Canadian designer has brush with the Oscars

by eyetee | March 5, 2012 1:33 pm

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The red-carpet walk at the Academy Awards is the highlight of the evening for most style mavens.

In the case of Canadian jewellery designer Reena Ahluwalia, her focus was on the A-listers’ necklines, and catching a glimpse of her award-winning 28.96-carat ‘Canoe’ diamond necklace.

Inspired by the image of a canoe on an icy lake, the necklace took top honours in the ‘Canadian Diamonds’ category at Rio Tinto’s Diamond Global Design Competition last November. Winning the award, though, was just the beginning—Ahluwalia then had to make the 18-karat white gold piece in time for the Oscars.

Highly technical and rife with intricate angles, the necklace was presented to Academy Award-winner Marcia Gay Harden, who opted to keep her neckline bare and decided on a pair of earrings from another designer. Still, Ahluwalia says the biggest thrill for her is the fact the necklace was made and features homegrown diamonds.

“Celebrating the magic and beauty of Canada, my home, is the inspiration for my design,” Ahluwalia says. “The canoe is a carrier of Canadian myths, a symbol very unique to Canada that represents voyage, harmony with nature, discovery, and courage. It is one of the greatest gifts the First Nations people gave to all those who came after. A crystalline perspective, this necklace hopes to capture the luminous magic of the True North.”

Ahluwalia says the idea for the necklace came from an outing at a park, its frozen lake crackling loudly.

“I thought how beautifully this scene describes Canada,” she adds. “When the chance came to design something in Rio Tinto’s Canadian diamond category, I knew I had a story to tell and made the drawing.”

The $300,000 necklace is a collaboration with Crossworks Manufacturing, which sponsored its production and provided the Canadian diamonds.

“To propose almost 30 carats for a design is very difficult,” Ahluwalia says. “If it is five carats or 10 carats, that’s understandable. It was so amazing for Crossworks to sponsor this piece. I’m incredibly thankful to them. You want to work with people who share your vision, and I’m very proud I got to work with them again.”

The feeling is mutual, says Dylan Dix, group executive of marketing and external relations for Crossworks.

“The opportunity to work with both Rio Tinto Diamonds and Reena Ahluwalia to promote Canadian diamonds is a reflection of the partnerships involved in our industry,” Dix says. “The support of Rio Tinto of the secondary industry in Canada has created innovation in both polishing and jewellery design. The primary diamonds in the Canoe are the ideal square, a patented cut designed by a Canadian company and set in a beautiful design by a Canadian artist. This is the ultimate reflection of our industry’s goal of celebrating the Canadian diamond pipeline from mine to market.”

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