The Jeweler’s Bench Book has been honored by the Society of National Association Publications with its prestigious Excel Award.

Written by Charles Lewton-Brain, a renowned metalsmith and author who heads the jewelry/metals program at the Alberta College of Art & Design in Canada, the book is the second volume in the “Orchid in Print: Maximum Bench Work” series produced by the Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America Press in collaboration with The Ganoksin Project. (“Orchid in Print” is named after the Ganoksin e-mail forum that thousands of jewelry makers turn to daily.)

With full-color illustrations, The Jeweler’s Bench Book covers everything from the basics of bench design to tips for tool storage and arrangement. It includes shop “tours” showing how renowned jewelers have set up their bench areas for maximum efficiency in such tasks as stone setting, wax carving, and general repair and fabrication.

The Excel Awards are an annual competition that recognizes exemplary work in association publications. More than 1,200 magazines, newsletters, scholarly journals, books, electronic publications, and Web sites are judged for editorial quality, design, general excellence, and more.

Copies of The Jeweler’s Bench Book are available for $34.95 through MJSA, Ganoksin, and leading industry distributors, as well as Amazon.com. For more information about the book, including member discounts, contact MJSA at 1-800-444-6572, ext. 3038, or visit mjsa.org. For more information about The Ganoksin Project, the leading online information resource for jewelers worldwide, go to ganoksin.com.

JCK