Tucson, Ariz. – Feb. 1, 2023 – Chicago jeweler Lisa Guild is enjoying the 2023 AGTA Tucson GemFair courtesy of the Authority in Color. Guild, the president of the four-year-old custom design house Robert Guild Jewelry, filled out an entry form to win a trip while at the 2022 AGTA GemFair Denver show. On the last day of the fair, she learned that she had won.
“I’ve never won anything before,” she tells AGTA.
Guild won five nights of hotel accommodation and roundtrip airfare.
Given that she and company vice president and master craftsman Robert Galustian, make 90% of what they sell in their downtown store, shopping the Tucson show is an important date on the calendar year. “We specialize in one-of-a-kind jewelry,” she says. “We’ve been going to Tucson for five years.”
During fourth quarter 2022, they created a hand-hammered yellow gold necklace with a paper-clip-style chain and a Sonoran gold Turquoise and a mint green Tourmaline—gems they sourced from AGTA vendors three years ago. And in the 2022 Spectrum Awards, the jeweler took the Best Use of Color Award for a pair of earrings with rarely seen gems, including Kornerupines.
Recollects Guild, “We bought those Kornerupines at the Denver GemFair when the queen of England passed away. It took us a month to make the earrings and then we entered them.”
On this trip to the Tucson GemFair, Guild and Galustian are looking for black Opals and a variety of other colored gemstones for specific projects.
To learn more about AGTA GemFairs in Tucson, Las Vegas, and Denver, email [email protected].
—
The American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) is a not‐for‐profit association serving the colored gemstone and cultured Pearl industry since 1981. Headquartered in Dallas, members are trade professionals based in the U.S. and Canada, and AGTA is widely regarded as “The Authority in Color.” AGTA’s activities include organizing educational programs, trade shows, and printed materials and maintaining strong relationships with government officials and other jewelry trade groups. AGTA is committed to upholding the highest ethical standards and practices.