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Tucson, AZ—In  a sign of renewed economic optimism, participants at Centurion 2011 contributed more than $44,000 to Jewelers For Children. The contributions represent a triple increase over 2010 figures, and were collected during multiple events taking place during Centurion, held January 29-February 1.

First, the annual silent auction—which featured four Rolex watches among the lots—netted $10,750 for the charity, according to David Rocha, executive director of Jewelers for Children.

Jeweler Marc Solomon, left, discusses bidding with David Rocha at the JFC Silent Auction booth.

During a special ceremony honoring founder and president Howard Hauben on the occasion of the show’s 10^th anniversary, Centurion exhibitors presented a check for $5,000 in Hauben’s name to the charity. Exhibitors Jeff Feero of Alex Sepkus, New York, and Jack Abraham of Jack Abraham – The Precious Collection, New York, each also made a $5,000 matching donation, then Hauben also made another $5,000 donation as an expression of gratitude for the honor. Total monies raised that evening totaled $20,000.

Later, a two-day Texas Hold ’Em tournament netted $13,420 in donations from the players, including $8,000 in matching donations from exhibitor Le Vian, New York, bringing the grand total to an estimated $44,170.

Winning Texas Texas Hold ’Em players in the first round, held Monday, January 31, included: Moris Hadjibay of New York-based Bayco, Arun Bohra of Los Angeles-based Arunashi, and Dan Grunwald of D. Grunwald Jewelers, Geneva, IL. Tuesday’s winners included John Morabito, Centurion registration management, Merrick, NY, Beny Aviram of Spark Creations and Sonny Sethi of Tara, both based in New York.