Meet the Winners!
After an incredible number of visionary submissions, four designs rose to the top. Bold, original, and full of brilliance — these are the winning creations of the Osmium Visionary Contest 2026.
Get to know the minds behind the masterpieces and discover what made their designs stand out!
Marie Genon – 1st place 30,000 eur in Crystalline Osmium France
Dan Voaden – 2nd Place 20,000 eur in Crystalline Osmium UK
Ying Chen Chen – 3rd Place 10.000 eur in Crystalline osmium
Nadja de Sá Van Diest – 4th place 5.000 eur in Crystalline Osmium
Marie Genon – 1st place (France)
Night Bird
The first, Night Bird, is a nocturnal creature caught mid-flight “Apus apus”. Its wings, set with custom-cut osmium inlays across eleven feather templates, shimmer like scattered constellations. Its body, carved in obsidian, holds the shadow from which light is born. On the reverse, laser-engraved in white gold, a poem and a star map record the ancient origin of all living things.
About the designer
Marie Genon is the founder of Irene Studio, a Paris-based jewelry design studio specializing in high jewelry concept development, technical drawing, and full-scale prototyping. Originally from Belgium, she began her academic path with scientific studies at university, developing an early interest in structure, precision, and material understanding. She later trained in jewelry and object-making, and worked for nearly a decade as a sculptor and model maker on the scenography of Chanel shows alongside Karl Lagerfeld. This experience shaped a distinctive approach rooted in scale, rigor, and the translation of complex ideas into tangible forms. She founded Irene Studio in 2019 and now collaborates with leading maisons, including the Van Cleef & Arpels Ateliers des Objets Extraordinaires, developing projects at the intersection of artistic vision and technical precision. Her practice spans hand-rendered gouache illustration, CAD modeling, and meticulous 1:1 paper prototyping. Each project begins with a narrative and culminates in an object that can be held. The Stardust collection marks her first independent submission to an open design competition, reflecting her belief that jewelry should unite scientific truth and poetic expression.
Dan Voaden – 2nd Place (UK)
Stargazer
The intention was to create a dream—a fairytale made tangible through carefully chosen materials that support both the story and the presence of Osmium.At its heart sits the stargazer, lost in the wonder of the Osmium heavens above. Captivated by the spectacle, she forgets everything. Mesmerised and adrift in awe, she floats within the magnificence of the view and, for a fleeting moment, becomes her innocent child self once again. Yet the story begins before this revelation. When worn, the ring presents itself as a glittering Osmium night sky, a starlit landscape framed by the gentle inky blue-black backdrop of a midnight-blue Lightning Ridge black opal. Chosen for its subtle and restrained play of colour, the opal allows the Osmium stars to twinkle and sparkle as the majestic focal point of the piece. Then comes the surprise: the opening of the Osmium star canopy. The stargazer is revealed, seated upon her platform above, in accordance with the poem—“a place she knows well.” To some, this may be the dark waters of a moonlit lake or ocean. To others, it may be a view down upon the Earth itself, as the stargazer drifts through the heavens above. The interpretation is left to the dreamer; the choice is part of the fairytale. The next time a starlit sky stretches overhead, become the Osmium stargazer. Smile. Gaze. Wish. Float. Dream.
About the designer
Dan Voaden is 56 years old and relatively new to the jewellery industry, having transformed a long-standing passion for cutting Australian opals into his own jewellery brand, Opal Wild, which is officially launching this April. Following a remarkably varied career that has included corporate investigation, beach ownership, and antique sales, Dan set out to create Opal Wild as a distinctive and instantly recognisable brand. That vision has already received significant industry recognition, with several prestigious awards achieved within the past six months. These include the UK National Association of Jewellers’ Collection of the Year Award in October 2025 and, in March this year, the Jewel Cast Award for Precious Jewellery at the UK Goldsmiths’ Craft & Design Council Awards. Dan personally cuts every opal to an exceptionally high standard and serves as the brand’s lead designer. His philosophy of “Fearless Opal Jewellery” lies at the heart of everything he creates, driving a commitment to bold, innovative designs that challenge convention and celebrate the extraordinary beauty of opal.
