In celebration of the 2022 Women in Music Awards on Wednesday night (March 2), Billboard has announced a partnership with jewelry designer Maggi Simpkins to create a custom music pendant for all this year’s honorees.
The exclusive 20mm sterling silver, 14k gold-plated pendant hangs on an 18” sterling silver, 14k yellow gold-plated chain and features a treble clef on its face, as well as a Billboard Women in Music x Maggi Simpkins engraved logo on the back.
The special edition Women in Music pendants are also available for pre-order to the public starting now for $250 on Billboard’s online shop here.
“The whole idea was to create something beautiful without the typical, branded Billboard logo,” Simpkins tells Billboard of designing the piece. “Any time you’re creating a piece of jewelry for 10 different women, it’s like, ‘How can we streamline this and make it as wearable as possible while also trying to be mindful of people’s tastes?’ At the end of the day, what we just kept coming back to was everyone’s love for music, and what’s the most beautiful symbol we could think of to represent that? A treble clef, which I love.”
Simpkins, who has been designing commissioned pieces for the past decade with an emphasis on memories and storytelling, says her interest in jewelry stems back to childhood, when she would look through her mother’s jewelry box full of pieces owned by her grandmother and great grandmother. “I’ve been choosing to use my creativity and art to make pieces that tell stories and last, that can be passed down through generations,” she adds. “How cool is it going to be somewhere down the line when someone’s granddaughter inherits this necklace? Like, ‘This was given to your grandma by Billboard.’ You can’t wear a trophy, you know?”
The honorees who will receive the pendant at Wednesday night’s Billboard Women in Music Awards include Woman of the Year Olivia Rodrigo; Icon Award recipient Bonnie Raitt; Powerhouse Award recipient Doja Cat; Rising Star Award recipient Gabby Barrett; Impact Award recipient H.E.R.; Executive of the Year Award recipient Golnar Khosrowshahi; Rule Breaker Award recipient Karol G; Trailblazer Award recipient Phoebe Bridgers; Game Changer Award recipient Saweetie; and Chart Breaker Award recipient Summer Walker.
“Women are such powerful creatures and our stories, our voices are so important and it’s so important that they’re shared,” Simpkins says of this year’s honorees. “I think the world doesn’t move without women. To celebrate women’s hard work, achievements and voices is a wonderful thing and I’m really proud and honored to be part of it.”
The Billboard Women in Music Awards will be held on Wednesday at the YouTube Theatre in Inglewood, Calif., sponsored by Twitter and Honda. The ceremony will stream live on Twitter at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET. For more information and the latest announcements, visit BillboardWomenInMusic.com and follow on Instagram and Twitter at @billboard #BBWomenInMusic.
Head to Billboard’s online shop to pre-order the 2022 Billboard Women in Music Awards necklace now.