(PRESS RELEASE) DALLAS — The American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) officially started accepting entries for the 2025 AGTA Spectrum & Cutting Edge Awards last week and is now pleased to unveil the list of judges for the competition. Five were selected this year, comprising experts from different disciplines within the jewelry industry. (More judges exist for sponsored categories.) Judges are tasked with assessing hundreds of entries based on the criteria of beauty and wearability, innovative design, effective use of materials, quality of gemstones, quality of workmanship, consumer appeal, and potential to generate positive publicity for natural colored gemstones, natural Pearls, and cultured Pearls. Each piece is examined by hand with an eye for craftsmanship and quality of the materials used.
“Once again, AGTA is fortunate to have an incredible group of judges with vast industry experience for this year’s Awards,” says John W. Ford, Sr., CEO of AGTA. “I encourage every designer and gem dealer, whether a seasoned veteran or someone waiting to be discovered, to send in your best. The media exposure you receive both by competing or winning a Spectrum or Cutting Edge Award can equally propel you and your business to new heights.”
AGTA Board President Bruce Bridges, President of Bridges Tsavorite, also looks forward to meeting with the judges.
“The AGTA Spectrum & Cutting Edge Awards have represented the highest standard of excellence in gemstones and jewelry design for over four decades,” says Bridges. “The judging process is incredibly thorough, with each juror selected for their unique expertise and insight. Multiple safeguards have also been put into effect to ensure that any chance for favoritism is completely negated. The level of media attention from respected industry publications, bloggers, and influencers makes participation alone a valuable opportunity. In terms of long-term recognition and visibility, no other jewelry competition compares.”
Judging will take place in Dallas in late October. Judges for this year include:
Jerry Raine | Retailer Judge
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Jerry Raine
Jerry Raine has worked in the gem and jewelry business since 1979, with his first-ever Tucson gem shows experience taking place in 1981—one year before AGTA GemFair Tucson debuted. Since touching down in that annual, nearly monthlong colored gemstone oasis in Arizona, buying and selling colored gemstones has been his passion. One year later in 1982, Raine founded Turgeon Raine Jewelers in Seattle with Norman Turgeon. Their store developed a reputation for fine gems and meticulously custom-made pieces as well as outside artisan-produced heirlooms, with Jerry and his wife Yukiko contributing to many of their handmade treasures. Norman retired in 2013, but Jerry and his team continue to offer fine ready-made designs as well as lending their bench expertise and creativity to those seeking one-of-a-kind engagement rings or other celebratory styles.
Craig Underwood | Retailer Judge
Craig Underwood
Craig Underwood is the President of Underwood’s Jewelers in Fayetteville, Ark., and has been in the jewelry profession since 1975. He represents the second generation of the 68-year-old Underwood firm, and while at the helm, Underwood’s was named the single best store in America, winning the title “Coolest Store” from INSTORE Magazine. Craig is a serial entrepreneur, philanthropist, volunteer, and leader in both jewelry and his local community. Some of his roles include Past President of the American Gem Society (AGS), board member for Jewelers For Children, and President of the Northside Fayetteville Rotary Club. He is an accomplished jewelry designer with multiple AGTA Spectrum Awards under his belt as well as being an award-winning landscape photographer. He also earned the 2022 Robert M. Shipley Award from AGS. Craig is married to Laura Underwood, and they have three children and three grandchildren.
Erica Courtney | Designer Judge
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Erica Courtney
Erica Courtney is a multiple award-winning, American jewelry designer renowned as much for her exquisite one-of-a-kind pieces as she is for her philanthropy and adventurous spirt. Though she started her business with just $200 to her name, she has built it into an international brand known for her pioneering use of a wide range of vibrant gemstones—from little-known Sunstone to cognac Diamonds—climbed in and out of mines all over the world, aided those affected by U.S. hurricanes, and funded countless cataract surgeries and procedures for the deaf across southeast Asia. With over 40 years in the industry, her intricate craftsmanship and bold, timeless designs give life to her tagline “Drop Dead Gorgeous.” Her work has earned recognition in top fashion publications and has been worn by numerous celebrities, all hard-earned accolades that make Erica a leading figure in the world of fine jewelry.
Blaine Lewis | Manufacturing Judge
Blaine Lewis
Blaine Lewis has been at the forefront of jeweler education for nearly 30 years. As the Owner, President, and Lead Instructor of the New Approach School For Jewelers in Arrington, Tenn., founded in 1996, he is widely recognized as one of the premier Diamond-setting and metalsmithing instructors in the U.S. He has changed the landscape of the jeweler education industry through his hands-on approach, real-world examples, and brilliant bench-smithing techniques. He has pioneered the use of high-definition, high-magnification projection of the fine precision work being performed as it was being demonstrated, allowing students to see every step of the processes. Blaine also designed classrooms and teaching methods to provide superior communication between students and instructor. He has an innate ability to innovate, find practical solutions, and apply them to stone-setting techniques and jewelry making. To date, he has taught more than 18,000 students.
