A dance performed during the press briefing of the Miss Jewelry Việt Nam 2019 pageant . — VNS Photo Quốc Trưởng
HÀ NỘI — The ninth edition of the Miss Jewelry Việt Nam beauty contest was launched on Thursday at a press briefing in Hà Nội.
Run by the Việt Nam Gemstones, Jewelry and Handicraft Association, this is the ninth edition of the biennial pageant that began in 2003.
The contest is held to honour the beauty of Vietnamese women as well as jewellery collections created by talented craftsmen, according to Lê Ngọc Dũng, head of the organising board.
Vietnamese women aged 18-27 living in the country or abroad are eligible to participate.The candidates will compete in evening gowns and áo dài (traditional long robes) while wearing exclusive jewellery collections.
The organisers are also calling for craftsmen nationwide to create jewellery collections for the contest, with awards up for grabs.
The qualifying round for the beauty pageant will run until September 5 nationwide.
Candidates must stand 1.6m tall at least, be unmarried high school graduates and be cosmetic surgery free, said Dũng.
“The contestants are required to present the ideas of craftsmen who made the jewellery collections they wear,” he said.
A notable change to this year’s competition is the elimination of the swimsuit segment.
“Many beauty contests in the world leave out swimsuit segment to show respect to women and focus on intelligent beauty,” said Dũng. “Many cultural managers in Việt Nam suggested we follow the trend.”
After the initial qualifying stage, 70 candidates will progress to the semi-finals, which will be held in HCM City on September 14.
The top 30 will enter the final round on November 19 in Phú Quốc Island in the southern province of Kiên Giang.
The winner of the competition will be awarded VNĐ500 million (US$22,000) and have possession of a crown made from precious gems worth VNĐ3 billion ($130,000) until the next edition of the contest.
The contest is licensed by the Department of Perfoming Arts, so the winner of the contest will be eligible to represent Việt Nam at international contests.
Other sub-categories on offer include Miss Áo Dài, Miss Sea, Miss Evening Gown and Miss Friendly. — VNS