MIC2027 Masters in Creativity International Jewellery Design Competition

These Rules and Regulations set out the eligibility requirements, submission requirements, judging and award procedures, and the rights and obligations of entrants and the Organiser of the MIC2027 Masters in Creativity International Jewellery Design Competition. They apply to entry, judging, awards and the related use of works in this edition of the Competition.

Organizers

Host

Masters In Creativity International Association

Co-Host

Koninklijke Maatschappij ter Aanmoediging der Schone Kunsten KoMASK VZW

International Jury

Laurent-Max De Cock

MIC General judge
International Jewelry Designer
The Former Professor of Jewelry Design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp

Andrea Buccellati

BUCCELLATI Chairman

Veerle Van Wilder

Professor of Hogeschool Sint-Lukas Antwerpen

Cynthia Livingston

Bravado Design Chairman of the Board of Directors

Donald Barry Woodrow

The Worlds Leading Specialist in Diamond Photography

Norman Cherry

Former Pro Vice Chancellor for Arts at the University of Lincoln, UK
Independent Artist, Curator, and Consultant

Antonio Facchinelli

Jewelry Industry Professional
Former PGI Design Director of China

Wang Lixin

World Gold Council Managing Director of China

Henry Wong

Senior International Jewellery Consultant

Lucia Massei

Co-founder and Director of “ALCHIMIA” Contemporary Jewellery School in Florence

Wu Fenghua

Brand Founder and Creative Director of TTF Haute Joaillerie

Sun Jie

National Distinguished Expert
Professor at College of Design and Innovation, TONGJI University

Ramon Puig Cuays

Former Head of Jewellery Department, Massana School, Barcelona

Joanna Hardy

Independent Fine Jewellery Specialist
Senior Curator of Contemporary Jewelry Exhibition

Daniel Struyf

Founder and Owner of STRUYF SA
Senior International Jewellery Specialist

David Brough

Co-Founder and Editor of Digital Magazine Jewellery Outlook

Herman Hermsen

Independent Designer of Jewelry and Products
Professor for Product and Jewelry Design at the University of Applied Sciences in Dusseldorf Germany

Lin Ying

International Aesthetic Exhibition Curator
Head of Shanghai Fashion Week Taiwan Design Museum

Bogki MIN

Professor of design at Seoul national university
Famous jewelry designer and researcher in Korea

Akio SEKI

Art Historian
Chief curator of Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum

Sonja Mertens

European Fashion-Trend Analyst
Senior Jewellery Curator / Art Director
Specialises in jewellery creative projects and exhibition curation for international brands
Examines narrative expression of jewellery with forward-looking industry perspective

Michihiro Sato

Japan Contemporary Jewellery Artist & Educator
Jury Member, Japan International Jewellery & Craft Competition
Grand Prize Winner, Japan Jewellery Art Competition

Mila Kalnitskaya

Russia Contemporary Jewellery Artist
Co-founder, Mi-Mi Moscow
Focus on conceptual narrative and sculptural language of jewellery
Devoted to exploring spiritual dialogue between jewellery and wearers

Micha Maslennikov

Russia Contemporary Jewellery Artist
Co-founder, Mi-Mi Moscow
Focus on structural experiment and material innovation of jewellery
Continuously expands formal boundaries of contemporary jewellery

Competition Theme

FUTURE JEWELLERY | PRECIOUS TO ME

1 Purpose and Theme

The Competition is open to creators worldwide under the theme Future Jewellery | Precious to me. It encourages entrants to explore the meaning of jewellery through personal experience, emotional connections, cultural expression and future ways of living, and to expand understandings of material value and what is precious.

The Competition offers two judging pathways: the MIC Master of Creativity Award, which recognises forward-looking artistic exploration, and the Category Awards, which recognise innovative design with potential for practical application. It provides opportunities for presentation, publication, exhibition and industry exchange.

2 Organising Bodies

Organiser: Masters in Creativity International Association (MIC).
Co-organiser: Royal Society for Encouragement of the Fine Arts (KoMASK).

