JCK Jeweler's Choice Awards

Award Season - Emerging Artist Award

http://saulbellaward.com/

Now in its ninth year, the Saul Bell Design Award continues to recognize artists whose work challenges traditional perceptions of jewelry design. Named for the founder of Rio Grande, the competition celebrates Saul's spirit and legacy by inviting jewelry artists and students to enter their most inspired creations. The industry abounds with stories of the opportunities and support Saul provided to young jewelers working to develop their skills. His quiet patience endeared him to all. And his good humor always brought a smile. It is our hope that Saul's influence continues to inspire and enlighten jewelers everywhere.

Emerging Artist Award

2009 SBDA Emerging Artist Competition - Rio Grande is proud to announce the second year of the Saul Bell Design Award Emerging Artist competition. Celebrating the fresh ideas, creative spark and unbridled energy of youth, this competition is open to designers 18 years of age and younger. There are no limitations on medium, as long as the finished piece is wearable jewelry. Finalists and winning designers are celebrated at an invitation-only gala at JCK Las Vegas, 2009. We encourage young designers to enter their most inspired work.

Participants

We invite students 18 years of age and younger to take part in the second annual Saul Bell Design Award Emerging Artist competition. Employees of Rio Grande or of any affiliate or participating company (and their immediate family members) may not participate.

Judging Criteria

Pieces are judged on the following criteria:

• The innovation and uniqueness of the design.

• The successful incorporation of media into the design.

• The quality of workmanship (for final judging).

How to Enter

You may submit as many entries as you wish. Supply one rendering or photograph (at least 4" x 6"), mounted on a white matte board (must be 8½" x 11"); no slides, please. Please keep a copy of your rendering or photograph; submissions will not be returned. Do not send finished pieces unless asked to do so by Rio Grande. Submissions which do not meet entry criteria may be disqualified. Send each rendering or photograph with a copy of the entry form (one per entry) and a $25 entry fee (per entry) to:

Rio Grande

7500 Bluewater Road NW

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87121-1962

Attention: Emerging Artists

Finalists

Finalists will be notified and asked to produce their designs for judging. Finished pieces must be received by January 30, 2009.

Winners

Winners will be notified by phone and/or mail and announced formally to the public during JCK Las Vegas, 2009.

For more information, call 505.839.3265 or 800.396.9896 ext. #13265, or email marketing@riogrande.com.

The Reward

In addition to a financial reward and industry-wide recognition, the first place winner receives a limited-edition sculpture by New Mexico glass artist John Healey created especially for the Emerging Artist category.

Financial rewards include:

First Place $500 Rio Grande Gift Certificate

Second Place $250 Rio Grande Gift Certificate

Third Place $100 Rio Grande Gift Certificate

All finalists receive a certificate recognizing their achievement.

Thoughts Turn To Awards - Spectrum Awards

It's Time To Start Thinking About Awards! - Saul Bell Award

2009 Saul Bell Design Award Competition

http://saulbellaward.com/

Now in its ninth year, the Saul Bell Design Award continues to recognize artists whose work challenges traditional perceptions of jewelry design. Named for the founder of Rio Grande, the competition celebrates Saul's spirit and legacy by inviting jewelry artists and students to enter their most inspired creations. The industry abounds with stories of the opportunities and support Saul provided to young jewelers working to develop their skills. His quiet patience endeared him to all. And his good humor always brought a smile. It is our hope that Saul's influence continues to inspire and enlighten jewelers everywhere.

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The Saul Bell Design Award competition continues to recognize artists whose work challenges traditional perceptions of jewelry design. We invite you to enter your most inspired creations in the 2009 Saul Bell Design Award competition.

Participants

We invite members of the jewelry or hollowware community or students of a jewelry or hollowware training program to embrace the challenge—take part in the ninth annual Saul Bell Design Award competition. Employees of Rio Grande or of any affiliate or participating company (and their immediate family members) may not participate.

Judging Criteria

Pieces are judged on the following criteria:

• The innovation and uniqueness of the design.

• The successful incorporation of media into the design.

• The quality of workmanship (for final judging).

How to Enter

Submit as many entries as you wish.

Each individual can place once as a finalist in each category.

Supply one rendering or photograph (at least 4" x 6"), mounted on a white matte board (must be 8½" x 11"); no slides, please. Please keep a copy of your rendering or photograph; submissions will not be returned.

Do not send finished pieces unless asked to do so by Rio Grande.

Submissions which do not meet entry criteria may be disqualified.

Send each rendering or photograph with a copy of the entry form (one per entry) and a $45 entry fee (per entry) to:

Rio Grande

7500 Bluewater Road NW

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87121-1962

Attention: Design Awards

The Categories

Choose one of the categories listed below as the foundation of your piece and integrate any additional stones or materials you wish into your jewelry or hollowware design. Submitted pieces must be a wearable jewelry style (except in the hollowware category) and must be composed of at least 75% of the material specified in the chosen category. The piece may not have won an award in any other competition.

