Dubai, UAE: The World Gold Council (WGC)World Gold Council (WGC) recently announced that it closed the call for entries to AuDITIONS Arabia, the premier gold jewellery design competition launched by the WGCWGC in partnership with international industry player Hammer Group. The contest has drawn an enthusiastic response with over 10,000 gold jewellery designs received.

AuDITIONS Arabia was launched in January 2008 and the initial closing date for entries was March 2008. However, due to popular demand and many requests from participants, the deadline was extended until the end of April 2008. Participants were required to submit original designs incorporating their vision and innovation. The contest was open to both Arabs and non-Arabs alike, who are residents of the Arab region which is becoming a hotbed of gold jewellery design.

Over 1,000 participants from countries across the Arab world such as UAE, KSA and the GCC countries competed for the opportunity to win the most coveted prize in the field of Gold Jewellery design. The scope of the contest extended to other countries within the region such as Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Yemen. The scope of the contest also reached international levels as we received participation countries such as the Netherlands and Russia.

Design entries submitted to AuDITIONS Arabia were centered around the theme: 'Ethno-Contemporary: Inspired by Cultural Treasures & Contemporary Trends.' Participants were required to draw inspiration from the ancient traditions, culture, art, architecture and heritage of the Arab region to create pieces that set new trends.

The World Gold CouncilWorld Gold Council and Hammer Group have now begun the process of coding all the designs received and will be selecting the top 100 designs for the first judging session. Experts from both parties will be present at the first judging session to select the 30 most creative and original gold jewellery designs which will then be manufactured into actual gold jewellery masterpieces. The final winners will be picked during a second judging session from these manufactured pieces.

Lama Al Saheb, Public Relations and Project Manager for the WGCWGC said: "Having launched Gold jewellery design contests regionally for the past 5 years and having taken the risk of elevating AuDITIONS Arabia to an international platform - I am very pleased at the high level of interest and the quality of talent we have witnessed in this competition. This tremendous response from the participants proves the passion and affinity of consumers' minds for Gold jewellery. The WGCWGC is committed to fostering Arabian talent in the jewellery world. The contest was launched to draw out the latent design abilities in the region and seeks to inspire talented designers to come up with original concepts. It is a perfect opportunity for them to let their imagination flow. The competition will help these aspiring designers transform their ideas into masterpieces."

Zahrat Al Khaleej magazine was the exclusive print media supporting the contest. Since Zahrat Al Khaleej is one of the leading Pan-Arab magazines, the scope of the contest was further enhanced by the partnership which increased its exposure all over the Arab world.

The name AuDITIONS is a fitting name as this contest is a true audition in gold, where designers 'audition' through their creative endeavor and individual efforts. AuDITIONS Arabia is part of the AuDITIONS global platform by which this gold jewellery design competition has been launched in South Africa, Brazil, China and India in partnership with AngloGold Ashanti - one of the world's leading gold producers. As all these pieces are original they have a unique personality, clearly reflecting the emotions of the creators. The contest has already won admiration of connoisseurs and serious jewellery lovers across the region.

Lama concluded: "The AuDITIONS Arabia contest offers a complete package for its winners by giving them educational benefits as well. Following the success of the regional design competition that we have organised in the past, we have adopted an international format designed to place the contestants on par with their global counterparts. We are firm in our resolve to showcase the best talent in the region and this contest will go a long way in bringing the highly-coveted talent to the fore. We are also confident that this will create a forum for greater appreciation of Arabian jewellery designs."

For more information on AuDITIONS Arabia visit www.goldauditions.com.

-Ends-

About World Gold Council
The World Gold Council (WGC)World Gold Council (WGC), a commercially-driven marketing organisation, is funded by the world's leading gold mining companies. A global advocate for gold, the WGCWGC aims to promote the demand for gold in all its forms through marketing activities in major international markets. For further information visit www.gold.org.

About Hammer Group
The Hammer Group is a multi-national, multi-business conglomerate comprising of 26 operating companies with fine jewellery being one of its key business interests. What started initially as a small manufacturing house crafting luxury items, has today developed into a multi-business group with a global presence, operating in 11 countries and exporting products and services to over 250 cities world-wide. It is the largest multinational German jewellery group in the world, currently manufacturing and distributing to over 4500 retail outlets over 250 cities globally. Their sales offices have some of the world's best selling agents and merchandisers on the team and they own three major manufacturing facilities in Bangkok, Mumbai and Pforzheim, producing over 2 million pieces of superbly crafted jewellery products each year. Some of the fashion houses for whom the Group fabricates custom design jewellery are among the top 20 fashion and fine jewellery brands in the world. It also privately owns some very well known jewellery brands of the industry.

For more information please contact:
The Idea Agency PR Department
Tel: 04-3434424
Fax: 04-3434305
e-mail: pr@theideaagency-me.com

© Press Release 2008 from The Idea Agency

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