What It Takes To Win: Previous

AGTA Spectrum & Cutting Edge

Awards Judges Weigh In

Three past AGTA Spectrum & Cutting Edge Awards judges — a lapidary, a

retailer and a platinum authority — explain what separates a contender

from the rest, from lighting bias to prong work to choosing the right

category.

By Amy Elliott

With so many judges—and opinions—in the room, there’s no foolproof formula for

winning an AGTA Spectrum & Cutting Edge award, whether for Best of Show or a

specific category. Adding another variable, the judging panel changes each year for a

fresh mix of expertise and perspectives. Still, our editors wondered: Could past judges

possibly give us some sense of how they identify contenders—and ultimately land on

the best of the best?

So, while we can’t give you a definitive roadmap to victory, we do have some insights

and advice for entrants, straight from three previous AGTA Spectrum & Cutting Edge

Awards judges. Read on to hear from Clay Zava (2025), Sherry Bender (2024) and Jenny

Luker (2024) to find out what happens behind closed doors.

Clay Zava, Zava Mastercuts

While all judges assess the entirety of the entries, Zava’s perspective is particularly useful to those submitting to the Cutting Edge competition. As a highly regarded lapidary, he says he was mindful of how the room’s lighting could enhance—or detract from—a stone’s appearance. “Some gems look great in indoor LED,” he explains. “Some look good outside. Some look good under blue light. The entrants, for the most part, may not know that their work is going to be viewed in light that doesn’t look great on these stones.” Conversely, a Sapphire or Tanzanite, Zava explains, “might look better in indoor light.” So he tried to remove lighting as a bias before formally examining the entries and assessing their caliber.

The best stones tend to present themselves right away, says Zava. When evaluating the top contenders, one of Zava’s considerations was seeing “whether I want to eat it or put it in my mouth—that’s a big thing for me.” And surprisingly, “the execution of the cutting is not high on my list of importance. What is the point of having correct angles and meet points if it ends up with a stone that’s just not pretty? The cut is a means to achieving something beautiful. It’s not something in and of itself that’s all that difficult to do or all that interesting.”

For entrants still deciding which stones to submit, presence gives you an edge, says Zava: “The bigger the better.” He also believes the most competitive submissions, particularly for Best of Show, are stones or matched sets with broad consumer appeal—pieces that jewelers and dealers across the industry can see themselves marketing, rather than entries suited primarily to a niche collector audience.

Sherry Bender, The Goldsmith Ltd., Of Chicago

Bender served as an AGTA Spectrum & Cutting Edge Awards judge not long before she shuttered her retail business to pivot to a small custom design studio. As a decades-long seller of jewelry, and a designer in her own right, she says she used her eye—and standards—for exceptional design to identify entries that surpassed others in terms of innovation and execution.

“Anybody can set stones, but not everybody can set stones so that each prong is absolutely perfect, or the polishing is perfect,” she says. The pieces that stood out, she says, “had all the elements of something innovative we hadn’t seen before and that was assembled beautifully with attention to the minute details. That’s the difference between something that has been executed magnificently or simply manufactured.”

Bender advises entrants to consider the level of competition in each category. Evening Wear, for example, tends to attract a large number of entries, so choosing a different category may increase the potential for recognition. She also encourages entrants to push their creativity and craftsmanship as far as they can: “Try to think outside the box.”

Jenny Luker, Platinum Guild International (PGI) USA