The Organising Committee shall organise and administer the Competition within the authority granted by the Organiser. The Jury shall conduct its professional assessment independently. The establishment of the Organising Committee does not replace the legal responsibilities of the relevant entities. Implementing organisations, partners and Jury members shall be announced through official channels.

3 Schedule and Official Notices

Worldwide submissions will open on 15 October 2026 and close on 18 March 2027, Beijing Time (UTC+8).

The Organising Committee shall announce the arrangements for preliminary judging, further review, physical submission, final judging, publication of provisional results and the awards ceremony. Physical submission requirements shall be announced before entrants begin fabrication or dispatch, with a reasonable preparation period. Changes affecting substantive rights or obligations are subject to Section 14.

4 Eligibility

The Competition is open to professional designers, industry practitioners, art and design students and teachers, and design enthusiasts, without restrictions on nationality, age, occupation or educational qualifications. Individual and team entries are accepted. Entrants who lack the legal capacity required to enter the Competition and grant the relevant permissions independently shall obtain the consent of their legal guardian and submit the necessary authorisation.

Teams shall accurately identify all creators, their contributions and a contact representative, and obtain the agreement of all members to the entry, attribution and licensing arrangements. Teaching, supervision and fabrication assistance shall be declared separately from co-authorship.

Persons who are directly involved in judging this edition, have access to unpublished judging materials, or are responsible for administering the judging process are not eligible to enter. Other relationships that may affect impartiality shall be disclosed and dealt with under the recusal procedure.

5 Originality and Entry Categories

5.1 Originality and Entry Status

Entries shall be original works. At the time of submission, they shall not have been publicly disclosed or commercialised and shall not have received an award in another competition. Entrants shall accurately report any subsequent publication, sale or award in another competition. Changing a title, making partial alterations or dividing the same design into separate entries shall not be used to circumvent these requirements.

Public disclosure includes publication online to an unrestricted audience, publication in print or other media, and public exhibition. Private academic assessment, internal research exchange and confidential fabrication discussions do not constitute public disclosure. Where the status of a previous disclosure is uncertain, the entrant shall explain the circumstances to the Organising Committee and obtain a written response before submitting the work.

Entrants shall ensure that they hold the relevant rights or valid permissions for the work and all submitted images, text, likenesses and other materials. Where a work was created in the course of employment, commissioned or jointly owned, the consent of the relevant rights holders shall be obtained. Entrants shall retain evidence of the creative process and the permissions granted. Plagiarism, false attribution and the submission of false information are prohibited.

Entrants using generative or assistive artificial intelligence tools shall declare the tools used, the stages at which they were used and the extent of generated content, and explain their own creative contribution. Generated output lacking substantial creative input from the entrant shall not be presented as an original design. The Jury may request sketches, process files and other supporting materials for verification.

5.2 Category Classification

Each entry shall be submitted in one category. All valid entries shall also be considered for the MIC Master of Creativity Award. Works combining materials shall be classified according to their core design intent, principal materials and intended application. If the Organising Committee proposes a change of category, it shall explain the reasons and obtain the entrant’s confirmation.

Gold Jewellery

Gold shall be the principal material, with gemstones and supplementary materials permitted. This category focuses on innovation in gold craftsmanship, structure and wearing contexts, together with cultural, artistic and technical expression. Entrants shall accurately disclose gold fineness, the parts in which gold is used and all other materials. A gold-coloured appearance or surface gold plating alone does not qualify a work for this category.

Jewellery

There is no restriction on the principal material. Natural gemstones, laboratory-grown gemstones, precious metals and other materials used in craftsmanship are permitted. This category focuses on artistic narrative, innovation in form and structure, refined craftsmanship and aesthetic expression, and considers collectible or practical potential. Material price is not a direct measure of creative value. The natural, laboratory-grown or synthetic origin of materials, and any treatments, shall be accurately disclosed.

Fashion Jewellery

There are no material restrictions. Metals, synthetic materials and new experimental materials are permitted. This category focuses on everyday wear, contemporary aesthetics, varied wearing contexts and product expression, together with feasibility of fabrication, production and market application.

