The American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2023 AGTA Spectrum & Cutting Edge Awards. This year’s competition took place Oct. 24–25 in Dallas, at the Omni Frisco Hotel at the Star, which served as a sponsor.
Entries to this year’s competition are 24% greater than last year, with a 28% increase in the Business/Day Wear category and a 26% increase in the Evening Wear category.
While there were—not surprisingly—many Sapphires and Sapphire jewels entered in the competition, other trends included Tourmaline, Garnet (including many tsavorite Garnet-accented pieces), enameled jewels, cabochon-cut gems, natural Pearls, and finished jewels with fantasy-cut or carved gems as focal points.
In the Spectrum division, extraordinary entries included an exceptional 5.34 ct. kite-shape Mahenge Spinel in the Business/Day Wear division and a massive two-piece platinum and 18K gold necklace with nearly 73 carats of Garnet in the Men’s division.
In Cutting Edge, meanwhile, loose gems ranged from a 9.49 ct. peach Mahenge Malaya Garnet to a 10.42 ct. oval Portuguese-cut Rhodochrosite. There were also a number of green gems entered into both divisions of the competition this year.
“This year’s Awards are one of our best ever,” says CEO John W. Ford Sr., who has now been at the helm of AGTA for over a year. “We had an additional 100 entries this year over last, and many of them had stunning green and blue-green gems. The Omni Hotels are the new home of the Awards for the next few years, and we hope to take the competition national to other Omni venues.”
Judges this year included Allan Koo, A. Koo & Co.; Brent Malgarin, Elegant Gems, Ltd.; Christina Gandia Gambale, Greenwich St. Jewelers; Lika Behar, Lika Behar Jewelry; and Clayton Bromberg, Underwood’s Jewelers (Jacksonville, Fla.).
“The 2023 AGTA Spectrum & Cutting Edge Awards have a new home and a new vibe!” says Kimberly Collins, owner of Kimberly Collins Colored Gems and president of the AGTA board of directors. “Our judges were amazing and worked so well together.
They seem to be extremely on the same page with the selections they made. As always, the integrity of the judging competition is of the upmost importance. I felt the winners had a classic, timeless aesthetic this year. I’m so proud to be part of a judging competition that holds itself to the most stringent standards.”
Many of the winning pieces will be on display during the 2024 AGTA GemFair Tucson, Jan. 30–Feb. 4. The AGTA Spectrum Gala is the highlight of 2024 Gem Week festivities and will take place on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024, in the newly built addition to the Tucson Convention Center.
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