Ms. Paloma Sanchez has won The Living Trace Award from Cluster Contemporary Jewellery Fair at the XV Florence Biennale
GIA gemologist, jewelry artist Ms. Paloma Sanchez has won The Living Trace Award from Cluster Contemporary Jewellery Fair at the XV Florence Biennale, and has been invited as one of the Guests of Honour at the upcoming Cluster Contemporary Jewellery Art Fair in London. She is also the first artist to receive this distinction at the Florence Biennale.
The award, born from the partnership between two of the world’s leading contemporary art exhibitions, the Florence Biennale and Cluster Contemporary Jewellery Fair (London, UK), is equivalent to the “Lorenzo il Magnifico” President’s Award of the Florence Biennale.
Paloma’s works not only captivated audiences from around the world but also drew the special attention and acclaim of distinguished experts, including Mr. Piero Celona, founder and vice president of the Florence Biennale; Mr. Jacopo Celona, director of the Florence Biennale; Mr. Paolo Penko, master goldsmith and international jury member of the Florence Biennale; Mr. Giovanni Cordoni, event manager and curator of the Florence Biennale; and Prof. Chao Ge, artist and winner of the "Lorenzo il Magnifico" Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Artwork
Grotta Azzurra
Necklace. Tanzanite crystal (150ct), pear shape and round brilliant cut diamonds (12.596ct in total), set in 18kt white gold.
Grotta Azzurra was born of contrast: the cool stillness of a hidden sea cave and the sudden shimmer of light that pierces its shadowed depths. A singular 150-carat Tanzanite, untouched by the cutter's hand, becomes a sacred relic. Encasing the stone, cascading formations of white diamonds and sculpted 18kt white gold evoke crystalline stalactites, shimmering like captured rays of light breaking through cavernous obscurity. Here, darkness is not absence but presence—framing and amplifying the brilliance of illumination.
Tears of Antarctica
Earrings/Necklace. Faden quartz specimen (collector’s piece) from Pakistan, 18kt gold enhancements, 18kt gold pins.
Born at the fracture lines of the Earth, the Tears of Antarctica reflects the fragile balance between creation and decay. The Faden Quartz, with its thread-like vein formed through rupture, resembles stalactites and stalagmites reaching for each other—a silent metaphor for a world on the edge of connection and collapse.
Molten gold flows across the translucent crystal like sunlight mourning the melting heart of the poles. Between light and darkness, endurance and erosion, the piece captures a moment suspended between creation and disappearance—a whisper of Earth’s resilience, and its fragility.
This exhibition marks another significant milestone in Ms. Paloma's international artistic journey, further affirming her place as a leading figure in contemporary jewelry art.