March 2002 Precious Metals/News PGI, AGTA Honor Innovative Design Designers marry colored gemstones and platinum Sixteen designers were recognized for innovation in the 2002 AGTA Spectrum™ Platinum Honors Awards competition. This division of the Spectrum Awards is sponsored by the American Gem Trade Association and Platinum Guild International. This year, the categories were changed from price categories to fashion categories. Three or four winners were named in each of the following categories: Evening Wear, Business/Day Wear, Casual Wear, Bridal Wear and Men’s Wear. Entries were considered for judging if they met the existing qualifications for the AGTA Spectrum Competition and if at least 75% of the metal was 90% or 95% pure platinum They were judged on beauty, originality and effective and innovative use of platinum. Winning entries were shown during the AGTA GemFair Feb. 6-11 in Tucson, AZ, and will be seen at various trade shows throughout the year. Judges were Erica Van Pelt, a photographer in Los Angeles, CA; Randi Molofsky, fashion editor for National Jeweler, New York City; and Jerry Forrest of The Jewelry Forrest, Dallas, TX. PGI, Newport Beach, CA; (714) 760-8279, fax (714) 760-8780. All photos by John Parrish. Evening Wear Apichart Warrachart Catskill, NY (518) 943-3109 Platinum brooch/pendant features a 53-ct. Trozzo fancy-cut ametrine, 1 carat of rubies and 0.45 carat of EF/VVS diamonds. Holly K. Croft, G.G. Holly K. Croft Designs Beverly Hills, CA (310) 278-1695 Cutter: Arthur Lee Anderson Metalsmith: Mirjam Butz-Brown Platinum earrings have 12.65 carats of pear-shaped aquamarines and 0.23 carat of diamonds. Rick Basta E. Eichberg Inc. Beverly Hills, CA (310) 271-4796 A 2.49-ct. Mexican fire opal centers this platinum pendant with 2.72 carats of pink sapphires, 0.74 carat of emeralds and 0.48 carat of diamonds. William Richey William Richey Designs Portland, ME (207) 772-5252 Rock Crystal Cutter: Berndt Munsteiner Platinum pendant features a 23.7-ct. rock crystal, 0.60 carat of VVS-GH diamonds and 7.5mm cultured pearls. Bridal Wear Yaroslav Shukel Aurora Studio Boston, MA (617) 331-2507 Ring features a 2.18-ct. pentagon-shaped white diamond and 0.66 carat of round fancy yellow diamonds. Mark Schneider Schneider Design Studio Long Beach, CA (562) 437-0448 A 2.06-ct. pear-shaped tsavorite tops this platinum ring with 1.01 carats of diamond pavé winding down the shank. Robert Pelliccia J.R. Dunn Jewelers Lighthouse Point, FL (954) 782-5000 1.02-ct. purplish-pink diamond tops a ring with 0.78 carat of kite diamonds, 0.38 carat of round diamonds and 0.42 carat of smaller diamonds. Taft Atkins Justice Jewelers Springfield, MO (417) 881-0551 Women’s wedding band has tube-set pink sapphires in platinum; men’s band has tube-set yellow and blue sapphires in platinum and 18k yellow gold. Casual Wear Dana Richardson Spectrum Gems Inc. Salt Lake City, UT (801) 581-9900 Metalsmith: Wayne Lenkeit Ring features a 2.33-ct. tanzanite flanked by 0.72 carat of straight baguette diamonds. Mirjam Butz-Brown Mirjam Butz-Brown Designs San Diego, CA (619) 238-1053 "Stargazer" platinum ring has a black Tahitian cultured pearl and 0.65 carat of diamonds. Peter J. Lees PJL Designs Ithaca, NY (607) 273-5102 "Blue Moon" earrings feature 3.98 carats of blue zircons set in platinum and suspended above a concave platinum dish. Business/Day Wear Walde Binder Pebbles Sonoma, CA (707) 580-5991 Necklace has 4.30 carats of natural blue faceted sapphires and a handmade bayonet clasp. Gary Dulac Gary Dulac Goldsmith Vero Beach, CA (561) 234-3344H Ring features a 6.70-ct. tourmaline in a platinum semibezel. The platinum shank has 0.40 carat of burnish-set diamonds and two 18k yellow gold guard rings. Craig Underwood – Underwood Design Team Underwood’s Jewelers Fayetteville, AR (501) 521-2000 900 platinum enhancer features a 9.59-ct. tanzanite with 0.60 carat of diamonds and 22k yellow gold accents. Men's Wear Kay Knight Custom Creative Design Austin, TX (512) 467-0011 Bob Carr, Jeweler Men’s ring has a 1.01-ct. H-VS2 princess-cut diamond, onyx and diamond accents in platinum. Mark Schneider Schneider Design Studio Long Beach, CA (562) 437-0448 Tanzanite Cutter: Stephen Avery Men’s ring has a 7.03-ct. tanzanite, 1.44 carats of yellow diamonds, 1.24 carats of white diamonds and 10 points of demantoids. Cynthia Renée Cynthia Renée Co. Fallbrook, CA (760) 728-5150 Cutter: David Clay Zava Hand-fabricated reversible cuff links feature 4.61 carats of pink spinels and 4.64 carats of blue spinels. Links unscrew to set in cuffs.