6 Judging Criteria

The MIC Master of Creativity Award primarily assesses originality, concept and expression, cultural and emotional meaning, artistic innovation and the value of future exploration. Mass-production cost, commercialisation and established manufacturing processes are not prerequisites for an award. The work must nevertheless communicate its concept clearly through outcomes that can be assessed and verified.

The three Category Awards assess originality, design resolution, technical and production feasibility, reasonable cost, wearing or user experience and market potential, on the basis of cultural, artistic and emotional expression. Category-specific considerations are set out in Section 5.

Scoring methods, weightings and voting procedures shall be determined before the relevant judging stage and applied consistently to works within the same category. Criteria shall not be changed for an individual entry.

7 Awards and Prizes

Cash prizes are awarded per winning entry. The amount for a team entry does not increase with the number of team members. The awards are set out below.

7.1 Honours and Associated Benefits

MIC Master of Creativity Award: a Competition trophy, an award certificate, inclusion in the Competition yearbook, eligibility for international touring exhibitions, priority MIC designer incubation support and Competition media promotion.

Category Awards: an award certificate, inclusion in the Competition yearbook, eligibility for annual international exhibitions, inclusion in the MIC global emerging designer talent database, and priority access to industry connections and commercial incubation resources.

Finalist Award: eligibility for final judging, a finalist certificate, inclusion of the work in the Competition yearbook and eligibility for presentation in official Competition exhibitions.

Outstanding Organisation Awards comprise the Outstanding Educational Institution Organisation Award and the Outstanding Industry Association Organisation Award. There is no predetermined limit on the number of recipients. Assessment shall consider the number of valid entries organised, participation and the overall quality of submitted works. Recipients shall receive an award plaque, a certificate and official acknowledgement. These awards do not affect the independent assessment of individual entries.

7.2 Concurrent Awards and Limits of Benefits

A work may receive both the MIC Master of Creativity Award and one Category Award, with the cash prizes added together. A work may not receive both the Gold Award and an Excellence Award in the same category. Finalist recognition may be retained alongside a subsequent award.

The specific exhibitions, formats, dates and handover arrangements shall be notified separately. The loan of a physical work requires separate confirmation. Incubation, industry connections and media promotion do not guarantee sales, investment, contracts or coverage by any specified media outlet. Signing a commercial development agreement shall not be a condition of receiving a cash prize or certificate.

8 Registration and Submission

Entrants shall register their identity and contact details through the designated official submission system and provide high-resolution renderings, images showing the work as worn, detail images and a complete design statement. The statement shall include the work’s title, response to the theme, concept, materials, dimensions, structure and proposed techniques. Category entries shall also explain fabrication feasibility and intended applications.

Conceptual works may use diagrams showing their relationship to the body or contextual illustrations to explain their relationship to a wearer or user. A series shall have a coherent design concept and identify its components, number of pieces and scope of assessment. The same series shall not be divided into duplicate entries.

Judging presentation sheets and file names shall not contain the names or identifying marks of authors, educational institutions or organisations, or any other identifying information. Identity, team and supervision information shall be entered only in the designated system fields. Entries that do not meet the anonymity requirements shall not proceed to judging. Any opportunity to correct such issues shall be offered consistently for comparable cases.

Entrants may submit multiple independent works, each registered and judged separately. File formats, dimensions, resolution, size limits, quantity limits, naming conventions and accepted languages shall comply with the Submission Guidelines published when registration opens. The Guidelines shall not alter the substantive entry conditions in these Rules and Regulations.

Successful submission is evidenced by the system confirmation record. Amendments and withdrawals before the deadline are governed by the system rules. Supplementary materials after the deadline are limited to verification or corrections requested consistently by the Organising Committee and shall not substantially replace the submitted work. Where an official system failure affects submission, the Organising Committee shall investigate and announce an equitable remedy.

If an entry fee is charged, its amount, currency, recipient entity and refund conditions shall be disclosed before registration opens. Competition fees that have not been disclosed and accepted by the entrant shall not be imposed retrospectively. Advance notice and confirmation of fabrication, logistics and exhibition costs are governed by Section 10.

