Joanna Seetoo Schiele, a San Diego–based jewelry designer and goldsmith, has donated an award-winning piece of jewelry to the Gemological Institute of America Museum. The piece, titled “Elation,” is a 22k, hand-fabricated gold ring with granulation and anticlastic raising. It is set with a 3-ct. trilliant-cut golden chrysoberyl and two rubies.

The ring received a 1995 American Gem Trade Association Spectrum Award. Seetoo Schiele, who established Joanna Seetoo Designs while living in New York in 1991, has also won three Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America Vision Awards for her work.

“When GIA Museum Director Elise Misiorowski told me that donated, award-winning pieces would inspire future designers, how could I not want to be a part of that cycle?” Seetoo Schiele asked. “The jewelry industry has been very generous towards me, and it’s a privileged necessity to give back.”

Kimberly Vagner, In-Kind Gifts project manager for GIA, said donations like Seetoo Schiele’s help build the Museum’s permanent collection.

“It’s so important for our Museum to archive award-winning pieces like Joanna’s beautiful ‘Elation’ ring, which showcases her fine craftsmanship and design,” Vagner said. “Those qualities make jewelry that is fascinating for our visitors to admire, and important for our students to examine.”

JCK