The American Jewelry Design Council (AJDC) has announced that Sasha Samuels is the grand winner of its New Talent competition for 2001. She will receive a one-of-a-kind trophy created by Michael Good at a presentation ceremony at the Jewelers of America International Jewelry show in New York.

Samuels earned a BFA degree from the Rhode Island School of Design and has studied in New York City and Santa Fe, N.M., as well as with Italian masters in Rome and Florence, Italy. Her designs will be exhibited in the New Designer Gallery at the JA show in July.

The New Talent competition is one of several programs developed by the AJDC to recognize and promote jewelry of original design as art. AJDC is a not-for-profit educational organization composed of 30 of North America’s most notable jewelry designers.