9 Judging Procedure and Impartiality

9.1 Judging Stages

Eligibility review: registration details, originality declarations, entry status, permissions and anonymity shall be checked. Preliminary judging and further review: the submitted images and text shall be used to select the works to receive the Finalist Award. These works shall qualify for final judging of the MIC Master of Creativity Award and the relevant Category Awards.

Final judging: the Jury shall determine the recipients of the MIC Master of Creativity Award and the Gold and Excellence Awards in each category primarily on the basis of the physical works submitted, together with the design statements and any necessary process documentation already provided. Category Award entries shall include a physical work demonstrating materials, structure and craftsmanship.

Conceptual or experimental works considered for the MIC Master of Creativity Award may be submitted as a physical model, prototype or experimental sample sufficient to convey the core design intent. They need not meet the standard of a commercially finished product. Substitute materials, scale and elements not yet realised shall be clearly identified. Images or videos without a physical outcome do not meet the requirements for final judging in this edition.

The physical work shall remain substantially consistent with the submitted design. Necessary fabrication adjustments shall be explained in writing. A work that is not submitted on time or does not pass physical verification shall not proceed to the relevant final judging. That circumstance alone does not automatically revoke finalist recognition already obtained through assessment of the images and text.

9.2 Independent Judging and Confidentiality

The Jury shall comprise professionals in art, design education, craftsmanship and industry. Jurors shall disclose family relationships, direct teaching or supervision relationships, employment, business collaboration and any other relationships with entrants that may affect impartiality, and shall recuse themselves from discussion, scoring and voting on the relevant works.

Jurors and staff with access to unpublished submissions shall maintain confidentiality and shall not copy or disclose them without authorisation or use them in their own or third-party projects. The Organising Committee shall retain the necessary judging and recusal records. Sponsorship, partnership and institutional entry arrangements shall not influence the results.

Provisional award results shall be published for a seven-calendar-day period for objections. Results shall be confirmed after that period has ended and relevant objections have been resolved. Objections concerning originality, eligibility or procedure shall be handled under Section 13. Differences in aesthetic preference alone are not grounds for reassessment.

10 Physical Submission and Costs

10.1 Submission Notice and Handover

Entrants proceeding to final judging shall submit physical works after receiving a formal notice. The Organising Committee shall provide advance details of the receiving entity, address, contact person, deadline, packaging requirements, declaration documents, receipt checks, storage, exhibition and return arrangements. Valuable works should not be dispatched without such notice.

Entrants shall provide an inventory, declarations of materials and value, photographs taken before dispatch, installation or operating instructions and any necessary safety information. Batteries, chemicals, fragile materials and other special materials shall be declared in advance, and transport and venue requirements shall be observed. Materials whose possession, trade or transport is prohibited by law shall not be used.

The parties shall document the condition of the packaging and work on receipt. Missing components, damage or material discrepancies shall be reported promptly to the other party and supporting evidence retained. The Organising Committee shall take storage and safeguarding measures appropriate to the nature and declared value of the work.

10.2 Fabrication, Logistics and Insurance

Responsibility for fabrication, transport in both directions, insurance, customs clearance, taxes and exhibition-related costs shall be confirmed in writing before the entrant begins fabrication or dispatch. An entrant shall not be presumed to have accepted undisclosed costs in the absence of confirmation.

For precious metals, gemstones or cross-border transport, the declared value, insurance coverage, insured amount, excess or deductible, transport restrictions and claims procedure shall be agreed in advance. Each party’s liability shall be determined by the actual agreement, fault and applicable law. Nothing in these Rules and Regulations excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

Continued exhibition after final judging requires separate confirmation of the loan period and return conditions. Winning an award does not automatically transfer ownership of the physical work to the Organising Committee. Any donation, purchase or long-term inclusion in a collection requires a separate written agreement.

The Organising Committee shall return works within the period and by the method confirmed in writing. If an inaccurate address or inability to contact the entrant prevents return, a further notice and a reasonable period to resolve the matter shall be provided. Failure to collect a work by a deadline alone shall not be treated as abandonment of ownership.

