The American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its Spectrum Awards and accepting submissions for the 2004 Spectrum and Cutting Edge Awards competition—a contest of workmanship, creativity, and innovation.
The deadline for entry is Sept. 22, 2003, and the competition will be held in October 2003. Entry forms are available on the AGTA Web site (www.agta.org) or by calling (800) 972-1162. Winning entries will be displayed at the AGTA GemFair in Tucson, Ariz., Feb. 4-9, 2004, as well as at the 2004 JCK Show in Las Vegas.
Entries will be evaluated by a panel of industry judges on the basis of overall beauty and wearability, innovative design, effective use of materials, quality of gemstones, quality of workmanship, broad-based consumer appeal, and potential to generate positive publicity for natural colored gemstones. Spectrum Award categories include Bridal, Business/Day, Casual, Men’s, and Evening Wear.
All designs that qualify for the Spectrum Awards competition also will be considered for Manufacturing Honors. This award celebrates outstanding use of colored gemstones and cultured pearls in jewelry appropriate to be manufactured in production quantities.
Platinum Honors, sponsored by the Platinum Guild International (PGI) USA, recognizes innovative jewelry designs incorporating either 90% or 95% platinum into a minimum of 75% of the design’s metal(s). The design also may incorporate gold accents. Spectrum Awards entries meeting these requirements will automatically be qualified for Platinum Honors judging.
AGTA has announced a number of changes to its Cutting Edge Awards competition, which honors excellence and creativity in the lapidary arts. Entries include natural colored gemstones, cultured pearls, carvings, other gem materials, and objects of art in North America. A panel of judges will evaluate entries in the Cutting Edge Awards.
The Spectrum and Cutting Edge Awards competitions are aimed at encouraging and highlighting designers and lapidaries as well as increasing interest in natural colored gemstones and cultured pearls.
For complete Spectrum and Cutting Edge information and entry form, contact AGTA at (800) 972-1162 or e-mail: info@agta.org.