The American Jewelry Design Council (AJDC) is collaborating with Gemological Institute of America to create a special collection of contemporary designer jewelry.

The collection will consist of signature pieces gifted to GIA by AJDC members. Each piece will best represent the AJDC member’s personal style. Jose Hess, an accomplished jewelry designer, has agreed to be the campaign’s honorary chairperson. Award winning designers, including Jane Bohan, Michael Good, Susan Helmich, Scott Keating, Cristophe Krahenmann, and Mark Schneider have already agreed to create pieces for the collection.

AJDC is involved in order to help GIA add to its museum display collection through signature designer pieces, said Patricia Syvrud, GIA manager of Collection Development and In-Kind Gifts.

“We’re hoping to have the collection ready to debut at next year’s JCK Las Vegas Show in June,” Syvrud said. “We’d like the collection to be featured in our traveling exhibits so that people from around the globe can get a chance to see these incredible designer pieces.”

“I think this is an extremely, extremely worthwhile project, because I believe very strongly in the AJDC,” Hess added. “Every member of the AJDC has been asked to create a piece for this campaign and I would say a good, healthy percentage is likely to do so. Each artist that designs a signature piece for the collection will do their utmost to create something very special and unique, and something out of the ordinary.”

The AJDC is a nonprofit organization, which recognizes and promotes jewelry of original design as art.

JCK