11 Payment of Cash Prizes

All cash prizes stated in these Rules and Regulations are gross amounts before tax and are denominated in euros. The Organiser shall comply with applicable withholding and remittance obligations and provide recipients with the relevant payment or tax documentation. Recipients shall fulfil their own applicable tax reporting obligations.

Cash prizes shall be paid within 60 calendar days after both the final award results have been published and the recipient has submitted complete and valid payment details and the necessary identity documents. Teams shall provide a payment authorisation confirmed by all members. Internal allocation of the prize shall be agreed by the team without affecting members’ attribution or other legal rights.

Payment shall normally be made in euros. Where another currency is necessary, the currency, exchange-rate source, conversion date and allocation of charges shall be agreed with the recipient in writing in advance. The Organiser shall bear outgoing transfer charges. Any intermediary or recipient bank charges shall be disclosed and agreed before payment.

If payment details are missing or incorrect, the recipient shall be promptly asked to correct them. Where a legally required compliance review or an impediment to cross-border payment necessitates a delay, the specific reason, progress and expected payment date shall be provided. Payment shall not be delayed without justification.

Where eligibility or rights are disputed, the affected award may be withheld pending resolution, with notice to the person concerned. Payments for undisputed works shall not be affected. The treatment of cash prizes and certificates following revocation of an award is governed by Section 13.

12 Intellectual Property and Personal Information

12.1 Ownership of Rights

Entry, finalist status or receipt of an award does not automatically change ownership of copyright or other intellectual property rights in a work. Such rights remain with the author or other lawful rights holder. Entrants shall have the authority to grant the permissions required under these Rules and Regulations. Ownership of the physical work and ownership of intellectual property rights shall be treated separately.

12.2 Permission for Judging and Competition Communications

Entrants authorise the Organiser to use submitted materials to the extent necessary to administer, judge, verify and archive this edition of the Competition. Submission alone does not grant the Organiser general permission to publish or publicly disseminate works that have not been selected as finalists or award recipients. Any such public use requires separate consent from the rights holder.

For works officially announced as finalists or award recipients, entrants grant the Organiser a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence limited to the following non-commercial purposes: display, Competition publicity, media reporting and yearbook inclusion relating to this edition and retrospectives of the Competition. The licence covers reproduction, display, distribution, communication through information networks, filming and compilation, together with translation of design statements, as necessary for those purposes. The licence is perpetual and takes effect when the relevant finalist or award result is officially announced, subject to the term and scope of protection provided by applicable law.

A perpetual licence to use a work does not, in itself, provide a basis for indefinite retention of personal information. The processing and retention of personal information remain subject to applicable law and the privacy notice.

The Organiser shall identify the work’s title and credit its author, and shall respect the integrity of the work. Necessary adjustments to size, layout and format, and accurate translations, are permitted, but shall not distort the design intent. Substantive alterations require separate consent. Author identities shall not be disclosed during anonymous judging.

The Organiser may engage production, publishing, exhibition or communications service providers to use the materials within the purposes and scope above, subject to equivalent restrictions. Republication by independent media shall be limited to reporting on the Competition and does not confer independent commercial exploitation or further sublicensing rights.

Product development, brand collaborations, mass production, sales, commercial advertising, paid publication outside the permitted scope and any other use outside that scope require a separate agreement with the relevant rights holders specifying scope, term, remuneration, attribution and liability. Entry or receipt of an award does not constitute advance acceptance of such cooperation.

12.3 Public Disclosure and Personal Information Protection

Public presentation through the Competition may affect applications for patents or other rights relating to a work. Entrants shall arrange any necessary rights protection before public disclosure. The Organising Committee shall give advance notice of the intended scope and timing of disclosure and shall not use technical information for publicity without permission to disclose it.

Before collecting personal information, the Organiser shall provide a separate privacy notice identifying the actual entity responsible for processing and its contact details, the purposes and methods of processing, the types of information, the retention period or how it is determined, the recipients and the channels through which entrants may exercise their rights. Only information necessary for registration, judging, communication, award verification and payment shall be collected.

