I’ve been hearing about the annual AGTA GemFair in Tuscon, Arizona for years. It’s become mythical in my imagination: I picture it as a vibrant desert oasis piled to the clouds with rainbows of precious stones and heaps of colored gemstone jewelry.
I have to imagine what it’s like because I’ve never seen it firsthand. But that’s about to change: I’m thrilled to announce that I’ll be attending the 2017 AGTA GemFair as one of the AGTA’s very first official Gembassadors.
What is a Gembassador?
Hannah Becker of DiamonDoodles and I are partnering up with AGTA to help bring the 2017 GemFair to you!
It’s our honor to serve as your Gembassadors, charged with the all-important mission of giving the outside world a window into the AGTA’s legendary industry-only events.
Hannah and I will be walking the floor of the AGTA GemFair, digging through the mounds of treasures on display and sharing them with you on our individual Instagram accounts and through takeovers of the AGTA’s Instagram account. We’ll also be covering the prestigious Spectrum Awards, both exploring the masterpieces submitted for the awards and chronicling our glamorous adventures at the Spectrum Gala on the night of the ceremony, February 5th.
So basically: colored gemstones everywhere, all the time. I am SO EXCITED.
Peacock feather necklace by Robert Pellicca of J.R. Dunn Jewelers.
Let’s lay down some background so that we’re all ready to embrace the fabulousness next week:
What is the AGTA?
The AGTA is the American Gemstone Trade Association. They represent the colored stone and cultured pearl industries in the US and Canada.
AGTA GemFair 101
The AGTA GemFair has been held yearly since 1982. Since its inception, it has grown into what is now considered the world’s most important annual marketplace for natural colored gemstones and cultured pearls. The wide array of carefully-selected vendors also includes designers offering finished colored stone and cultured pearl jewelry, as well as some antique and vintage jewelry dealers.
In addition, there’s a pavilion dedicated to jewelry tools and technologies, educational seminars, a CAD design studio, book signings, exhibits from the Cultured Pearl Association, The Smithsonian Institution, MJSA, the Gübelin Gem Lab, and more.
As your AGTA GemFair Gembassadors, Hannah and I will divide and conquer to bring you the best of all treasures on display! I’ll be hunting down the finest in finished jewelry to share with you, while Hannah, as a Gemologist, will focus more on the gemstones themselves.
Lapis and pink tourmaline earrings by Gregore Morin of Gregore Joilliers.
The spectacular Spectrum awards!
I’ve had the pleasure of attending the Spectrum awards press preview in NYC a couple of times, but I’ve never been to the actual Spectrum Awards gala before.
From agate to zircon, the Spectrum Awards challenge the jewelry industry’s greatest talents to surpass their abilities in jewelry design for colored gems and cultured pearls, throwing down the gauntlet for higher and higher achievement.
But it’s not just jewelry: in 1991, Spectrum expanded to include the Cutting Edge Awards, to honor creativity in lapidary arts, including faceted gems and pearls, carvings, and objects of art. I’ve seen pieces at the Spectrum Awards that I never dreamed were possible, and I’m sure this coming year’s submissions will open my mind yet again.
While I’ve been to the Spectrum Awards press events, I’ve never before seen any of the actual Spectrum Gala, the night that the awards are presented. But this coming February 4th, I’ll be right there in the middle of things with my fellow Gembassador, sharing it all with you.
Two emerald and diamond rings by VALANI.
I can’t even tell you how delighted I am about all of this. And not only do I get to attend the AGTA events I’ve been dreaming of for years, I’m working with the AGTA directly to share it all with you.
How to make sure you don’t miss anything!
Follow Diamonds in the Library, DiamonDoodles, and the AGTA on Instagram. You can also use the individual event hashtags (#AGTAGemFair17, #Gembassadors, #AGTASpectrum16) to makes sure you see everyone’s posts – or to contribute posts of your own, if you’re going to be there too!
I’ll also be writing a big, juicy blog post once I’m home, detailing my adventures with many, many pictures. So if Instagram’s not your cup of tea, just hold tight and I’ll bring everything to you just a little bit later.
Now I have a very important question for you all: what do YOU want to see from the AGTA GemFair??? Give me requests, so that I can go out and take pictures of your favorite gemstones for you!
This sponsored post is brought to you by AGTA. AGTA graphic by DiamonDoodles; all other photos are mine from past Spectrum Awards press events.
These babies from Gregore Morin of Gregore Joailliers were one of my very very favorites of the whole AGTA Spectrum 2016 event. Thin, perfectly hewn panels of lapis lazuli set with pink tourmaline in 18k yellow gold. To-die-for.
This ring from the fabulous Wendy Brandes is simply one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s rose and white gold with platinum; studded with 4.5 cts of tsavorite garnets along with brown diamonds, white diamonds, rubies, and Kashi pearls.
