> Tracy Borlase wins Diamond Design Competion

Winning Diamond Necklace Inspired by Oprah Winfrey

TORONTO, Nov 03  The judges of Canadas Excellence in Design 2006 competition have awarded Tracy Borlase, of Tracy Borlase Jewellery Inc., top prize in the diamonds category. The piece has quite a story, Tracy says of her winning diamond necklace. One of my clients was going to appear on the Oprah Winfrey Show [air date pending] and she was thinking shed love to wear a piece of my jewellery.

The 35-year-old designer created the piece, O Afrique, as a tribute to both her own South African heritage and Ms. Winfreys African heritage. The small O shaped pendant represents the disc-shaped jewellery popular in Africa and also stands for Oprah. It features a distinctively zebra-striped pattern of 225 black and white diamonds. The pendant hangs from a black, rhodium-plated 14K white gold chain.

Tracy herself has quite a story, too. When she lived in her native South Africa, she ran a successful jewellery business and studio in Johannesburg, where she won several awards for her jewellery designs. As a young woman in the post-Apartheid climate of violence, electrical fences and highjackings, however, Borlase felt increasingly at risk. She left her country eight years ago, for her own safety, and now lives and works in Toronto.

Tracy meets with clients one-on-one, in the comfort of their offices, boardrooms, or homes, to create custom designs for jewellery or corporate gifts. Borlase also remodels old jewellery, and recently launched several new jewellery collections, including her Out of Africa collection as well as jewellery designs based on two of her greatest passions: daisies and chocolate.

Excellence in Design 2006 is the first competition Tracy has entered since arriving in Canada. The annual competition is sponsored by Canadian Jeweller magazine and JVC. The winners of six categories  diamonds, Canadian diamonds, gold, pearls, platinum and coloured gemstones  were honoured at the awards ceremony held at the King Edward Hotel on October the 28th. Tracy is thrilled with the win and excited about taking her business to the next level, which is to establish ties with the fashion industry.

Contact: Tracy Borlase: 416-440-0220
tracy.borlase@sympatico.ca
http://www.tracyborlasejewellery.ca/