Ying Chen Chen – 3rd Place (Taiwan)
Arrival’s Pulse
Arrival’s Pulse is a tribute to the profound emotional transition of “finding one’s way home.” Inspired by a panoramic view from 30,000 feet, the piece captures the breathtaking moment a traveler crosses the threshold from the silent, dark abyss of the midnight sea to the sudden, radiant eruption of a city’s light carpet during descent. The asymmetric structure elegantly mimics the banking tilt of an aircraft as it curves toward the runway. Deep blue titanium forms the foundation, symbolizing the quiet solitude and weariness of the journey. The soul of the design lies in the strategic application of Crystalline Osmium. Distributed along the ridges, the Osmium’s high-frequency scintillation replicates the pulsating lights of urban architecture. Its unique optical properties—clear and sharp even from a distance of 40 meters—perfectly recreate the shimmering “sea of stars” seen from the clouds. Interwoven with yellow and orange sapphires that mirror the warm, rhythmic flow of city traffic, the jewelry creates a dynamic “heartbeat” of light as the wearer moves. Beyond a mere ornament, this piece serves as a celestial navigator for the soul, freezing that tender instant when, after traveling thousands of miles, one finally glimpses the warm, unwavering signal of home.
About the designer
Enchanted by jewellery, Ying Chen majored in jewellery design and metalsmithing. After graduating from university, she went to Paris to continue her studies in jewellery design. In 2013, Ying Chen established her own eponymous jewellery brand “YING CHEN CHEN”. Her main source of inspiration is nature, flora as well as poems, music and travels. She recreates each special scene in the form of jewellery, combining beauty and elegance into timeless pieces, the story and significance behind each jewellery will give the impression. In addition, Ying Chen is a gemmologist (graduated from GEM-A) who is obsessed with various coloured gems, and her husband Yang Hua-en is a gem cutter. As a result, she has a great sensitivity to gems, whenever she got a gem, she always studied carefully and felt it, trying to understand what it wants to be, and how to give it a wonderful future.
Nadja de Sá Van Diest – 4th place (USA)
The Black Tie Suite Statement Necklace
This piece is envisioned as the anchor of The Black Tie Suit, a collection centered on the rare brilliance of osmium and the quiet power of contrast and repetition. At its core is a stone-on-stone setting technique that creates a striking, high-contrast composition where different materials can coexist on a single design element. As both a hand fabricator and lapidary artist, I will cut and polish elongated marquise silhouettes from Edward’s black nephrite jade, selected for its strength, lightweight nature, and mirror like finish when brought to a high polish. Then I will fabricate platinum bezel cups to hold the Osmium as the focal point, and cold connection set the Osmium onto the top of the jade. The result is a composition where osmium’s crystalline luminosity emerges from a field of deep black jade, brilliant, intentional, and unmistakably refined. The jade serves not only as a visual counterpoint, but also as a structural and wearable one, durable, lightweight, and fluid against the body. This piece will be easy to wear and transport. The jade and osmium will be complemented by black diamond beads, creating continuity between the elements. I will custom fabricate a seamless, integrated clasp.This necklace explores texture, hand fabrication, and the tension between contrasting materials. Both elegant and striking, it reflects a disciplined approach to contrast, repetition, and form.
About the designer
Nadja de Sá Van Diest is a Colorado based bench jeweler and lapidary artist specializing in hand fabrication. She has trained under Todd Reed, Michael Boyd, and Brady Mesch, developing a disciplined approach to craftsmanship and material integrity. She is currently in the process of opening her first public facing jewelry studio, where she will work closely with private clients to create custom, one of a kind pieces. Nadja is also the host of Pass The Torch: Legacies in Jewelry , a podcast dedicated to having discussions with the world’s most renowned artisan jewelers and industry professionals. Through this platform, she has interviewed Scarlett Clauss and Katerina Perez on the subject of osmium, deepening both her technical understanding and creative perspective on the material. Nadja has a clear understanding of the osmium material and hopes to bring it to life within the context of high jewelry.
