The 2005 American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) Spectrum Awards competition concluded in October with 57 winners chosen from a field of 420 gemstone and jewelry entries.

Llyn L. Strelau's second-place winner in the Evening Wear category.

The Spectrum Awards competition encompasses two major awards: the Spectrum Awards for outstanding jewelry design and the Cutting Edge Awards for the lapidary arts. Within the Spectrum Awards, additional prizes are given for the Manufacturing Honors (pieces intended to be manufactured in production quantities) and the Platinum Honors (pieces in which 75 percent or more of the metal is platinum).

The judges for this year's competition were gem cutter Mark Gronlund, Alice Keller of Gems and Gemology, Mark Mann of Visual Communications, William Richey of William Richey Designs, and Eric E. Wright of Village Goldsmiths.

The Best of Show winner for the Spectrum Awards was Glen J. Engelbrecht of G.J. Designs for a necklace featuring orthoclase and demantoid garnet. "Whenever I shop for a stone, I always have to feel a connection with it," Engelbrecht says of the orthoclase center stone, a rare specimen in its own right. "In this instance, the overall color of the stone was champagne, but the 'internal voice' of the stone had overtures of green. I combined the orthoclase with vibrant demantoid garnet to allow that voice to come alive."

Glen J. Engelbrecht's best of Show winner for the Spectrum Awards also took first place in the Evening Wear division.

In an interesting bit of crossover, the orthoclase that Engelbrecht used for his piece was cut by John Dyer of Precious Gemstones Co., who swept the Faceting division of the Cutting Edge Awards -- the first time anyone has done so in the 21-year history of the competition.

However, top honors in the Cutting Edge competition went to Dalan Hargrave for the second year in a row for a giant, 125-carat green beryl in his signature spirographic cut. "It was actually a cut stone that Stephanie Michael Young [the individual who entered the stone in the competition] bought in Tucson somewhere. It was just under 200 carats, but it was windowed and not very lively. So we brightened it up a bit." The spirographic cut was ideal for the job, he explains, because the wide angle of the facets on the pavilion of the stone meant that he could re-cut without losing as much material.

Dalan Hargrave's Best of Show Cutting Edge winner.

These pieces and the other winners will be on display for all to admire at the AGTA GemFair in Tucson, Arizona, February 2-7.

Spectrum Awards

Best of Show:
Glen J. Engelbrecht from G.J. Designs in Sarasota, Florida, took Best of Show with an 18K yellow gold necklace titled Dancing Under the Stars, which features a 33.33-ct. orthoclase accented with a 1.90-ct. demantoid garnet and 0.62 ctw. diamonds. It is suspended from an 11.52 ctw. demantoid garnet necklace.

Best Use of Color:
Andrew Paetzold from Philip Zahm & Associates Inc. in Aptos, California, took Best Use of Color with an 18K white gold ring featuring a 4.13-ct. blue sapphire surrounded by 3.20 ctw. fancy-colored corundum and 0.10 ctw. diamonds.

Andrew Paetzold's Best Use of Color winner.

Bridal Wear:

First and second place in the Bridal Wear division.

First Place: Michael Zacharakis from D'Errico Jewelers in Scarsdale, New York, for his platinum necklace featuring a variety of 9.5 to 16.5 mm South Sea cultured pearls.

Second Place: Garo Demirjian from Demirjian Jewelry Design in Scottsdale, Arizona, for 18K white gold earrings featuring two 9.5 mm South Sea cultured pearls accented with diamonds.

Third Place: Ricardo Basta from E. Eichberg Jewelers in Beverly Hills, California, for his platinum necklace featuring a 5.23-ct. topaz accented with 11 tsavorite garnets and diamonds.

Honorable Mention: Ricardo Basta from E. Eichberg Jewelers in Beverly Hills, California, for his platinum and 18K yellow gold necklace featuring yellow, pink, green, blue, red, and white diamonds.

Business/Day Wear:

First and second place in the Business/Day Wear division.

First Place: Samuel Getz from Samuel Getz Private Jewelers & Designers in Coral Gables, Florida, for his 18K yellow and white gold suite. The necklace features a 30.21-ct. golden beryl accented with a .26-ct. garnet and diamonds. The earrings feature two golden beryls and two garnets accented with diamonds.

Second Place: Robert Bruce Henderson from Plateau Jewelers Inc. in Sammamish, Washington, for his 18K yellow gold and 14K white gold pendant featuring a 7.46-ct. grossularite accented with a 1.26-ct. tsavorite garnet and diamonds.

