentially on April 9^th. You will then have the opportunity to make final adjustments (with help from the German Osmium-Institute) to your design concept before the specific inlays will be cut and certified. For more details about the timeline, please visit: https://visionary-contest.osmium.com/contest-process/.

 You will also be celebrated at an in-person ceremony at GemGenève, which takes place from May 8-11, 2025. It is anticipated that all three winners (or their representatives) will attend GemGenève to be celebrated and receive their award certificate, retrieve their osmium inlays and answer questions from journalists. If you are not able to attend, we will ask for a video recording of yourself to be displayed instead.

What Happens Next

Upon manufacturing your design, it will be taken to a variety of global exhibitions in 2025 and 2026. The Osmium Institute will transport pieces across the world as part of its efforts to showcase osmium to new audiences. This could be the perfect opportunity to have a piece of your fine jewellery exhibited in the Far East, across Europe, the Middle East, South America and the United States. This opportunity is open to all participants who want to transform their designs into real osmium jewellery. Of course, even the non-winning designs are invited to realize their jewellery. Attractive partner offers for a discounted purchase of osmium inlays are available.

Terms and Conditions

For more information you can visit: http://www.visionary-contest.osmium.com/

I am sure you will agree that this is a fantastic opportunity to showcase your unique talents and test your design skills with a material that is only going to grow in significance, rarity and value. Good luck, and I can’t wait to explore your designs in the coming months.