Style & Design
Hues on first
The winners of the 34th AGTA Spectrum Awards dazzle with a cornucopia of gems.
By Deborah Yonick
It’s difficult to call out trends in a competition that celebrates the unique and rare. But among the 45 winners of this year’s American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) Spectrum Awards, several favorites rose to the top. Blue and fancy-color sapphires, emeralds, aquamarines, opals, tourmalines, garnets, and zircon stood out in the contest, which received more than 400 entries in its 34th year.
“While blues and greens in any variety of gemstones consistently maintain a stronghold...[one] characteristic of this year’s entries was the breadth of unique color combinations and gem pairings, such as rubies mixed with fire opal or tourmalines coupled with sapphires,” says Michelle Orman, who manages the press event for the design contest. “We also saw more monochromatic pieces and jewelry incorporating a complexity in their design.”
For AGTA CEO Doug Hucker, the most notable trend this year was a wave of young new designers and first-time entrants. First-timers took over a dozen awards, he pointed out following the August event, describing them as bringing “fresh perspectives and a willingness to embrace creative risk in their work.”
Statement pieces were another trend, according to Dallas Prince, one of Spectrum’s five judges. As the only woman on the judges’ panel this year, Prince — who heads Dallas Prince Designs in Los Angeles, California — also noticed that some of the more feminine designs, despite looking fabulous, were not advancing through all the elimination rounds. In general, her advice to designers is “to remember that every single detail of the design will be judged. Overall style, quality, workmanship, gemstones, cutting and wearability are all factors. It cannot just be pretty. It must be superior in all other ways.”
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - November 2018. To subscribe click here.
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