In October 2018, the campus of the T.G. Desyatkina industrial technical school in Yakutsk hosted the Open Championship of master Gemcutters and Jewelers of Yakutia. The winner of the championship was Vasily Prokopevich Samsonov of the Komdragmetall gemcutting workshop.
The competition drew the best Gemcutters from 5 different gemcutting companies in Yakutia, including DDK and EPL Diamond. The jury consisted of representatives of the Desyatkina industrial technical school, independent experts, and representatives of the gemcutting and jewelry companies of the Republic.
The championship measured the professional skill and practical work by participants. Each gemcutter was given 1, 20 carat, semi-finished diamond and tasked with producing a diamond with the best characteristics while being timed on their work.
Samsonov successfully completed the task with the fastest time and the quality of his work was rated as “Excellent.” Samsonov took 1st place and earns the title “Winner of the Open Championship of master Gemcutters and Jewelers of Yakutia.”