Yamawaki College of Art Seminar “The Evolution of Gemstone Cutting Styles” by Kyoichi Suwa, a legend in the jewelry industry, will be held on October 5th!

[Yamawaki Art College] Held on October 5th! Announcement of the seminar “Evolution of Gemstone Cutting Styles” by jewelry industry legend Kyoichi Suwa ​
Yamawaki Art College Press release: September 25, 2025 Held on October 5th! Announcement of the seminar “Evolution of Gemstone Cutting Styles” by jewelry industry legend Kyoichi Suwa ~Introducing the latest information on competition awards and prize-winning works by Yamawaki College of Art students~ Image
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Photography: Jun Nakamura Yamawaki College of Art and Design (Location: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Principal: Miki Ochiai), a design school directly connected to Ichigaya Station in Tokyo, will host a seminar titled “Evolution of Gemstone Cutting Styles” by Kyoichi Suwa, a leading authority in the jewelry industry, at its campus on Sunday, October 5, 2025. When Mr. Suwa supervised the National Museum of Nature and Science’s special exhibition “Gems: Miracles Created by the Earth” in 2022, he created a timeline of the history of gemstones for 200 rings from the “Hashimoto Collection”*1. In this seminar, Mr. Suwa will explain the “evolution of gemstone cutting styles” that he discovered in the process of creating this timeline. A copy of the special exhibition catalog will be presented to all participants as a textbook. This course will stimulate intellectual curiosity and is aimed at a wide range of people, including those in the jewelry industry, jewelry users, those interested in art, culture, design and gemstones, and creators. *1 Approximately 870 pieces of jewelry, mainly rings, donated by Mr. Kanshi Hashimoto For details and to apply, click here ​ • Suwa A rare opportunity to learn face-to-face from Kyoichi, who has accumulated 60 years of experience in the jewelry business. • An intellectual experience that explores the influence of gemstone cutting styles on jewelry design • A rare opportunity to hear stories from the catalog’s author
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/164960/5/164960-5-4a75c74e1bca015945420be8cb956de2-581×480.jpg Photography: Jun Nakamura ■Instructor introduction Yasukazu Suwa Chairman of Suwa Trading Co., Ltd. Third-generation jeweler. The first Japanese person to obtain the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) Gemologist (G.G.) license. He supervised the special exhibition “Gemstones: Miracles Created by the Earth” held at the National Museum of Nature and Science in Tokyo. The “SUWA Quality Scale,” which is the basis for judging the quality of gemstones, was also on display, attracting attention. He has written many books, most recently “Those who know are benefited: The Value of Gems” (Shincho Shinsho). He has made great efforts to spread gemstone culture, and has provided considerable support to our school in the educational field, donating many of his books and lending out the “SUWA Quality Scale” for classes. “Evolution of Gemstone Cutting Styles” Event Overview ■Date and Time: Sunday, October 5, 2025, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM (Registration begins at 1:30 PM) ■Venue: Yamawaki College of Art (4-8-21
Kudanminami, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) ■Course Fee: ¥6,000 (tax included) ■Instructor: Kyoichi Suwa, Chairman of Suwa Trading Co., Ltd. ■Organizer: Yamawaki Art College ■Inquiries: gemseminar@yamawaki.ac.jp Register to participate ​ *Applications for this seminar will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note that applications will be closed once the maximum number of participants has been reached.
Three students won and were selected in the Newcomer category of the JJA Jewelry Design Awards 2025! ~Introducing the latest information on competition awards and prizes won by our students~ We are pleased to announce that 23 works out of 61 in the “Newcomer Division” of the JJA Jewelry Design Award 2025, the highest level jewelry design contest held every two years and sponsored by the Japan Jewelry Association, have been awarded to third-year Jewelry Design student Kosugi. We are pleased to announce that Kira has won the Newcomer Excellence Award, while third-year student Ako Maron and second-year student Naganuma Mashiro have both been selected as finalists. We are also pleased to announce that Kenichiro Kiyono, a first-year student in the Visual Design Department, won the Excellence Award and Nagisa Ujii, a second-year student in the Visual Design Department, won the Jury’s Award at the 16th Annual Banfu Student T-Shirt Design Contest (total number of entries: 2,612), sponsored by Hokaze Co., Ltd.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/164960/5/164960-5-d3e3ab48e8d45ef5ffc5998e161577a6-3000×2647.jpg ▲’JJA Jewelry Design Award 2025′ Second Division [Excellent Newcomer Award] Jewelry Design Department – Kira Kosugi 2nd year
production/Necklace “Curve”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/164960/5/164960-5-9f332c5bdcaa088c76a0f8fdbd7e429d-1331×1000.jpg ▲’JJA Jewelry Design Award 2025′ Second Division [Selected]Jewelry Design Department: Ako Maron 1st year production/body ring “Sunlight”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/164960/5/164960-5-8eba45114506ad59cad25945fefa5767-750×1125.jpg ▲’JJA Jewelry Design Award 2025′ Second Division [Selected] Jewelry Design Department: Mashiro Naganuma First-year student’s project: Necklace “Chain Tie”
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/164960/5/164960-5-312dbf3b9919ba1feb2938d541612d25-855×680.jpg ▲”16th Banfu Student T-Shirt Design Contest” Excellence Award Kiyono, 1st year, Visual Design Department Kenichiro
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/164960/5/164960-5-808932e5a2eb4ebfd6abccb94905b507-856×680.jpg ▲”16th Banfu Student T-Shirt Design Contest” Judge’s Award … Nagisa About Yamawaki Art College
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/164960/5/164960-5-201a03ef39968024da97362087d16ed5-287×92.png Yamawaki Art College was founded in 1929 by fashion industry pioneer Toshiko Yamawaki. For 96 years, the college has been providing practical design education. Currently, as a three-year vocational school, it offers three departments: Visual Design, Space Design, and Jewelry Design. Based on the founding philosophy of “the spirit of beauty and creativity,” the college aims to cultivate highly sensitive, work-ready students. With small class sizes and a three-step curriculum (basics, application, and practice), even those with no prior design experience can gradually acquire knowledge and skills to a level where they can immediately contribute to the workplace. In March 2024, the college was certified by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology as a “vocational practice specialized course.” The college aims to pursue design expression that contributes to society and improve communication. The school is also directly connected to Ichigaya Station, which offers excellent transportation access, making it an easy commute to various parts of Tokyo. 【School Overview】 School Name: Yamawaki Art College Address: 4-8-21 Kudanminami, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Founded: 1929 Principal: Miki Ochiai URL: https://yamawaki.ac.jp/ ■Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yamawaki.design/