Winners of the American Facet Award were, not surprisingly, a cross-section of Western Hemisphere cultures. The design contest, focusing on colored gemstone jewelry, received more than 2,500 entries, 362 of which were judged in the final contest. The 47 finalists in the contest—broken into three categories—will now compete with finalists from Europe and Asia for the World Facet Award in 2002.

The top winners in the three categories were:

Exclusive category (genuine gemstones set in precious metals): first place, Patricia Amorim of Joias Reis, Belo Horizonte, Brazil; second place, Cedrick Jihanian of Cedrick Designer Jewelry, Los Angeles; third place, Christina Villar Barros of Villar Joias/VF Metais E Gemas Ltda, São Paulo, Brazil.

Brilliant category (created stones set in all types of materials): first place, Marivaldo Pimentel of Mariva, Santos, Brazil; second place, Lucia Regina Gazineu Abdenur, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; third place, Carla Moreira Pereira Abras of Seculus S/A, Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Student category (renderings): first place, Jeong Yeon Lee, Venice, Calif.; second place, Ludmila Valente Fraga, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; third place, Daniela Pentzke Valsquez, Santiago, Chile.

The Facet Award is sponsored by Signity, Stuller, JA New York, National Jeweler, and IBGM of Brazil.