Jewelers’ Circular Keystone senior editor Rob Bates won a first-place Liddicoat Award for Journalism in the Trade Reporting category from the American Gem Society. His winning article, “Getting Real About Synthetic Diamonds,” appeared in the June 2004 issue of JCK.

Other winners included: “Know the basics before you ring in the holidays with an engagement surprise,” written by Carolyn Bigda for Chicago Tribune in the category of consumer reporting in national/multiple markets; “The Ring’s the Thing,” written by Dee Riggs of the Wenatchee, Wash., World in the category of consumer reporting in a local market; and “Fluxed Up: The Fracture Healing of Ruby,” written by Richard W. Hughes for Ruby-Sapphire.com in the trade journal category.

The awards are named for the late Richard T. Liddicoat, editor-in-chief of the Gemological Institute of America’s scientific journal Gems & Gemology, and are given for articles that further the understanding of gemology issues and ethics in gemology. Awards were presented at the annual AGS Circle of Distinction dinner Aug. 2 in New York.

Each recipient will receive a check for $1,500, a crystal plaque, and a $1,000 donation made in their name to the Richard T. Liddicoat Scholarship Fund at the Gemological Institute of America.