Public announcements shall be limited to necessary information about works, authorship, categories and awards. Identity documents, payment account details and private contact information shall not be published with a work. Any ongoing contact through the talent database, separate commercial marketing or other use beyond what is necessary for the Competition requires the applicable additional consent.

Where processing involves minors, sensitive personal information, disclosure to another entity or cross-border transfers, the relevant notice, consent and protection requirements under applicable law shall be fulfilled. Acceptance of these Rules and Regulations does not replace any separate consent required by law.

13 Objections and Breaches

Entrants or relevant rights holders may submit written objections concerning originality, eligibility, ownership of rights or judging procedure through the published official Competition contact channel. Objections shall identify the relevant facts and include contact details and supporting evidence. Objections to provisional results should normally be submitted before the published objection period ends. The end of that period does not prevent lawful infringement claims or reports of substantive breaches.

The Organising Committee shall acknowledge an objection within five working days of receipt and shall normally provide a written response on its findings within 20 working days. For complex matters, any extension and its reasons shall be explained. Where an objection affects another person’s rights, that person shall be informed of the relevant facts and given a reasonable opportunity to respond and provide evidence. Persons examining an objection shall recuse themselves where they have a conflict of interest.

Where plagiarism, false attribution, false declarations, a material lack of permission or another breach affecting eligibility or fairness is established, the Organising Committee may, according to the circumstances, require correction, disqualify the entry or revoke an award, and require the return of the relevant cash prize and award credentials. Decisions shall state the facts, grounds and reasons. The Jury shall decide and announce whether an award is reassigned, applying the original judging criteria.

Entrants shall bear the liability imposed by law for harm caused by their own infringement or other fault. The Organiser and relevant implementing entities shall bear legal responsibility for their own conduct. A complaint alone does not establish a breach or automatically result in disqualification.

Professional aesthetic judgments shall not normally be rescored. However, concerns about eligibility, scoring errors, conflicts of interest or procedural breaches shall be examined. Internal Competition procedures do not prevent any party from seeking a remedy available by law.

14 Changes to Rules and Competition Arrangements

Where necessary changes are made to the schedule or operational arrangements, the Organiser shall publish an explanation through official channels in advance and give reasonable notice to affected registered entrants. The notice shall state the changes, reasons, effective date and arrangements to address their effects.

A new announcement alone shall not retrospectively increase entrants’ obligations, extend permissions to use works, reduce promised cash prizes or change the criteria applied in completed judging. Changes affecting substantive rights shall be subject to any consent required by law, with reasonable withdrawal and fee-handling arrangements for entrants who do not accept them.

Where force majeure or other objective impediments cause postponement, relocation or cancellation, prompt notice shall be given and reasonable measures taken to reduce loss. Arrangements shall address fees already received, works already delivered, costs already incurred and awards already confirmed. Liability shall be determined under applicable law and the circumstances of the case; no blanket exclusion of liability applies.

15 Application of the Rules and Dispute Resolution

These Rules and Regulations apply to this edition upon official publication by the Organiser. The official Submission Guidelines, schedule notices, physical handover documents and privacy notice supplement them within their respective scopes and shall not change substantive rights or obligations without following the required procedure.

The Organiser is responsible for providing explanations of these Rules and Regulations but shall not use interpretation to exclude entrants’ lawful rights. The invalidity or unenforceability of a provision does not automatically affect the remaining provisions.

Disputes arising from participation shall first be addressed through consultation. If no resolution is reached, the parties may bring proceedings before a court of competent jurisdiction in accordance with law. Applicable law and jurisdiction shall be determined under the relevant legal rules. Any separate valid agreement shall not exclude protections that cannot lawfully be excluded.

When registration officially opens, the Organising Committee shall publish the legal names and places of registration of the Organiser and actual implementing entities, the official Competition website, submission portal, valid contact email address, correspondence address, and the publication date and version of these Rules and Regulations. Channels for registration, enquiries, objections and personal information rights requests shall be operational.

Entrants shall read these Rules and Regulations and the relevant notices before submission and confirm their acceptance through the submission system. The Organiser shall prominently draw attention to provisions materially affecting entrants’ interests, including licensing, costs, custody of physical works and liability, and provide explanations upon request.

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