BAJ London Hosts Their Annual Final Show Showcasing Hundreds of Aspiring Jewellers
08 Nov 2023
On Wednesday the 1st of November, BAJ Camden became a hub of excitement as students, alumni, staff and industry professionals attended the London Final Show.
This event gave the extended BAJ community a chance to fully explore the new Camden campus after their relocation earlier this year. Guests had the opportunity to view current students manufacturing within the state-of-the-art workshops as well as new graphics and artwork on display throughout the building.
Set across three levels, the showcase highlighted the wonderful work BAJ students created during the 2022/23 academic year, exhibiting 100+ pieces from 11 cohorts of their Level 3, 4 and 5 diploma courses. Students submitted incredible creations from projects, including live projects in conjunction with industry professionals, as well as final pieces and collections. The jewellery on display was a testament to the student’s passion, skills, and unwavering commitment to the craft.
Lily Henderson, the Jewellery Diploma Coordinator, shared some words expressing her pride,
“It was an honour to be able to celebrate the culmination of months of dedication, creativity, and hard work from our exceptional learners. They have poured their hearts into their work and the results are nothing short of extraordinary. I’m incredibly proud of all our students. I can’t wait to see them flourish within the industry; they all have very exciting futures ahead.”
After an inspiring welcome speech from BAJ’s longtime professional partner Theo Fennell, guests were free to browse the expansive collection of work before awards were presented.
Image: Chiara Cossu piece
Kicking off the awards ceremony was Brett Afshar from Queensmith, who gave out two Special Commendations to Chanel Surucu and Theresa Masters. He then presented the Rising Star Award to Chiara Cossu for “truly embodying this competition of ‘A star of the future’”. Chiara wins a day in the beautiful Queensmith workshop working on an engagement ring under the expert guidance of the Queensmith team.
BAJ welcomed back alumni Clio Saskia to present the Award for Originality of Design, Clio expressed her thoughts, saying,
“I graduated BAJ in 2019 and never thought I’d be coming back to judge an award, but I’m happy to present it! There were loads of amazing work, loads of fantastic ideas expressed in different ways.”
After much consideration Clio chose Aidina Brownlow for her enamelled petal brooch, winning her a coveted place on the ‘Getting Started’ Programme at Goldsmiths Centre.
Martin Prinsloo from Martin’s Gems, a cherished industry connection with whom BAJ has something exciting in the works, also presented the Award for Statement Jewellery to Chiara Cossu for her Yin/Yang piece.
Martin explained his decision,
“I am honoured to be here. It’s really not easy to decide, but in the end, I was drawn to the quality and the idea of a statement piece.”
Image: Sarah Venturi's winning piece
Chiara won an incredible handcut 7.24ct Ametrine called ‘The Vortex Heart’ to use as she wishes. Longtime BAJ connection Pooja Sanhy presented The Sierra Consultancy Award for Excellence in CAD, explaining,
“I’ve been asked ‘When looking at a piece for CAD how do you judge it?’ There’s lots of things to think about - you have to look at how to manufacture it, how it fits, how it feels- and how pretty it is- and that is a very beautiful piece.”
Pooja chose Sarah Venturi’s layered silver ring, earning her a 1-year license to 3Design programme.
Next to be announced was The Lewis Malka Award for Technical Precision, the Level 3 winner was Shelby MacGillicuddy, Level 4 Theresa Masters, and Level 5 Flavio Marino. Each winner received a signed copy of Lewis Malka’s Book ‘The Engagement Ring’.
BAJ’s jewellery manufacturing subject lead, tutor and industry professional Bekkie Cheeseman presented the Award for Colour and Texture - with a little help from her daughter.
“I was lucky enough to have taught most students here, so to keep the decision unbiased, my daughter chose the winners tonight.”
The Level 3 winner was Tristan Haynes, Level 4 was Matt Tyson, and Level 5 was Flavio Marino, who each won a signed copy of Bekkie’s Colour and Textures in Jewellery Book.
Emma from the Alex Monroe team came to BAJ Camden earlier that day to judge The Alex Monroe Award for Commercial Creativity, selecting three winners: first place went to Chiara Cossu, second place to Robyn Langley, and third place to Mia Bazzard. Each lucky student receives a very generous voucher for Cookson Gold.
BAJ also re-announced the winners from the recent Bobby White X BAJ live project and awards night, the second runner-up being Ferdinand Gamper, first runner-up Eniko Farkas and the winner: Luke Phillips. Luke wins the exciting prize of a day in the illustrious Bobby White workshop.
Lily Henderson then announced the three winners of The Maitland Woodall-Mason Award for MostImproved Student- Amelia Pitman, George Cuff and Sam Farrell, who each win a place on any future BAJ short course of their choosing. Finally, she announced the Award for Combining Techniques to Luca Cammisa, who also won a place on any future BAJ short course.
Sharjeel Nawaz (Principal of BAJ) expressed his thoughts on the event,
“The finals show shines as a pillar of excitement in the BAJ calendar every year, and this year was no different. It’s fantastic to celebrate the work our students, tutors and staff have put in and it was wonderful to share the night with so many sponsors and esteemed members of the industry. I again extend a huge congratulations to the award-winners and all of our 2023 students.”
Visit BAJ’s socials for further coverage of the wonderful night, to see more images of the pieces and to hear about BAJ Birmingham’s Final Show on the 9th of November. BAJ is now accepting applications for Jewellery Courses starting in September 2024.
View British Academy of Jewellery
Source: British Academy of Jewellery