Third Place: Maria Canale from Richard Krementz Gemstones L.L.C. in Newark, New Jersey, for her platinum and 18K gold pin featuring a 2.28-ct. tanzanite and a 2.75-ct. rubellite tourmaline accented with diamonds.

Honorable Mention: Julie Buckareff from American Jewelry Artworks in London, Ontario, Canada, for her 18K rose gold and platinum brooch featuring quartz, tsavorite garnets, blue topaz, and spessartite garnets accented with pink and white diamonds.

Casual Wear:

Second and third place in the Casual Wear category. .

First Place: Alan Friedman from Alan Friedman Designs in Beverly Hills, California, for his 18K white gold bracelet featuring eight pink sapphires accented with yellow and white diamonds.

Second Place: William Travis Kukovich from William Travis Jewelry in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for his 18K yellow gold and platinum ring featuring a 4.71-ct. mint-green tourmaline and two purple sapphires .

Third Place: Mark Lauer from Mark Michael Design in Maple Grove, Minnesota, for his 18K yellow gold and platinum pendant featuring a 16.63-ct. citrine and a .29-ct. tsavorite garnet accented with two diamonds.

Honorable Mentions: Lee Charles Buckingham from Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas, for a platinum "Bat" ring featuring an 11.52-ct. quartz with a rutile in the center accented with diamonds. Paul Derrickson from Federico's Design Jewelers in Traverse City, Michigan, for his 18K rose gold and platinum ring featuring a 5.84-ct. indicolite tourmaline and two pink sapphires accented with yellow and white diamonds.

Evening Wear:

Second Place: Llyn L. Strelau from Llyn L. Strelau Jewels by Design Ltd. in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, for an 18K yellow and white gold "Fall of Angels" necklace featuring a 6.23-ct. rubellite tourmaline, a 4.96-ct. spessartite garnet, and a 12.66-ct. golden South Sea cultured pearl accented with six diamonds.

Third Place: Samuel Getz from Samuel Getz Private Jewelers & Designers in Coral Gables, Florida, for his 18K white gold necklace featuring a 76.26-ct. aquamarine accented with diamonds, suspended from a bezel-set diamond necklace with a diamond clasp.

Honorable Mention: Sally Lynn Mitschke from Montanari Fine Art Jewelers in Kansas City, Missouri, for her 18K yellow gold earrngs featuring 12 mm golden South Sea pearls accented with yellow sapphires and diamonds.

Men's Wear

First Place: Mark Schneider from Mark Schneider Design in Long Beach, California, for his platinum cufflinks featuring two 11 mm black South Sea pearls and pink sapphires accented with diamonds.

Second Place: Lee Charles Buckingham from Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas, for platinum cufflinks featuring two rubies accented with diamonds.

Third Place: Lee Charles Buckingham from Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas, for 18K yellow gold and platinum cufflinks featuring two matching citrines accented with diamonds.

The first- and second-place winners in the Men's Wear division.

CUTTING EDGE AWARDS

Best of Show:
Dalan Hargrave with Stephanie Michael Young in Spring Branch, Texas, took Best of Show with a 125-ct., spirographic-cut, mint-green beryl with a concave-faceted pavilion and flat-faceted crown.

Open Category -- Classic Gemstones:

First and second place in the Classic Gemstones category.

First Place: Allen Kleiman from A. Kleiman & Co. in Boulder, Colorado, for his 12.36-ct. oval-shaped unheated blue sapphire.

Second Place: Michael Arnstein from Walter Arnstein Inc. in New York, New York, for his 24.90-ct. natural, untreated yellow sapphire.

Third Place: Ashok Kumar Sancheti from Pioneer Gems in New York, New York, for a 1.24-ct. natural, fancy-cut emerald.

Open Category -- All Other Faceted Gemstones:

First and second place in the 'Other Faceted' division. .

First Place: Ben Kho from Kho International Ltd. in Decatur, Georgia, for his 11.22-ct. fancy cushion-cut rhodochrosite.

Second Place: Allen Kleiman from A. Kleiman & Co. in Boulder, Colorado, for his 6.31-ct. pear-shaped Paraiba tourmaline.

Third Place: James Alger from James Alger Co. in Bedford, New Hampshire, for his 17.73-ct. octagon-shaped peridot.

Honorable Mention: James Alger from James Alger Co. in Bedford, New Hampshire, for his 14.47-ct. rose-cut, oval green tourmaline.

