When I met Michelle Orman a dozen years ago, I don’t think either of us could have predicted that one day, I’d be editing the 2013 Power Issue of JCK and she’d be featured in it.We were in our late 20s (just barely) and were equally new to the ­jewelry and watch trade, which seduced us with its flashy jewels, splashy events, and the flashier/splashier characters who peddled them. I can’t speak for Michelle, but I suspect she would agree with me: Back then, power was the least of my concerns. What I aspired to was competence.Now that I’m approaching the big four-oh, I still value competence over power—especially when it comes to making bold declarations, like the names that appear alongside Michelle’s in our first-ever “20 Under 40” listing of young people making their mark on the industry.Michelle Orman and me at WJA’s 2006 summer galaThe members of our 40-and-under