Coral Fa'amau Ofutino by Andrea Ragazzo is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2020 A' Design Award Ario in Mamanu Mea Teuteuga Competition Category.

ArioMea Teuteuga· 2020

Coral Fa'amau Ofutino

by Andrea Ragazzo

Client: Ragazzo Design Studio

A' Design Award Ario Winner in Mea Teuteuga Category

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Verified Award Winner

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Colors

The Design

About Coral Fa'amau Ofutino

O le Coral o se paga fa'amau ofutino ua faia e taofi fa'atasi ai le lima o le ofutino. E tele fa'amau ofutino e tetele ma mamafa. Ae o le Coral e mulimuli i se aganu'u fa'a-Italia o le faigofie ma le fa'aaloalo i foliga fa'anatura. O le foliga tatala, va'aia e ala atu ai, e maua ai se foliga mama, a'o le tino fa'apogaua i totonu e fa'aopoopo ai le fa'aeseesega. O fa'amau ofutino ta'itasi ua faia i lima mai le siliva sterling e ala i le fa'afefeteina o le sila leiloa. O vaega ta'itasi ua fa'amanino ma ufiufi i le platinum po'o le auro piniki e taofi ai le pupula. O le a'a fafau mafolafola, fa'apei o se apa'au, e taofia ai le fesuia'i ma faigofie ai ona ofuina ma aveese fa'amau ofutino.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Ario

O le A' Design Award Ario na manumalo ai Coral Fa'amau Ofutino, o se faamaoniga matuā mamalu e tuuina atu i mamanu sili ona lelei, matagofie ma mataʻutia. O ē manumalo i le Ario o galuega susulu tele ma fatufatuaʻi e faaalia ai le poto, le taleni ma le atamai o tagata mamanu. E faamoemoeina Coral Fa'amau Ofutino e avea ma galuega matagofie, o se fesuiaiga mo isi, e iloga i le tomai faapolofesa ma mea fou loloto. O lenei mamanu na manumalo i le A' Design Award Ario o se mea e iloga, ua mataʻina e aogā ma tuleia atu tapulaʻa o le faatufugaga, saienisi, mamanu ma tekonolosi. Coral Fa'amau Ofutino o se mea e fiafia i ai le toatele, e fafagu ai manaʻoga, aumaia ai lagona lelei ma tupu ai le ofo.

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