Sarabia Jewelry to design Miss Dinagyang 2018 crown

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The upcoming Miss Dinagyang 2018 pageant will surely be more prestigious as the winner will be enthroned with a uniquely-Ilonggo crown designed by Sarabia Jewelry.

Sarabia Jewelry's Ms. Regine Sarabia-Espinosa, Brand Ambassadress Vanessa Ann Caro, and Miss Dinagyang executive director Alex Soncio.

Mr. Alex Soncio, Miss Dinagyang executive director, and Ms. Regine Sarabia-Espinosa, third generation metalsmith and lead designer of Sarabia Jewelry, signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Monday, making Iloilo's heritage brand the official jeweler of Miss Dinagyang 2018.

"It is fitting that we have just launched the logo for Miss Dinagyang 2017 and now, we launched a new crown for the Miss Dinagyang on the Dinagyang Festival’s 50th anniversary," said Soncio.

"It is something we can call our very own as our own local artist and brand has designed it especially for this occasion."

Studied and trained as Metalsmith in The Alchemia School of Contemporary Jewelry at Florence, Italy, Sarabia-Espinosa will personally design the new crown which will be set with multi-faceted gems and crystals on shiny buffed silver and gold metals.

It will also be adorned with a special stone that will feature Iloilo’s very own Lin-Ay, the lady sculpture found on top of the dome of the City Hall.

Alex Soncio and Regine Sarabia-Espinosa signing the MOA designating Sarabia Jewelry as official jeweler of Miss Dinagyang 2018.

"I am excited to design a crown. It was a great task to find something uniquely Ilonggo and with the help of Tito Alex (Soncio) and major tips from our brand Ambassador and former Miss Dinagyang 2016 Vanessa Caro on how they wore their crown, I was much encouraged and very challenged to produce the best crown for the Miss Dinagyang,” Regine said.

DESIGN INSPIRATION AND SPECIAL FEATURE OF THE CROWN

Sarabia-Espinosa and Soncio wanted a design which will be very Ilonggo. The task was simple: show a feature of the crown which can emphasize this crown is especially made only for Ilonggos.

Inspired by the Wallace Chan one of the top designers in the world, whose cut and style are unique and famous in the business, and using elements of the Intaglio printmaking and Cameo carving of Europe, the special gemstone in the middle of the crown design for the Miss Dinagyang 2018 will feature the carving of the famous Lin-Ay sang Iloilo (The Lady of Iloilo).

Specially ordered for Iloilo, the middle gemstone undergoes a unique creation process. The carving is achieved by drilling a hole in the back of the multi faceted stone and then carving and etching the image in reverse so that when viewed from the front, the image then reflects multiple times.

The technique requires very fast drilling, then cooling in water because of the friction caused by the head of the drilling. This is done multiple times, drilling then cooling. It’s a very expensive and tedious hand crafted process. Aside from that special stone, several multifaceted gemstones and crystals will be included in the design on shiny buffed silver and gold metals.

It is but fitting to crown it on one of Ilongga beauties on January next year. The actual crown will be done and launched in October and exhibited to the public.

PUBLIC TO CHOOSE THE CROWN FROM TWO DESIGNS

Sarabia-Espinosa and Soncio have chosen two designs which the public can choose from for the event. The voting aims to include all Ilonggos in the event by choosing which design they prefer for the Miss Dinagyang 2018. This way the Ilonggo public can engage in event and it will be the people’s choice.

BULALAKAW: Inspired by the stars which the participants of the Dinagyang Festival become.

BAYBAY:  Inspired by the seas and waters surrounding Iloilo.

All of Iloilo is invited to go to Sarabia Jewelry page in Facebook to vote (or go to this link) which crown is fitting for Miss Dinagyang. They can choose one from the two designs: “Baybay” inspired by the seas and waters surrounding Iloilo, or “Bulalakaw” inspired by the stars in which the participants of the Dinagyang Festival become. Voting will start August 21 to August 31, 2017. The winning crown design will be announced on September 1, 2017 which Regine will start working on in time for the October launch. The special stone with the Lin-Ay will be placed on the winning crown design.

Sarabia Jewelry has proudly adorned the Ilonggos, from all ages and all walks of life, with fine jewelry for more than 70 years. Sarabia Jewelry opened its first jewelry store in 1945 at the heart of the city, in Guanco Street. Seven decades later, Sarabia Jewelry still stands in downtown Iloilo boasting of a massive collection of fine jewelry and most of all, an atelier with skilled artisans and craftsmen on its upper floors.

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