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AGTA Names 2019 Spectrum Award Winners August 14, 2019 (0 comments)

Dallas, TX—The American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) has announced the 2019 winners of its prestigious Spectrum Awards, designed to highlight the use of colored gemstones and cultured pearls in fine jewelry. (Left: "Emergence" cuff by Roland Krainz won the Best Use of Platinum And Color category.) 

The competition was held August 3-4 in New York City,  The 2019 panel of judges included:  John Carter, Jack Lewis Fine Jewelers; Paula Crevoshay, Mellika Company, Inc. /CREVOSHAY; Myriam Galli, Gemveto Jewelry Company, Inc.; Brett Kosnar, Kosnar Gem Co.; and Naomi Sarna, Naomi Sarna Designs.

The Spectrum competition also includes AGTA’s Cutting Edge Awards for lapidary arts.

“The judging week for the AGTA Spectrum Awards continues to be an absolute highlight of our year, said Douglas K. Hucker, CEO of AGTA. “When we see the entries coming into our office and those submitted during our New York City drop-off program, there’s always a lot of internal speculation about how the judges will respond to each piece. After all these years, there [still] is no way we can anticipate the dynamics that will develop within the panel, nor the pieces they will ultimately select after hours of contemplation and discourse.”

This year’s competition resulted in many first-time winners, he continued, noting that the quality of materials entered were “absolutely superb.”

Here is the list of “best of” winners and first-place winners in each category. To see the full list of winners, including second-place, honorable mentions, and Cutting Edge (lapidary arts), click here.

Best of Show: David Nassi, 100% Natural, Ltd., for a 30.19 ct. untreated cushion-cut Tanzanian red spinel:

Best Use of Color: David White, Aucoin Hart Jewelers, for 18k yellow and white gold cufflinks featuring sapphires (3.09 ctw.), diamonds (2.36 ctw.), and tsavorite garnets (1.37 ctw.):

Best Use of Pearls: Chris Faber, Stuller, Inc. for 18K rose and white gold cufflinks featuring 12-15 mm South Sea cultured pearls accented with black diamonds (5.69 ctw.) and rubies:

Best Use of Platinum and Color: Roland Krainz, Krainz Creations, for his platinum “Emergence” cuff bracelet featuring sapphires (9.23 ctw.), emeralds (1.41 ctw.), rubies (1.08 ctw.) and diamonds (1.17 ctw.) set on a stingray cuff (See top of page).

Best Use of Platinum Crown: Heena Shah, Valani, for a platinum “Nova” ring featuring 7.17 ct. hexagon emerald accented with kite-shaped emeralds (0.98 ctw.) and diamonds (2.63 ctw.):

Fashion Forward: Adam Neeley, Adam Neeley Fine Art Jewelry, for purple titanium, 14K white gold, and green VeraGold “Aria” earrings featuring indicolite tourmalines (41.45 ctw.) accented with tsavorite garnets (3.34 ctw.) and diamonds (2.42 ctw.):

Editors’ Choice: Sean Gilson, Sean Gilson, for 18.5k and 18k yellow gold earrings featuring coral (12.50 grams) and turquoise (7.8 grams):

Bridal Wear, First Place: Bella Campbell, Campbellian Collection/BHI, for an 18k white gold bracelet (below left) featuring rainbow moonstones (20.00 ctw.), blue sapphires (2.0 ctw.) and diamonds (2.51 ctw.)

Business/Day Wear, First Place: Ricardo Basta, E. Eichberg, Inc., for an 18k yellow gold “Karma Chameleon” ring (above right) featuring a 15.27 ct. barrel facet-top tourmaline accented with sapphires (1.58 ctw.), tsavorite garnets (1.46 ctw.), rubies (0.28 ctw.) and spessartite garnets (0.02 ctw.)

Classical, First place: Jeffrey Bilgore, Jeffrey Bilgore, LLC, for a platinum bracelet featuring a 3.00 ct. Russian demantoid garnet accented with Russian demantoid Garnets (12.20 ctw.) and diamonds (4.18 ctw.). Shown below left:

Evening Wear, First Place: Tanja Schuetz, DuftyWeis Opals, Inc., for an 18k white gold necklace (above right) featuring a 49.80 ct. boulder opal accented with blue sapphires (3.77 ctw.), tsavorite garnets (3.11 ctw.) and diamonds (1.12 ctw.)

Men’s Wear, First Place (see Best Use Of Color, above): David White, Aucoin Hart Jewelers.

Objects of Art, First Place: Logan Cutshall, Hunt Country Jewelers, for an 18k white, yellow, and rose gold “Treasure Hunt” pendant featuring a 180 ct. rough aquamarine accented with heliodor, aquamarine, opals, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, spinels and andalusite:

For the complete list of winners, including the Cutting Edge awards for lapidary arts, click here.