Summary

'The Diggings Ring' designed and made by Laura Deakin, Victoria, 2025.

Large-scale gold oval ring made from 9 carat gold and 18 carat gold plating. It is set with reclaimed microplastics from the waterways of the Victorian goldfield's town of Wandiligong.

Artist Concept Statement
'This piece is a large-scale ring that reflects on the legacy of gold in Victoria and its environmental and cultural entanglements. Finely crafted in solid yellow gold, the ring takes on the shape of an oval, a classic jewellery shape, echoing traditional forms within the State of Victoria Gold Jewellery Collection. Suspended within this oval is the layout of creeks and rivers that run through and around Wandiligong, the small gold mining town in northeast Victoria where I spent the early years of my life, and where my family come from and still live.
Wandliligong was originally home to the first peoples of the Jaithamathang tribe and the name was changed from Growler's Creek in 1872 to honour these original custodians of the land. In the early-mid 1800s Wandiligong became a booming alluvial gold settlement. When the rush subsided, it left behind a scarred and denuded landscape, a stark contrast to the heritage-listed valley it has become today. My grandmother, Coral Bennett, played a key role in its transformation and restoration. She founded the Wandiligong Preservation Society in 1972 and was later awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for her conservation work in the area.
The river and oval border will be made up of a series of tiny hand-fabricated claw-settings, referencing traditional stone-set jewellery. Instead of gemstones however, I will set fragments of microplastic which I've collected along riverbanks and beaches across Victoria as part of a personal mission to help clean up our waterways. Plastic is an increasingly toxic pollutant, killing wildlife and damaging the environment. Set in softly-polished gold, this discarded waste will create a striking visual and material contrast, challenging conventional perceptions of value and permanence.

This work draws on historical pieces from the museum's collection, from cameo brooches of the 1880s, to the mid-century opal ring by William Dunkling, while reframing the narrative through a contemporary lens. It is both homage and critique, and speaks to the enduring scars of extraction, the indigenous people who were displaced, the communities built and lost to gold, and the slow, intentional work of repair.'
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Physical Description

Large-scale gold oval ring set with reclaimed microplastics.

Significance

The State of Victoria Gold Jewellery Collection represents the work of a large number of jewellery makers from Melbourne as well as regional and rural areas across Victoria. For most of the nineteenth and twentieth century, local jewellers were as important as the town's post office, general store or bank, supplying everything from christening mugs to wedding rings to special occasion gifts and mementoes. Although an extensive collection, there is a lack of contemporary pieces, as well as examples exploring the negative side of the gold rush, including displacement of first peoples, racism and fear shown towards migrants and destruction and degradation of the land.

The 2025 Museums Victoria Gold Jewellery Acquisitive Prize offered contemporary artists an opportunity to respond to all elements of the current collection - including stories, ideas and perspectives that are not represented. With particular focus on the Victorian context, the commission seeks to explore the history, use, impact and allure of gold, including impacts on First Peoples communities, landscapes and culture.

The Major Prize winner for 2025 is Laura Deakin, an Australian-born contemporary jeweller whose work combines traditional jewellery techniques with modern and classic materials. Using this contrast, her work focuses on contemporary and political issues. In 2003 she completed a Bachelor of Fine Art (majoring in Contemporary Jewellery and Hollowware) at Monash University. In 2010 she completed a post-graduate Masters of Fine Art at Munich's Academy of Fine Art (Akademie der Bildenden Künste). She currently works full-time as an artist and goldsmith and is founder of the label Coral Covey Jewellery. Her work can be seen in permanent collections at The Museum of Modern Art & Design in Munich, Gallery Marzee, The Netherlands & NVG, Melbourne. She lives and works in Melbourne/Naarm.

'The Diggings Ring' created by Laura is a large-scale ring that reflects on the legacy of gold in Victoria and its environmental and cultural entanglements. Finely crafted in 18-carat yellow gold, the ring takes on the shape of an oval, a classic jewellery shape, echoing traditional forms within the State of Victoria Gold Jewellery Collection. Suspended within this oval is the layout of creeks and rivers that run through and around Wandiligong, the small gold mining town in northeast Victoria where she spent the early years of her life, and where her family come from and still live.

This piece concisely captures the contemporary fear and anxiety about overconsumption and environmental degradation. It reflects the reparative instincts of a society that is more aware of the consequences of the human presence in our natural world. The making of the ring itself is an act of environmental repair and a desire to shrink our impact and repurpose our existing material resources.

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