13 Favorite Jewelry Designs From the 2018 AGTA Spectrum Awards

Yesterday we reported on the winners of the 2018 AGTA Spectrum Awards. And just like last year, the announcement was preceded by a press event that corralled not just the winners, runners-up, and honorable mentions in each category, but also the full register of submissions in all their head-spinningly gorgeous glory.

Naturally, JCK had boots on the ground at this important event. This year I noted an abundance of impeccable citrines and yellow sapphires, plus plenty of Paraiba, boulder opal, and aquamarine glamazons. More than a few submissions featured demantoid garnets, morganite, and zircons, which are now on my watch list.

Butterfly motifs were also well represented, and a new stone has captured my heart: rhodonite, courtesy of one Leon Megé.

Ricardo Basta, winner of the Best Use of Color Award, had exquisite submissions in nearly every category, but I’ve chosen to spotlight a design done in steely neutrals. The ring has an otherworldly quality, alternately reminding me of Star Wars spacecraft and something a costume designer might pull for Hecate in a futuristic staging of Macbeth.

Below are my favorite jewels, the ones I’m still thinking about days later.