Coral Botons de puny by Andrea Ragazzo is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2020 A' Design Award d'Argent in Disseny de Joieria Competition Category.

ArgentJoieria· 2020

Coral Botons de puny

by Andrea Ragazzo

Client: Ragazzo Design Studio

A' Design Award d'Argent Winner in Joieria Category

27,298

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #91583

Visit Site View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Coral Botons de puny

Coral és un parell de botons de puny fets per mantenir units els punys d'una camisa. Molts botons de puny són voluminosos i pesants. Coral, en canvi, segueix una tradició italiana de senzillesa i respecte per les formes orgàniques. La forma oberta i transparent aporta un aspecte lleuger, mentre que la textura interior rugosa hi afegeix contrast. Cada botó de puny està fet a mà amb plata de llei mitjançant la fosa a la cera perduda. Cada peça es poleix i es revesteix amb platí o or rosa per mantenir la lluïssor. La tija plana, en forma d'aleta, evita la rotació i fa que els botons de puny siguin fàcils de posar i treure.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award d'Argent

Coral Botons de puny és un guanyador del guardó A' Design Award d'Argent, un reconeixement extraordinàriament prestigiós concedit a dissenys d'alta gamma, esplèndids i impressionants. Els guanyadors d'Argent són obres tremendament brillants i summament creatives que il·lustren la perícia, el talent i la perspicàcia excepcionals dels seus dissenyadors. Es preveu que Coral Botons de puny sigui una obra meravellosa i de gran lluïment, remarcablement professional i profundament innovadora. Aquest disseny guanyador del guardó A' Design Award d'Argent és un invent molt notable i admirat que beneficia i fa avançar els límits de l'art, la ciència, el disseny i la tecnologia. Coral Botons de puny és una creació molt envejada que evoca desitjos, introdueix sentiments positius i desperta sorpresa i admiració.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: These cufflinks are designed in the best tradition of Italian love for simplicity and respect for organic shapes. They are featuring a unique see-through look, which creates lightness, while the rough inner texture creates added contrast.

Each cufflink is hand made from Sterling Silver. To keep its shine, they are individually polished and either Platinum or Rose Gold plated. The flat, fin-like stem prevents them from rotating while making it easy to put on and take off.
Dimensions & Packaging: Sterling Silver with Rhodium plating and Rose Gold plating, ∅20 x 22mm
Tags: Cufflinks, Men's Accessories, Sterling Silver, Gold Plated, Italian Design, Luxury Accessories, Men's Fashion, Modern Design
Production Technology: The cufflinks are made by lost wax casting, which is commonplace in jewelry making. All files were created in Creo 4.0 and rendered in Keyshot to get an accurate representation of the final design before production. A Makerbot 3D-printer was also used, to get preliminary parts made in PLA. These were used to fine-tune the look and size.
Design Challenge: There was not much of a research challenge for this project since cufflinks have been around for a very long time. Also in terms of manufacturing and materials, the choice to use Sterling Silver and Lost Casting were straight forward. A high-quality material was necessary, and therefore, only silver or gold would have been appropriate. Using pure gold would set a too high selling price. Therefore the choice to use Sterling Silver and gold plate them.
Research: During the initial phase of the design, several directions were taken, including designs featuring enamel. The enamel was placed in the inner part of the cufflinks, creating contrast and making the design feel alive. The idea came from the underside of a starfish, which reveals an inner color, different from the outer skin. It makes it more vulnerable and fragile, enhancing its lightness even more. Unfortunately, it was not possible from a technical point of view, since reaching the inner surface was very difficult and time-consuming.
Inspiration: Cufflinks in itself are meant to hold the cuffs of a shirt together. The tighter, the better. They can be bulky and overloaded, usually made of expensive materials to show the status of its wearer. The inspiration was to create something opposite to that. Something that still made of a single, pure material and which replicated lightness. Something that even when holding the cuffs, would so not by weight, but by its structural integrity.
Project Duration: The project started in September 2018 and the first production of three SKU's (Rose Gold, Silver, Gun Metal) arrived in Hong Kong around March 2019.
Operation Flow: There are several types of cufflinks - Whale Back, Bullet Back, Chain Link, Ball Return, ... The Coral Cufflinks come as Fixed Backing design, which usually is a little harder to put on. Due to the slim design and functional shape; however, this is not the case. These cufflinks slide easily into the cuffs cuts, keeping them tightly together.
Patents: Copyrights belong to Ragazzo Ltd., Hong Kong, 2019
Image Credits: #1: Maxime Chambigneulle, 2019
#2: Andrea Ragazzo, 2019
#3: Andrea Ragazzo, 2019
#4: Andrea Ragazzo, 2019
#5: Maxime Chambigneulle, 2019