When the American Gem Trade Association holds its Spectrum Awards each year, designers create innovative pieces of jewelry featuring colored stones. The jewelry runs the gamut from the avant garde to the everyday, but it is definitely not what the average person considers to be “bridal jewelry.” Meanwhile, platinum is perhaps best known around the world for its stronghold in the bridal category, but the popularity of the metal among designers of all jewelry categories shows clearly at the annual Spectrum Awards. This year, nearly half the entries were created in platinum.

To recognize the use of platinum in the designs, the Platinum Guild began a special subcategory of the Spectrum Awards-Platinum Honors. This year, 13 designers received the award.