Clay Zava | Lapidary Judge
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Clay Zava
Gemstone cutter Clay Zava’s story begins in the mountains of the western Carolinas, where a young Zava dug up colorful marbles during play, a find that planted a seed of passion for his eventual career in gemology and lapidary work. From that point on, he spent weekends digging for more valuable treasures, including Sapphires and fossils, while his grandmother nurtured a love of metalsmithing by bringing him to silversmithing classes. Zava’s study of light, minerals, and form have enabled his handiworks to exhibit an exceptional balance between precision and grace. Zava has been cutting gems for more than 40 years, drawn to their beauty, symmetry, and diverse ranges of colors, and his company, Zava Mastercuts, has been handcrafting one-of-a-kind gems for more than 25 years. To date, he’s won a dozen AGTA Cutting Edge Awards, and his cut gems have been featured in 40-plus AGTA Spectrum Award-winning designs.
Judges for the sponsored Awards categories include:
Patti Norville Spector | Alfie Norville Women in Excellence Awards (ANW) Judge
Patti Spector
Patti Norville Spector is the oldest daughter of Allan and Alfie Norville, real estate developers who founded the Gem & Jewelry Exchange (GJX) show in Tucson, Ariz., in 1994. Patti worked with her father for more than 25 years in land development, property management, leasing, bookkeeping, and office management as well as the first year of GJX. Her mother, meanwhile, nurtured her love of gemstones and fine jewelry, which served as the impetus for establishing the show, which thousands attend each year. Patti runs GJX today and enjoys visiting with both longtime and new exhibitors, buying jewelry, and helping VIPs find special pieces for their collections. Most recently she has been involved with the University of Arizona Alfie Norville Gem & Mineral Museum, established in part to honor Alfie’s passion for jewelry and devotion to the industry.
Cher Norville | Alfie Norville Women in Excellence Awards (ANW) Judge
Cher Norville
Cher Norville is the sister of Patti Norville Spector and another daughter of Allan and Alfie Norville, who founded the Gem & Jewelry Exchange (GJX) show in Tucson, Ariz. Cher earned her bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, Commercial Design, from Northern Arizona University and became an art director in design and photography, traveling to New York and Dallas for photoshoots. She has more than 40 years of experience in art direction, illustration, product and catalog production and design, corporate identity design, photo manipulation and retouching, web design, photography, and art instruction in high schools. For a period, she also painted, eventually making prints of her art to sell, followed by requests from others to print their works; the move turned into another business for her before she relocated to Las Vegas to be near family and where she now runs her own company, CN Design LLC.
Billie Norville | Alfie Norville Women in Excellence Awards (ANW) Judge
Billie Norville
Billie Norville is married to Mike Norville, a member of the family that created the Gem & Jewelry Exchange (GJX) show in Tucson, Ariz. Billie was raised in Santa Barbara, Calif., deeply influenced by the region’s natural beauty, particularly its beaches and mountains. This landscape shaped her design philosophy and led her to Los Angeles, where she embarked on a career in the fashion industry after graduating from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. For 18 years, Billie designed sportswear for men and women, traveling extensively domestically and internationally and giving her keen insights into fabrics, color trends, and style. She met her husband on a trip to Arizona and eventually joined the Norville family, whose matriarch, Alfie Norville, shared her passion for the industry with Billie, who added jewelry design to her portfolio and became an integral part of the GJX team.
Jenny Luker | Platinum Guild International USA (PGI) Judge
Jenny Luker
With nearly 30 years of experience working with jewelry designers, manufacturers, and retailers, Jenny Luker now holds the position of President of Platinum Guild International USA. In this role, Jenny is responsible for the strategic business development of the platinum jewelry industry in the U.S. She leads her team in developing innovative marketing and trade programs that create value for the jewelry industry and fosters new generations of consumers.
Jenny holds a B.A. from the University of Oklahoma and an M.A. from California State University at Fullerton, both in sociology. Additionally, Jenny is the Immediate Past Chairman of the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, Past President of the Women’s Jewelry Association, an Executive Board member of Jewelers for Children, and member of the 24 Karat Club of New York.
The Early Bird mail-in deadline for Spectrum & Cutting Edge entries is Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. The final mail-in deadline is Friday, Oct. 10, 2025. Click here to enter. Also be sure to save the date for the AGTA Spectrum Awards Gala to be held on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026, in the Tucson Convention Center in Tucson, Ariz.
For more information, contact AGTA at [email protected].
