Coral Coral by Andrea Ragazzo is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2020 Igihembo cya A' Design Award cya Ifeza in Igishushanyo cy'Amasaro Competition Category.

IfezaAmasaro· 2020

Coral Coral

by Andrea Ragazzo

Client: Ragazzo Design Studio

Igihembo cya A' Design Award cya Ifeza Winner in Amasaro 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 Coral

Coral ni ipari ya cufflinks (udupira dufunga imikufi y'ishati) yakozwe kugira ngo ifate imikufi y'ishati hamwe. Cufflinks nyinshi ziba ari nini kandi ziremereye. Ahubwo, Coral ikurikira umuco w'Abataliyani wo koroshya no kubaha imiterere kamere. Imiterere ifunguye, iboneka mo hagati itanga isura yoroheje, mu gihe imiterere itari isharishwe yo imbere yongeramo itandukaniro. Buri cufflink ikorwa n'intoki ikoreshejwe ifeza ya sterling binyuze mu buryo bwo gushongesha (lost wax casting). Buri gice gisukurwa neza kandi gishyirwaho platine cyangwa zahabu ya roza kugira ngo kigume gitangaza. Igiti kimeze nk'igizingiro, kiringaniye kandi kigiye kimeze nk'urubaraga, gibuza kuzenguruka kandi bituma cufflinks zoroha kuzambara no kuzikuramo.

The Recognition

About the Igihembo cya A' Design Award cya Ifeza

Coral Coral ni uwegukanye Igihembo cya A' Design Award cya Ifeza, ishimwe ridasanzwe ry'agaciro gakomeye ritangwa ku bishushanyo byo ku rwego rwo hejuru, byiza kandi bikora ku mutima. Abegukanye Ifeza ni ibihangano by'ubuhanga bukomeye kandi bifite guhanga kwinshi, bigaragaza ubuhanga bwimbitse, impano n'ubushishozi bw'ababihanze. Coral Coral biteganyijwe ko izaba igihangano cy'icyitegererezo, gifite ubunyamwuga bukomeye n'udushya twimbitse. Iki gishushanyo cyegukanye Ifeza ni igihangano kizwi kandi gishimwa, gifasha kugura imbibi z'ubuhanzi, ubumenyi, ubushushanyo n'ikoranabuhanga. Coral Coral ni igihangano benshi bifuza, gikangura ibyifuzo, gitanga amarangamutima meza kandi gitera igitangaza.

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