SYDNEY: Sydney Armenian Varoujan Djevahirdjian from Varoujan Jewellers won the Red Carpet Award at the Harper's BAZAAR Diamond Guild Australia 2009 Jewellery Awards for his 17.04 carat weight diamond ring.

The piece, called Ballerina, is valued at $79,000 and took Djevahirdjian, a proud member of Homenetmen, nine days to make.

Djevahirdjian has been in the industry for 32 years and said: "It's has been a challenging year for jewellers across the world and awards like this give us something to look forward to. The Ballerina piece was inspired by my love of diamonds and extravagant design. The piece contains 69 diamonds and is the perfect ring for diamond lovers!"

Other Sydney Armenians, including Berj Ohannessian of Berjani Jewellers and Raffi Akelian of Raphael Jewellers, finished in the top three of their respective categories.