GEM VISIONS 2012 Watershed Point

The year 2012 will be remembered as a watershed year, the point when jewellery design made a break from the past and evolved an entirely different and forward looking style and design language, says the team of leading independent jewellery and trend experts who put together Gem Visions 2012, the annual trend and design book that is presented by Swarovski Gems to the industry each year. The trends are presented after analysing the far-reaching inspirations and in_ uences that, according to them, will trigger this dramatic new mood in the _ eld of _ ne jewellery in the coming year, including some expertly researched visual references, sources and in_ uences from around the world.

It then identi_ es the four main spirits that will move design in 2012, the spirits that weave their way through all the directions, subtly shaping the _ avour and feelings of jewellery design. These are de_ ned as: Neo-Tradition – a radical, new integration of past, present and future; heritage remains important, but is free from nostalgia and looks forward. Both the past and the future are important.

Sensation – as technology like 3-D, augmented reality, Sci-_ , the I-Pad, erases the boundaries between dreams and reality; building futuristic fairytales, stirring emotions, celebrating precious moments in life.

Pure Innovation – technical and artistic wizardry and the continued quest for the extraordinary and the rare; the focus is on technology, but the need for a human imprint remains strong. Creativity – exuberant creativity and aesthetic excitement returns in a burst, edging aside the earlier period of consolidation and classicism. It is stimulated by technical innovation and an imaginary universe, beauty and poetry underpinned by the need for emotional values.

Based on the above the _ ve design directions for 2012 are identi_ ed as: Studio, Fantasy, Fiction, Luminescence and Nouvelle Vague Alongside, the book also presents some of the most suitable genuine gemstones and created stones in different cuts and colours, textures and translucencies and other gem innovations that are the right match for the de_ ned themes.