Gold/Platinum

The predominant metal is gold, platinum or a combination of both.

May be cast, fabricated, forged, assembled, or any combination of techniques.

Must be your original design.

Precious Metal Clay®

The predominant material is either silver or gold Precious Metal Clay® (PMC), PMC+® or PMC3®.

Must be your original design.

Beads

The predominant design elements are beads, pearls, or other strung ornaments.

Beads may be any material.

Must be your original design or assembly.

Silver

The predominant metal is silver.

May be cast, fabricated, forged, assembled or any combination of techniques.

Must be your original design.

Hollowware

A vessel that is spun, drawn, forged and/or raised.

May incorporate decorative cast or fabricated components into the design.

The medium is predominantly silver and/or gold.

Enamel

The predominant surface material must be enamel.

Use glass-based enamels and fire on any type of metal.

Must be your original design and construction.

Finalists

Finalists will be notified and asked to produce their designs for judging.

Finished pieces must be received by January 30, 2009.

Winners

Winners will be notified by phone and/or mail and announced formally to the public during JCK Las Vegas, 2009.

For more information, call 505.839.3265 or 800.396.9896 ext. #13265, or email marketing@riogrande.com.

The Reward

In addition to financial rewards and industry-wide recognition, each award-winning designer receives a limited-edition sculpture created by New Mexico glass artist John Healey.

Financial rewards include:

Grand Prize $10,000 Rio Grande Gift Certificate

First Place (in each of the remaining five categories) $2500 Rio Grande Gift Certificate

Second Place (in each of the six categories)$1000 Rio Grande Gift Certificate

Winners and their designs may be featured in Rio Grande publicity campaigns.

GIA Open House - September 12th

http://www.gia.edu/


It's not too late to make plans to attend the GIA Jewelry Career Fair and Open House at the Carlsbad, California, campus on Sept. 12.


Career Fair, the gem and jewelry industry's premier recruiting event, attracts up to 1,000 job seekers and prominent jewelry companies looking for new employees.


GIA will also host its annual Open House, where visitors are invited to explore the historic and educational exhibits on display throughout the campus.

You'll be the first to see the "Balboa Park Carousel Egg," a replica of an 1890s carousel that will be unveiled at Career Fair. The objet d'art, reminiscent of decorative eggs by Peter Carl Fabergé, sits atop a music box that plays songs from the era.

The "Balboa Park Carousel Egg" is the centerpiece of the Facets of GIA exhibit, which portrays the mission and history of the Institute and features more than 30 pieces of gems and jewelry.

Platinum, gold and jewels make up the "Balboa Park Carousel Egg," which weighs nearly 80 pounds and contains more than 4,000 parts, including detailed paintings and molded carousel animals.

Classroom demonstrations will also take place throughout the day so visitors can learn more about gemology.

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This is a wonderful excuse to take a drive down to Carlsbad - GIA is located on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Coast...the view is almost as dazzling as the gem treats inside.

Call GIA and arrange for a docent to tour you through their amazing facility and collection - anytime: 800-421-7250

Photos by Kevin Schumacher.

Jewelry Tools by Miland

http://jewelrytoolsbymiland.com/

Miland Suess designs and handcrafts specialized metal forming tools for silversmiths, wire artists, beaders and jewelry repair. Artisans tell us that Miland's unique hand tools clearly save them time and effort while increasing their creativity, capabilities and quality. Each tool comes with a 90-day money-back guarantee and a lifetime warranty.

THE TOOLS ...
Synclastics: Puts two curvatures into flat stock simultaneously without marring. Create a bracelet in minutes, not hours. Also makes rings, bangles and is indispensable in doing jewelry repair.

THE MAN
Miland Suess watched and listened to artisans who were using metal forming tools that have not improved for thousands of years. He then went to work designing, testing and manufacturing a series of time-saving jewelry tools that his customers love because they work.

THE TOOLS...
Anti-Clastics: Similar to the Synclastic tools but produces a concave curve instead of a convex curve. Previously you had to use a dapping tool which was time consuming and did not produce a fine, finished product.

Miland has been an innovator and inventor since he was a child. After working as a Harley-Davidson motorcycle mechanic in his teens, he served in the U.S. Navy as a rear gunner on a Curtis SB2C Hell Diver dive bomber during WWII. Miland married in 1946 and settled in Chicago to raise 5 children. He worked there for 20 years as a well respected Lincolnwood Police Sergeant, saving lives and putting crooks behind bars. As Miland states with a smile: "I used to be in a business where the customer was often wrong. Now I am in a business where the customer is always right."

