Wear Ever Jewelry

"Splash" cloisonne enamel box ring

March 29, 2010, ATTLEBORO FALLS, MASSACHUSETTS-Manufacturing Jewelers & Suppliers of America recently announced the winners of its annual Vision and Thinking Ahead Awards, which honor excellence in jewelry design and product development, respectively. The winners were presented their awards during MJSA Expo New York at the Hilton New York, held on March 14-16.

MJSA Vision Awards honor design prowess and technical skill, and recognize outstanding talent in the field of jewelry design. The awards this year included a new “Visionary Use of Materials” category that rewarded outstanding technical achievement, as well as a “Future of the Industry” award honoring the designs of students in jewelry programs.

MJSA Thinking Ahead Awards recognize products that, through “the introduction of new technology or the improvement of existing technologies,” are advancing the way in which jewelry is made and sold.

The winners of the MJSA Vision Awards are:

DESIGN EXCELLENCE:

First Place: JENNIFER JORDAN PARK of Wear Ever Custom Jewelry in Budd Lake, New Jersey, for “Splash,” a cloisonné enamel box ring. It is made from silver, 24k gold cloisonné wire, 18k and 22k gold, and enamels in various colors, with a 6×4 mm pink sapphire.

Second Place: JAMES W. CURRENS of J.W. Currens in New York City for “The Kailash Ruby Ring.” The ring is made from 18k yellow gold and 925 sterling silver, with a 15.08 ct. sugarloaf ruby, 4.69 ct. oval cabochon ruby, 7.96 ct. brilliant cut round ruby, and 3.78 ct. t.w. fancy-intense yellow diamond melee.

VISIONARY TECHNICAL SOLUTION:

First Place: CHRISTOPHER DUQUET of Christopher Duquet Fine Jewelry Design Ltd. in Evanston, Illinois, for a yellow sapphire and diamond ring made in 14k white and yellow gold. The ring’s intricate framework was developed using a combination of computer-assisted design and high-tech rapid prototyping. It features a 3.24 ct. fine yellow sapphire and 12 diamonds (23 ct. t.w.).

Second Place: JAMES W. CURRENS of J.W. Currens in New York City for “Star Dreamer Pendant,” which features platinum and 96 ct. t.w. of rock crystal, 2.5 ct. t.w. of rose-cut diamonds, 4.70 ct. t.w. of baguette diamonds, and 2.26 ct. t.w. white diamond melee. The manufacturing process involved both photonics (the science of cutting optically perfect lenses) and advanced ultraviolet curing.

GOLD DISTINCTION:

First Place: PAMELA FROMAN of Pamela Froman Fine Jewelry in Los Angeles for
her “Royal Crush” necklace. Featuring a stylized fleur-de-lis design inspired by the domes of St. Petersburg, the necklace is made from a combination of 18k pink & yellow gold in a hand-hammered “crushed” texture, with a fire opal cabochon center stone.

Second Place: DENNIS DEJONGHE of deJonghe Originals in Saratoga Springs, New York, for a 22k yellow gold repoussébrooch with 14k yellow gold wire and accented with three bezel-set diamonds and several pearls.

LASER DISTINCTION:

First Place: JIMI GWINN of J.S. Gwinn Fine Jewelry in Paducah, Kentucky, for “Tickled Pink,” a tourmaline and amethyst pendant featuring 14k white gold sizing stock, casting grain, and18k white gold wire.

Second Place: JULIA BEHRENDS of Julia Behrends Design of Boston, Massachusetts, for the “Twist” ring, which is named for its twisting prong and rotating “rondelle” in the center of the piece. The rondelle of yellow diamonds is a separate part with 360-degree movement. The center gemstone is a 9.52 ct. round lime citrine with a unique concave-faceted cut, set in platinum.

FUTURE OF THE INDUSTRY:

First Place: DAVINA RAE ROMANSKY, a student at the Gemological Institute of America, for her “Cascading Necklace” in sterling silver is 5″ wide and 15″ long. The sterling silver pieces are cut, scored, bent, soldered and riveted to each other.

Second Place-Tie: YOUNG-EUN HAN, a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, for a necklace made of lightweight silver wire that can be connected and reconnected in various ways to create differing looks.

Second Place-Tie: HYANGMI KIM, a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, for “A Waterfall in the Moonlight.” The necklace, which incorporated wire weaving, sea-shell carving, wax carving, casting, and soldering in its fabrication, features silver, brass, a brass and copper alloy, nickel, sea shells, gold-plated bead wire, silver-plated bead wire, and a light emitting diode.

The judges for the 2010 MJSA Vision Awards were: Marlene Richey, designer, business expert and author of Profiting by Design; Michael Coan, jewelry department chair at the Fashion Institute of Technology; Cindy Edelstein, president of the Jeweler’s Resource Bureau; Mark Schneider of Mark Schneider Design; Todd Hawkinson of Minneapolis Community Technical College; and Tina Snyder, editor in chief of MJSA Journal.

For more information and additional photos of the Vision Award Winners, go to http://www.mjsa.org/career_center/mjsa_vision_awards.