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| JNA Award winners |
Leung Sik Wah and Wallace Chan received special honors at the JNA Awards, held Thursday at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. They were among 16 people honored for innovation and leadership in the jewelry trade.
The awards and ceremony were organized by Jewellery News Asia, Asia’s leading jewelry industry publication, as part of the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair. The grand affair, only in its second year, was attended by more than 500 persons and lived up to the billing of “one of the industry’s most important and much-anticipated nights.”
Leung was honored with the prestigious “Lifetime Achievement Award” for transforming Hong Kong and Asia into a major jewelry trading and retailing hub. Leung was also instrumental in establishing the Hong Kong Diamond Bourse, and is currently Honorary Life President of the Diamond Federation of Hong Kong and Chairman of the Hong Kong Jewellers’ & Goldsmiths’ Association.
Chan was the first recipient of the “Outstanding Contribution of the Year Award,” recognizing his unique talent and creativity, and for placing his works and Asia on the global haute joaillerie scene. Acclaimed industry-wide as a “carving genius,” Chan remains, to date, the only Asian artist to be invited to the prestigious Paris Biennale des Antiquaires show.
Other recipients of the JNA Awards 2013 are:
* Brand of the Year – Retail: Luk Fook Holdings (International) Ltd
* Employer of the Year: Jewelmer International Corporation and Shree Ramkrishna Exports Pvt Ltd
* E-Tailer of the Year: Plukka (HK) Ltd
* Industry Innovation of the Year – Manufacturing – Business: China Stone Ltd
* Industry Innovation of the Year – Manufacturing – Technology: Shenzhen United BlueOcean Technology Development Co Ltd
* Manufacturer of the Year – Coloured Gemstone Cutting & Polishing: China Stone Ltd
* Manufacturer of the Year – Diamond Cutting & Polishing: Shree Ramkrishna Exports Pvt Ltd
* Manufacturer of the Year – Gem-Set Jewellery: Shenzhen Xingguangda Jewellery Industrial Co Ltd
* Manufacturer of the Year – Precious Metals-Only Jewellery: 3D Kaiente Jewellery Co Ltd
* Outstanding Enterprise of the Year – India: Kiran Gems Pvt Ltd
* Outstanding Enterprise of the Year – Mainland China: ttf HAUTE JOAILLERIE
* Retailer of the Year: Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group Ltd
* Sustainability Initiative of the Year: Dharmanandan Diamonds Pvt Ltd and Pranda Group
* Young Entrepreneur of the Year (Age 40 and below): Zhou Defen, Shenzhen Yuehao Jewelry Co Ltd
The real winner Thursday night may have been JNA Awards. It’s rare that a young program such as this has gained such international importance. But it has and there is still has plenty of room to grow.
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