PEAKLIFE

The Piaget Design Competition by Piaget in collaboration with the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), HEAD – Genève (Geneva University of Art and Design) and Turquoise Mountain celebrates the next creative generation of Saudi Arabia.

Piaget announced the completion of the 2021 Piaget Design Competition in AlUla in collaboration with the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), HEAD – Genève (Geneva University of Art and Design) and Turquoise Mountain.

Piaget has been working with the HEAD – Genève for the past nine years to exude initiatives to recognize and foster the creativity of students from all over the world. They also partnered with Green Edge Cycling to introduce the stunning landscape of ancient civilizations to millions of cycling and sport fans around the world. The idea behind the Piaget Design Competition is to support and invest in the artisanal talent of Saudi Arabia’s coming generation of creative minds. Bringing the Piaget Design Competition to Madrasat Addeera in AlUla is the latest initiative in an already seasoned partnership between RCU and Piaget.

Image Credit: Aysha Musa Al Shalali Charm

AlUla is situated in North-West Saudi Arabia. It is known for its exquisite natural beauty and human heritage. It has a lush oasis valley, towering sandstone mountains and ancient cultural heritage sites which dates back to thousands of years. AlUla also has some fascinating historical and archeological sites such as Ancient Dadan, the capital of the Dadan and Lihyan Kingdoms, which is considered one of the most developed 1st-millennium BCE cities of the Arabian Peninsula.

Image Credit: Ashwaq Saud Jewelry

For the competition, twelve students from Madrasat Addeera in AlUla were challenged to design an inspirational piece of luxury to resonate AlUla’s rich history and natural beauty while taking cues from the DNA of Piaget, a Maison renowned for jewelry imbued with emotion and refined savoir-faire. Each participant received mentoring sessions from professors from HEAD – Genève. The students were also paired with the students from HEAD – Genève which enabled them with additional mentoring throughout the process. At the end of the design and mentoring process, the participants presented their work to a panel of judges. The panel of judges consists of representatives from the four of the organizations involved.

Image Credit: Raghad Ayman Arafah Jewelry

In the next step, the panel of judges short-listed top three submissions. Aysha Musa Al Shalali bagged the first position, followed by Ashwaq Saud and Raghad Ayman Arafah at the second and third position respectively.

The criteria for choosing the winning entries were their poetic sense of design, demonstration of the skills learned throughout the mentoring process and landscape of AlUla.

Image Credit: Raghad Ayman Arafah Charm

Piaget was proud to have played a role in conducting this global design competition to Saudi Arabia, in collaboration with RCU. The competition aimed to not only render an enriching experience but also to support the visibility and protection of regional craftsmanship. Piaget, thus successfully created a platform to celebrate beauty, heritage, local talent and spirit of AlUla and Saudi Arabia.