The official grand finals of the Milan World Expo International Jewelry Design Competition was telecast live across the world. Hence, the moment the preliminary rankings of the first segment were announced, the top three contenders—Wen Xinya, Jacqueline Madan and Shen Siwen—instantly became the hottest topics of conversation, garnering intense scrutiny from the media and the wider jewelry profession.
Although the preliminary rankings for the paper designs did not ascertain the final results—according to past experience, there was about an 80-90% chance that the grand champion, runner-up and second runner-up would emerge from among the top three preliminary rankings. There was very little chance for anyone from the last seven positions to make a successful comeback. Nevertheless, it would be a fierce fight between the top three for the final rankings.