Open Category -- Phenomenal Gemstones:

Jeffrey Bilgore's first-place winner in the Phenomenal Gemstones division.

First Place: Jeffrey Bilgore from Jeffrey Bilgore L.L.C. in New York, New York, for his 16.21-ct. oval star ruby.

Pairs and Suites:

First and second place in the Pairs & Suites division.

First Place: Hemant Phophaliya from A.G. Color Inc. in New York, New York, for a round drop tanzanite pair.

Second Place: Hemant Phophaliya from A.G. Color Inc. in New York, New York, for a cushion-cut tanzanite pair. Third Place: Allen Kleiman from A. Kleiman & Co. in Boulder, Colorado, for his suite of brilliant, cushion-cut spessartite garnets.

Honorable Mention: Ralph Wobito from Custom Gem Cutting Ltd. in Stouffville, Ontario, Canada, for his 10.22-ct. and 10.04-ct. cushion-cut pink tourmalines.

Faceting:

John Dyer's first- and second-place winners in the Faceting division.

First Place: John Dyer from Precious Gemstones Co. in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, for his 20.61-ct. opposed-bar-cut imperial topaz.

Second Place: John Dyer from Precious Gemstones Co. in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, for his 28.34-ct. radiant-cut, diamond-shaped Madeira citrine.

Third Place: John Dyer from Precious Gemstones Co. in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, for his 15.88-ct. sparkler-cut tsavorite garnet.

Honorable Mention: John Dyer from Precious Gemstones Co. in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, for his 26.21-ct. multifaceted, pear-shaped natural aquamarine.

Carving:

First Place: Glenn Lehrer from Lehrer Designs in Larkspur, California.

Second Place: Dalan Hargrave from Dust Devil Mining Co. in Cloverdale, Oregon.

Second place in the Carving category.

Third Place: William Cox from Dust Devil Mining Co. in Cloverdale, Oregon.

Combination:

First Place: Dalan Hargrave with Stephanie Michael Young in Spring Branch, Texas.

Second Place: Christopher Wolfsberg from Colored Creations in Manchester, Tennessee.

Second place in the Combination category of the Cutting Edge Awards.

Third Place: Richard P. Homer from Columbia Gem House Inc. in Vancouver, Washington. Honorable Mention: Michael M. Dyber from Ledge Art Studio in Rumney, New Hampshire.

Objects of Art:

First Place: Philip E. Louer, Jr. from North American Gem Carvers in Riner, Virginia.

First place in the Objects of Art category.

Second Place: Susan Allen from E. F. Watermelon in Old Lyme, Connecticut.

Third Place: William S. Holman from William S. Holman Design Group in Dallas, Texas. Honorable Mention: Lawrence Stoller from Crystal Works in Bend, Oregon.

PLATINUM HONORS

Bridal Wear: Robert Pelliccia from J.R. Dunn Jewelers in Light House Point, Florida, for his platinum ring featuring a 2.96-ct. blue sapphire accented with blue sapphires and diamonds.

Business/Way Wear: Mark Schneider from Mark Schneider Design in Long Beach, California, for his platinum and 18K yellow gold ring featuring a .90-ct. emerald accented with yellow and white dismonds.

Casual Wear: David G. Hrubec from Dal Pezzo Design Inc. in Miami, Florida, for his platinum ring featuring a 2.5-ct. cabochon moonstone accented with two small cultured pearls, pink sapphires, and white and yellow diamonds.

Evening Wear: Ron Lodholz from Stonehaven Jewelry Gallery Ltd. in Cary, North Carolina, for his 18K yellow gold and platinum necklace featuring a 27.73-ct. citrine and three tourmalines accented with diamonds.

Mark Schneider from Mark Schneider Design in Long Beach, California, for his platinum ring featuring jade, tsavorite garnets, and yellow diamonds.

MANUFACTURING HONORS

Business/Way Wear: Lee Charles Buckingham from Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas, for an 18K yellow gold ring featuring an 11.54-ct. amethyst accented with diamonds.

Casual Wear: An D. Nguyen from Lisa Kaye & Co. Inc. in Durham, North Carolina, for an 18K yellow gold ring featuring a 1.02-ct. sapphire inlaid in ebony wood.

Evening Wear: Marisa Goebel La Belle from Atelier Marisa in Santa Monica, California, for her 18K white gold earrings featuring two 15 mm Tahitian pearls accented with diamonds.