I couldn’t resist! For the second year in a row, we’ve invited a pup-star to grace the cover of our annual Best in Show issue and the companion feature that runs inside, highlighting the best statement jewels we saw at last month’s JCK and Luxury shows in Las Vegas.
Look to “Pick of the Glitter” to see what caught our fancy, as well as that of Wilson the Siberian husky, who caused a small sensation in the photo studio when we found him licking the lab-grown diamond bow necklace loaned to us by Design Center exhibitor Lark & Berry. The little guy couldn’t have conveyed our affection for these pieces any better!
As we culled through our notes to determine the items we’d include in our annual “Best of the West” feature, we realized we had a lot of material to choose from—starting with the show’s return to the Sands Expo and Venetian Resort, the place where it all began in 1992.
The freshly renovated venue lived up to the hype! And thank goodness for that. This year, the show welcomed an actual head of state—Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who spoke about what diamonds have done for his country, subtly making the case for mined diamonds amid a growing chorus of lab-grown supporters (for more on his visit, see page 74).
Here at JCK, we consider ourselves diamond agnostics, which is why we had no qualms about calling in the Lark & Berry necklace for our photo shoot. Unlike most lab-grown firms, the London-based company places design front and center. Take a look at this issue’s two diamond fashion jewelry features—“Get Your Rocks On” by jewelry editor Randi Molofsky and “The New Diamond Basics” by contributor Amy Elliott—and you’ll understand the degree to which we value a strong aesthetic point of view.
To hear our readers tell it, showcasing great design is one of our hallmarks. In the fifth and penultimate installment of our “150 Years, 150 Voices” series, you’ll find insightful remarks about the way this industry has changed over the decades and how JCK has remained one step ahead of those changes. I’ve become a little obsessed with reading the kind words people have shared about our magazine, because I know how well deserved they are—and have been since long before I arrived.
Consultant Diane Warga-Arias says it best: “My first exposure to JCK was as a graduate student working part-time at a jewelry store,” she recalls, “I quickly discovered that JCK was ‘the word’ on emerging designers, events, business opportunities, and new jewelry collections.” Long may that continue.
Top: 14k white gold articulating necklace with 0.41 ct. t.w. diamonds; $1,450; Artistry, Ltd.;
888-674-3250; artistrylimited.com
(Gomelsky photograph by Nicholas A. Prakas; hair and makeup: Claudia Andreatta/Halley Resources)