It’s from her Maneater series, so it has a secret: when you flip the ring over, you can see the body of a vanquished knight digesting in the dragon’s stomach. It’s called the Dragon and Knight ring.
This is the Erica Courtney “Starburst” necklace with a 15.25 carat opal, accented with pink spinels, demantoid garnets, and diamonds. I just love that chain with its bright, precious fringe.
Have you heard that emerald engagement rings are back? 
Another super favorite of the day: this is the Galaxy bracelet from Michael Endlich of Pave Fine Jewelry. It’s silver with 22k yellow gold with sapphires and diamonds. It’s one of the subtler pieces I saw at AGTA Spectrum 2016, but I think it’s just fantastic.
Detail of the Galaxy bracelet. I love the texture and the understated colors with the rich yellow gold sprinkled across it.
These earrings from William Travis Jewelry were incredible – the gemstone components have their own glow.
Another very unique – but more understated – piece from William Travis Jewelry is this green tourmaline ring. The tourmaline is stunning, but what caught my eye was the setting: structural yellow gold with tiny, dangling rose gold chain fringes.
These brooches are both by Naomi Sarna Designs – one with a baroque freshwater cultured pearl and colored sapphires, amethysts and diamonds on both. Naomi Sarna had a number of pieces in the AGTA Spectrum 2016 showcase and I loved every single one.
Aren’t the colors on this wedding set wonderful? It’s mostly aquamarine (5.96 ct center stone) with tsavorite garnets and diamonds. By Robert Pellicca at JR Dunn Jewelers.
And that side view! Swoon.
How about these bi-color tourmaline pieces of heaven? By Julie Lamb.
I loved the color contrast and the details on these earrings by Brenda Smith. 22k gold leaves and cultured pearls on silver.
Badass Eclat Jewels’ bracelet with a 105 ct aquamarine in 18k yellow gold and black enamel.
Is this, or is this not the prettiest bug ever? I think it is.
How perfectly lovely is this set of rings by Laurence Bruyninckx? 14k white and rose gold set with diamonds, pink tourmaline, and pink sapphires. I love the effect of the diversely clustered marquise stones.
I had a wonderful conversation once with Pamela Huizenga, the designer of this piece, about how she wished she could just attach precious stones to her skin. I’m glad she still has to make them into jewelry, because that’s how this fire opal stingray brooch happened. So good.
Here’s a really cool piece – the “Peacock Slave” ring by Cynthia Back. Amthyst and demantoid garnet in 18 gold.
I had to put these of Annie Fensterstock earrings on as soon as I saw them. I claim these in the name of Team Brunette.
Hello, beautiful. I have a thing for antique snake rings, and I didn’t think they had a contemporary equivalent until I met this wonder by Juan Da Silva.
This bracelet was one of the pieces from AGTA Spectrum 2016 that I most wanted to added to my personal jewelry wardrobe. It’s by K Brunini Jewels, and it’s ridiculously cool. The joined triangles make it look like a starburst on your arm when it’s worn; the triangles feature black opals on one side and rich, brown cocobolo wood on the other side, with yellow diamonds for added pizzazz.
How’s this for a statement ring? By Jennifer R. Morin of Gregore Joailliers, this sterling silver ring features a 30.70 ct fire agate cabochon set in mother of pearl with green garnets. Such mesmerizing iridescence.
These pearl-on-pearl Finestro earrings were getting a lot of attention, and it’s not hard to see why. They’re not the flashiest, but the extremely cool texture of the tiny cultured freshwater pearls set into the opening in a larger freshwater cultured pearl is fascinating.
This spectacular trio can be separated and worn individually, but I love how they stack all together. The top ring is white gold with diamonds and a 5.84ct tanzanite, the middle has a 2.47 pink spinel with diamonds and small pink spinels, and the third ring has diamonds in white gold with a 4.56 ct red spinel. By Gulgun Buldanlioglu of Maya Fine Jewelry.
These Campbellian earrings won Best Use of Color and it’s not hard to see why. 17.05 carats of green tourmaline with 4.14 carats of emeralds. (You see what I mean about green gemstones trending?)
I’m not going to lie to you, I just wore this necklace around the event for a while. This peacock feather necklace by Robert Pellicca of J.R. Dunn Jewelers start with a 7.78 carat opal and just gets better from there.
THIS is the Tempest ring by Lindhardt Designs. Made from oxidized sterling silver and yellow sapphires, it’s another well-deserving award winner. So visually interesting, and much more comfortable to wear than you might expect.
These babies were the very last piece I saw. The kind AGTA Spectrum folks has already called a car for me and I was waiting by the door with my purse and my coat when I realized I’d missed these earrings. I dropped my things on the ground (like a lady) and ran off to get one last photo. Totally worth it.