Last week, I viewed jewelry submissions to the American Gem Trade Association’s (AGTA) annual Spectrum and Cutting Edge Awards. This year marked the venue’s 25th anniversary. For those unfamiliar with the Awards, they are an opportunity for big names and newcomers alike to demonstrate their talent in the design of colored gemstone jewelry and the unique and expert cutting of loose colored stones.
Hundreds of entries are judged across 19 different categories, including Evening Wear, and judges come from all corners of industry—manufacturing, editorial, and lapidary. Nearly all of the submissions are beautiful and expertly crafted, but every year, I always walk away from the awards thinking that many of the pieces (including winning pieces) appeal to too-specific target niches and customers, even though the awards are supposed to be a showcase for innovative and saleable creations. This is my opinion, and I encourage others to weigh in on the topic.
Each year when I see all of the submissions versus what has been selected to receive top honors, I wonder how much salability factors into the judging process. For example, this year’s Best in Show piece—the most outstanding piece of jewelry from the entire body of submissions—is a carved, natural-color green Turquoise horse head pin. I certainly see the skill in crafting the piece, know the stone’s color is rare and that the artist, Frederic Sage, makes beautiful jewelry. But, I wonder about the limited appeal of such a specific piece and its designation as the ‘best’ in the entire show. I think that the best piece of the show should be one that has a more mainstream appeal, and that many people can easily envision themselves owning and wearing.
At any rate, I’ll detail my favorites from the event and why I think they should inspire delight, purchases, and interest in the designers who made them. Being a colored gemstone competition, I liked a number of the pieces for the way they showed off extraordinary stones. Incredible focus points don’t need complicated settings because the stones will command attention. Overall, I pick jewelry to highlight that is well-made, generally attractive (which is somewhat subjective, of course), and is interesting and unusual without being far-out, hard to understand, or intimidating. A circle of white gold on a chain is kind of boring, but an intricate gemstone likeness of a reptile might be too specific to appreciate by most. And since a jeweler’s goal is to sell and a collector’s aim is to garner compliments, the aesthetics we create are meaningful.
All photos were taken by me at the press preview.
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I love these earrings because they are pearls (of course) and because the pair will punctuate a black cocktail dress with just the right dash of color. Cultured pearls with spinels, tourmalines, citrines, amethysts, and sapphires in 14k gold. Alejandra Solomone for Alejandra Jewels, www.alejandrajewels.com.
