AGTA opens 2026 Spectrum Awards with Best Use of Pearl category
AGTA’s 2026 pearl prize is again rewarding sculptural pearls and sharp gem pairings, after recent wins for Tahitian, Keshi and South Sea baroque designs.
AGTA opened entries for its 2026 Spectrum & Cutting Edge Awards on June 22, and pearl designers already know where the spotlight lands: Best Use of Pearls. The category has become a bellwether for what the trade considers fresh, and the last three winners point to a clear direction, from a black South Sea pearl pendant with sapphires and diamonds to Keshi pearl cufflinks and a hand-carved South Sea baroque pearl ring.
The awards are in their 42nd year for Spectrum and 35th year for Cutting Edge, which gives the competition unusual staying power in a crowded calendar of jewelry contests. AGTA calls the program a benchmark for design excellence in natural colored gemstones and natural and cultured pearls, and its rules keep the pearl category tightly defined. Any Spectrum entry that incorporates pearls is automatically considered for Best Use of Pearls, and judges weigh overall beauty, wearability, innovative design, effective use of materials, workmanship, consumer appeal and the potential to generate positive publicity for natural-colored gemstones and pearls.
The 2026 entry window runs to an Early Bird deadline of September 25, with fees of $285 for the first entry and $225 for each additional entry. After that, the Final Deadline falls on October 9, with fees rising to $315 for the first entry and $245 for each subsequent entry. Winners receive first-, second- and third-place trophies in each category, plus up to two Honorable Mentions, along with worldwide exposure through trade journals, consumer press and a special showcase at AGTA GemFair Tucson in Arizona.
That mix of exposure and peer recognition helps explain why the pearl category keeps producing memorable work. In 2025, Richard B. Berberian of Elyse Fine Jewelers won Best Use of Pearls for Midnight Aurora, an 18K white gold pendant featuring a 14 mm black South Sea pearl accented by sapphires and diamonds. In 2024, Robin Callahan’s Helix cufflinks used two pairs of Keshi pearls with blue overtones and black diamonds, while Fannie Thomas won in 2023 with Birds Eye View, a 22K yellow gold hand-carved ring built around a South Sea baroque pearl bird.
AGTA said the 2025 competition drew more than 300 entries and more than 30 new entrants, a sign that the contest still matters as a launchpad for designers seeking trade visibility. The recent winners suggest what may rise in 2026: pearls that are not simply luminous, but structurally daring, set in ways that make shape, scale and texture feel intentional rather than ornamental.
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