Developing innovative and precious gemstone insertion methods into contemporary jewelry art

Jewelry Art is closely related to precious stones because of their importance in enriching the pieces of jewelry added to them, on both the material and artistic levels. As precious stones are an essential part of the history of the jewelry industry, which led to the accumulation of integrated cultural and aesthetic values associated with them, and varied by the diversity of cultures of the country to which they belong. This research aims to introduce gemstones as main raw materials in teaching methods of designing and implementing contemporary jewelry, within the handcrafts curricula for students of the Department of Art Education at Sultan Qaboos University, due to the economic benefit of this development, represented in supporting entrepreneurship for emerging student projects. Such course development practices in terms of experiential learning have become one of the specific lines of research priority of Sultan Qaboos University in congruence with Oman Vision 2040, which is specific to the main research frameworks related to "curriculum development", stated particularly in Item No. 2-8: ?keeping pace with global trends on creativity and innovation in life skills curricula and its inclusion of entrepreneurial concepts?, according to the research proposals approved by the Advisory Council of the Faculty of education. That is, the development of innovative and precious gemstone methods in the art of contemporary jewelry is congruent with contemporary global trends. On the other hand, it represents a supportive field for students to develop their skills in creating such contemporary methods, which opens up prospects to start up their independent projects within the scope of entrepreneurship. It provides them with opportunities to earn income, and not just relying on traditional recruitment opportunities. On the other hand, the works of art workshop lacks this development, which has not been achieved yet, despite the fact that it represents a basic element of many teaching courses in multiple international and Arab universities and institutes. Therefore, this research is targeted towards achieving this development in the teaching process through conducting innovative and creative student experiments which aim to enrich the local and global market. This research proposal focuses on three integrated areas: First, a theoretical aspect that includes the definition of precious stones, their history and methods of introducing them into jewelry crafting, and this aspect ? in addition to being a theoretical framework of this research ? is a scientific material that will be used to support the teaching material directed to students. Secondly: an applied and procedural aspect, represented in the development of creative ideas that allow the production of artistic models similar to precious stones derived from student productions, using local environmental and industrial materials surrounding them that are contemporary in accordance with the current global trends in the art of jewelry design and industry. As for the third research focus, which is the technical and laboratory aspect, it is represented in the development of ways to add innovative stones in the metal used in casting. In this context, the research deals with the factors that led to the development of methods of inserting precious stones, including technological innovations in the field of improving and cutting stones, and the materials used in fixing. It also highlights the innovative contemporary designs and technologies that allow the insertion of gemstones with precision and aesthetic perfection in the art of contemporary jewelry. Besides that, the research discusses the impact of current artistic and cultural trends on the use of gemstones in jewelry design. The research also deals with the efforts exerted in developing new and sustainable materials for fixing stones, with a focus on the sustainability and environmental impact of the jewelry industry, including jewelry pieces and their implementation within the course workshop of the Art Education Department. Highlighting the integration of the research focus areas, this study includes a review and analysis of recent developments in the methods of introducing gemstones into the contemporary jewelry industry, with a focus on the technical and artistic innovations that affected this field.