MJSA NAMES WINNERS OF AMERICAN VISION AWARDS

The Manufacturing Jewelers and Silversmiths of America announced winners of the 1995 American Vision Awards competition during the MJSA Expo New York, held March 12-14. MJSA created the competition four years ago to encourage and reward innovative fine jewelry design.

Robert Jeffrey Dunnington of Designs in Gold, Houston, Tex., won top honors in the professional category for a sketch of an 18k gold ring featuring a graduating set of princess-cut diamonds that are channel-set along the top and down the side.

The runner-up in the professional category was Jody Serago of Somers Point, N.J. Janice K. Heaton, an independent designer from Calabasas, Cal., won an honorable mention.

Hamid Reza Djavaherian’s design of earrings in platinum and 18k gold earned him first place in the student category. Djavaherian is a student at the Gemological Institute of America in Santa Monica, Cal.

Erroll Llynn Wilson, a student at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tenn., won second place in the student category. Nisa Kotigal Felgen, a GIA student, won an honorable mention.

Both first-prize winners received a Steuben glass award. Djavaherian also received an MJSA scholarship.