THE TOOLS...
Dimplers: Puts precise, circular indentations and domes into metal for decorative purposes. Partial indentations can also be achieved by using the tool on the edge of the metal as shown in picture on the right.

After retiring from the police department, Miland began designing and manufacturing hand tools for electricians and metal workers and continued doing so after moving to Arizona in 1984. In 1996, he was approached by a professional jeweler who expressed the need for a specialized tool to form compound curves into metal. In response, Miland designed and patented his first jewelers tool (The "Synclastic" tool, U.S. Patent number 5,513,513) and went on to design and manufacture over a dozen jewelry making tools and jewelry repair tools. Besides designing and manufacturing jewelry tools, Miland also restores classic vehicles including a 1957 Thunderbird, a 1949 Cadillac, and a 1947 Indian Chief Motorcycle. People who have met Miland appreciate his ingenuity, integrity, friendliness and sense of humor.

THE TOOLS...
Double Cylinder Ring Makers: Two different sized cylinders are used to put medium radius curves into flat metal stock and wire. Result can easily be resized on a mandrel. Perfect for making rings, earrings and children's bracelets

Miland enjoys making quality tools, you will enjoy using them, and your customers will appreciate the results.

THE TOOLS...
Texture Hammers: Textures flat metal and wire. Three different faces are available. The back end is flat and polished, like having two hammers in one. The beautiful patterns these hammers put into metal have to be seen to be appreciated.

There are video demos of all of the tools at: http://www.jewelrytoolsbymiland.com

You can contact Miland at:

Jewelry Tools by Miland
Toll Free: (877) 463-8046
MilandTools@aol.com

...and be sure to check in with him at the Tucson Electric Park venue at the Tucson Gem Show this February – look for him in the “Tool Tent”! There are usually new tools that aren’t available on the website and texture hammers that he is experimenting with. Miland also make tools to meet your custom specs!

Bench Television - Upgrade Your Skills Today!

Bench Television http://benchtelevision.com

From Jewelry Designers to Bench Jewelers to Students...you know how much easier it is to learn a technique when you can SEE it!

This may be your favorite teacher – you watch when YOU want (put the kids to bed and pull out the computer), it doesn’t matter because these teachers are always available and the classes never reach capacity!

...and speaking of teachers – this roster reads

like a Who’s Who in the Jewelry Industry:

Brad Simon (Founder and Presenter) Publishes the popular Bench Magazine and E-Bench Newsletter (the online edition).
Gerry Lewy – Canadian Diamond Setter, presents stone-setting
Steve Satow – Tool Genius and Laser Welding
Wayne Emery – Award Winning Jewelry Photography
Jurgen Maerz – Platinum Guild
...and special guests!

From the Welcome:
Welcome! We hope you enjoy this unique opportunity to see some of the most respected Master Jewelers explain their techniques and tips to making and repairing jewelry.

To their NEW affordable MONTHLY Membership!!!

Click on the “Preview Channel” button above to see many of the pilot episodes for free and see the show titles of all the shows now playing on the Members Only Channels. PLUS check out the “Network Affiliates” and “New Product” channels to see product information and tutorial videos.
Members of the Bench Television Network have unlimited access to all of these Channels and shows. Over 50 episodes playing continually.




Bench Jewelers Television Network utilizes IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) to feed high quality video streams to your computer screen. Bench Jewelers Television Network provides standard 720 X 480 resolution television streams of high quality training videos in monthly television episodes, with New Episodes Every Month!

The Bench Jewelers Television Network is a full television network with different channels of interest to Bench Jewelers and is aired over the Internet. Channels include, Shop Management, Stone Setting, Jewelry Repair, Custom Manufacturing, Laser Welding, Bench Techniques, New Products, and more. Each channel has different shows of related topics.

Jewelry Photography~ Great Images
Jewelry Repair~ PUK Welder
Laser Welding ~ Laser Fabrication ~ Laser Retipping ~ Laser Setting
Platinum ~ Platinum Fabrication ~ Platinum Expert
Stonesetting~ Gemz Setting ~ Set Em' Straight
Tips~ Customize Your Tools ~ Favorite Tips ~ Howard Academy

Bench Media is Your One-Stop-Shop

for Educational Information for Bench Jewelers
Bench Media Products:
E-Bench Newsletterwww.BWSimon.com/E-Bench
Bench Magazinewww.BenchMagazine.com
Bench Jewelers Conference & Expowww.BenchConference.com
Bench Jewelers Television Networkwww.BenchTelevision.com
Bench Seminarswww.BenchSeminars.com

Bench Media is Operated

BY Bench Jewelers FOR Bench Jewelers

We Know and Understand Your Needs and Concerns

Upgrade Your Skills Today!
Bench Television can be found at:

http://benchtelevision.com