By Jennifer Heebner, Editor in Chief
After five months of accepting entries and talking about the reasons folks enter the Spectrum & Cutting Edge Awards, it’s time for them to take place! This year is extra special because it marks 40 years of the Spectrum Awards for finished jewelry.
As you read this, I’m already on a plane to see the judges (I’ve known them all for many years), see my AGTA colleagues, and join some of my media peers for Editor’s Day. A rigorous judging process takes place first for two days, followed by Editor’s Day. AGTA’s Spectrum committee curated the guest list so an intimate group of the industry’s top lapidary, manufacturing, retail, design, influencers, and press will be in attendance. Every year, the group changes a bit to give different individuals the opportunity to experience judging and the Editor’s Day event. Everyone involved, however, will be able to view and handle hundreds of entries, trying on pieces and taking lots of photos for social media.
For those anxiously waiting word of the winners, they will be notified directly over the weekend. A press release will be sent out to the media on Monday morning, Nov. 4, 2024. Editor’s Day guests include yours truly for AGTA, Rapaport, and INSTORE, editors from both National Jeweler and JCK, a trio of paid jewelry influencers, and some local media.
I’ve said it before, but even if you don’t win, chances are high that you will get media visibility. I plan on creating another video for my personal Instagram @jenniferheebner about pieces I loved that didn’t win official titles yet are spectacular nonetheless. Onsite media guests will feast on this content all year given the variety and number of pieces present.
And as this competition takes place, it will determine two important factors that affect Prism Volume I 2025: the two Best of Show winners, one from Spectrum entries and another from Cutting Edge. Prism is AGTA’s print magazine, which I’m in the process of putting together now and will be mailed ahead of AGTA GemFair Tucson and distributed at the show. The decision to feature two Best of Show pieces is a recent one from the Spectrum committee. It’s one more way to give extra kudos to deserving jewels and loose gemstones—think of last year’s stunning cover models—but it will be a challenge to execute if the colors of the two winners aren’t complementary. AGTA’s Art Director, Todd Gast, and I lucked out last year because the winners were both shades of blue that looked good together, but will that happen again? Stay tuned for how we work that out.
If you entered the Awards this year, good luck! It is never an easy process to choose winners. (I served as a judge 10 years ago, so I know firsthand how tough it is.) But there will be many qualified eyes on the entries to judge their special characteristics, and more media eyes to give different pieces a well-deserved boost on social media and in content.
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