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Press Release: October 22, 2013 marked the presentation of priceless gifts originating from Ontario to Her Royal Highness (HRH) Princess Anne to commemorate the visit to Barrie. The Grey and Simcoe Foresters, the City of Barrie and Georgian College presented HRH with a fine jewelry brooch representation of the Grey and Simcoe Foresters badge and a beautiful bracelet designed by Emily Wojna, a graduate of the Georgian College Jewellery and Metals Program.  At a meeting of all the parties concerned, two ideas were suggested. One was a design competition for a gift of jewelry, from the City of Barrie to Princess Anne, open to the jewelry students at Georgian College and won by Wojna. The second idea was a re-imagining of the cap badge of the Grey and Simcoe Foresters, as a fine piece of jewelry.
The idea of a brooch was pursued, with the support of Crossworks Manufacturing in Sudbury, Ontario and Detour Gold Corporation of Cochrane, Ontario. Crossworks donated eight Ontario diamonds that were mined, cut and polished in Ontario. The stones are from the De Beers Canada Victor mine on the James Bay Coast and come with certificates of origin from the government of Ontario's diamond sector unit. The gold and silver in the brooch came from the Detour mine near Cochrane. This is the first time in the history of Ontario that a piece of fine jewelry has been made that has used only materials from the province. The center stone is a specially cut combination of Ontario amethyst and sodalite, called a doublet. The brooch was assembled by a recent graduate of the goldsmithing program, Kyle Barrett. Program professor Cary James was responsible for the computer designs and professor David McAleese for cutting the center stone. Wojna’s final design incorporates a central medallion made out of Canadian gold resembling a horse bit with an Ontario diamond from the Victor mine in the center (pictured below). The medallion’s edges have the words “Tenacious and Versatile,” the Grey and Simcoe Forester’s motto, cut out of its edges. The medallion is then connected to strands of deep blue sodalite beads, a stone that is native to Ontario and ending in a gold clasp. The style of the piece is elegant with the rich colors of royalty. “It is an honor to be able to make something for Princess Anne,” said Wojna, “I never imagined being able to make a piece for the Royal Family. It’s really amazing.”  “As the facilitator of this project I can say, without fear of contradiction, that all parties concerned are delighted and very pleased with the end result. The staff and students of Georgian College are honored to have been chosen to work on this prestigious piece, offered as a gift from the Grey and Simcoe Foresters to HRH Princess Anne,” said Greg Merrall, the coordinator of the jewelry and metals program at Georgian College.
“Crossworks is proud to have the opportunity to be a part of Ontario history in producing this brooch for HRH Princess Anne. The Georgian College, government of Ontario, De Beers Canada and Detour Gold have worked in partnership to create a regal legacy for the province of Ontario. Victor diamonds are truly unique and we are honored to have crafted the diamonds that were set in the brooch and the winning bracelet design,” said Dylan Dix, the group executive of marketing and external relations. ABOUT CROSSWORKS Crossworks Manufacturing Ltd., a member of the HRA Group of Companies, is a Canadian company and the only significant diamond manufacturer in Canada, with three facilities in Vancouver, Yellowknife and Sudbury. The HRA Group is a De Beers sightholder, Rio Tinto Select Diamantaire, an Authorized Partner of Argyle Pink Diamonds and a Forevermark™ Diamantaire in Asia, USA and exclusively in Canada and Australia. Currently, the group is the largest manufacturer of branded Canadian diamonds in the world with distribution throughout North America, Europe and Asia. ABOUT GEORGIAN COLLEGE JEWELLERY AND METALS PROGRAM Georgian College’s Jewellery and Metals programs in the School of Design and Visual Arts offers a comprehensive education in all facets of jewelry studies. Casting, fabrication, stone setting, silversmithing and goldsmithing, gemology, repairs and lapidary are some of the courses in the two and three year programs offered at Georgian College in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Jewelry design and drawing classes add to the studio focused courses that are designed to graduate students with all the skills necessary to be successful in this field. The Jewellery and Metals Program reflects the best aspects of a vocational school training, art college aesthetics and higher education academics. The program’s objective is to develop practical jewellers and metalsmiths, capable of creating and producing both unique and limited production objects. Rapaport News is not responsible for, and does not endorse, the content of any third-party press release. This is not a Rapaport Press Release. It has been provided as additional information for our clients.
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