This year, the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) will celebrate the 20th anniversary of its Spectrum Awards with a variety of events designed to get the competition on the fashion forefront.
The competition will be held in October in New York City, and AGTA has planned a gala to kick off the festivities. The guest list includes the nation’s top fashion and accessories editors, stylists, society columnists, and other fashion divas. Every piece entered in the Spectrum Awards competition—which includes the Cutting Edge Awards, Manufacturing Honors, and Platinum Honors—will be on display at the gala.
AGTA has enlisted a prestigious list of industry experts to judge this year’s competition, including Alan Friedman, Alan Friedman Co., Beverly Hills; John Hardy, John Hardy Collection, New York and Bali; John Hatleburg, John Hatleburg, New York; Michael Ridding, Silverhorn, Santa Barbara, Calif.; Mark Schneider, Schneider Design Studio, Long Beach, Calif.; and Carrie Soucy, JCK magazine, New York.
The AGTA Spectrum Awards competition was created in 1984 to honor, recognize, and promote North American designers and lapidaries whose work utilizes natural colored gemstones and cultured pearls. It’s a contest of workmanship, creativity, and innovation whose winners set standards of excellence for the entire industry.
Spectrum Award entries will be evaluated on the basis of overall beauty and wearability, innovative design, effective use of materials, quality of gemstones, quality of workmanship, broad-based consumer appeal, and the potential to generate positive publicity for natural colored gemstones. Categories include Bridal Wear, Business/Day Wear, Casual Wear, Evening Wear, and Men’s Wear.
Cutting Edge Award entries will be evaluated on the basis of overall beauty, quality and technique of lapidary work, and quality and rarity of the gem material. There are six categories: Open, Pairs and Suites, Faceting, Carving, Combination, and Objects of Art.
The deadline to enter the 2004 Spectrum Awards competition is September 22, 2003. Complete an entry form and return it with the piece(s) along with the entry fee(s). Winners will receive their award(s) at the AGTA Dinner Dance and Awards Gala on Feb. 7, 2004, at the AGTA Tucson GemFair in Tucson, Ariz.
For complete Spectrum Awards information and entry forms, visit www.agta.org, call (800) 972-1162, or e-mail: info@agta.org.