AGTA Spectrum Awards 2026: A Carved Paraíba Medusa Leads Winners

A 101.34-carat Paraíba tourmaline, carved as Medusa and lit from within, has been named Best of Show at the 2026 AGTA Spectrum Awards, the American gem trade’s most closely watched design competition. The American Gem Trade Association announced the winners of its Spectrum and Cutting Edge awards on October 26, and the list reads like a field guide to where colored gemstones are heading: unheated Ceylon sapphire, rainbow moonstone, color-change cobalt spinel and a profusion of copper-bearing tourmaline.

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What are the AGTA Spectrum and Cutting Edge Awards?

Think of them as the colored-stone world’s annual report card. Spectrum judges finished jewelry built around natural colored gemstones and pearls; Cutting Edge judges the lapidary work itself, the loose stones and the people who facet and carve them. This year’s judging took place ahead of an Editors’ Day at the Omni Hotel in Frisco, Texas, where, as JCK reported, editors and influencers chose two Editors’ Choice winners from all 392 entries.

Two new categories arrived in 2026: a Stuller Color of the Year Award for pieces using Stuller’s 2026 color, Signature Red, and an Innovation Award for jewelry that wholesales for under $10,000. The second matters more than it sounds. AGTA CEO John Ford told JCK that “Everyone thinks the Spectrum Awards are for red carpet jewelry,” and the new category was created to reward design rather than sheer carat weight.

Which pieces won the 2026 Spectrum Awards?

The headline piece, Lezlie Slavens’ “Can’t Look Away,” took both Best of Show and first place in the Classical category. According to JCK’s winners list, the 101.34-carat Paraíba tourmaline is carved as Medusa, accented with 2.32 carats of diamonds and suspended from a platinum necklace set with 27.21 carats of diamonds. A hidden magnet switches on an LED behind the carving, so the stone glows from within. It is theatrical, yes, but it also answers a real problem with very large Paraíba: light.

Adam Neeley of Laguna Beach had a standout year. His “Trumpetta” earrings, in titanium and 18k white gold with 67 carats of green tourmaline custom cut by Stephen Avery, won Best Use of Color, first place in Business/Day Wear and the Spectrum Editors’ Choice. His garnet-set “Flame Skimmer” brooch took first in both Fashion Forward and Men’s Wear.

Elsewhere, Niveet Nagpal of Omi Gems won Bridal Wear with a platinum ring centered on a 5.32-carat Paraíba tourmaline, and Shelby Lichtenstein of 30 | 90 Gems won Engagement Rings with “Something New, Something Blue,” a 4.5-carat emerald-cut blue zircon in platinum. Jeffrey Bilgore’s “Neuvelle Moi et Toi Forever” ring, with a 6.21-carat unheated red Mahenge spinel, won the new Stuller Color of the Year prize, and Ricardo Basta’s “Baabara,” a pearl necklace shaped as a sheep, won Innovative Design and Best Use of Pearls.

What were the standout loose gemstones?

For collectors of loose stones, the Cutting Edge list is the more telling read. Allen Kleiman of A. Kleiman & Co. took Best of Show and first in Pairs & Suites with 11 rainbow moonstone cabochons weighing 90.12 carats in total. Joseph Ambalu of Amba Gem Corp. was honored in Classic Gemstones for a 41.05-carat unheated Ceylon sapphire; Ford told JCK, “It’s an extremely rare and valuable stone.”

Keegan Reeves of International Gem Co. was recognized in Phenomenal Gemstones for a 9.575-carat color-change cobalt spinel from Tanzania, and cutter Stephen Avery was recognized in Innovative Faceting and Cutting Edge Best of Single Entries for “Museum Series Portrait #7,” four peridots and a pink sapphire. Ann Barker of Barker & Co. took the Cutting Edge Editors’ Choice for “A Kaleidoscope of Cuprian,” a 98.61-carat suite of multicolor Mozambique Paraíba and cuprian tourmalines.

The most valuable lesson of this year’s list is quiet: unheated, well-cut and honestly described still wins.

How did Paraíba tourmaline become a star?

Paraíba tourmaline is young by gem standards. Its electric, neon blue-green, caused by traces of copper, was first found in the late 1980s in the Brazilian state of Paraíba, which gave the stone its name. When similar copper-bearing tourmaline later appeared in Nigeria and Mozambique, the trade settled on “Paraíba-type” or “cuprian” to describe the material by its chemistry rather than its address, which is why a laboratory report’s origin line matters so much to price.

The Spectrum Awards themselves date to 1984, according to JCK, and over four decades they have tracked the American market’s growing appetite for color beyond the classic trio of ruby, sapphire and emerald. This year’s winners, with zircon in an engagement ring, spinel in a cocktail ring and moonstone at the top of the cutting list, show how far that appetite has traveled. We have covered the same shift at auction, from the 81-carat Paraíba necklace at Bonhams Paris to the Kashmir sapphire leading Christie’s Hong Kong.

Why the 2026 awards matter

In our view, three signals stand out. First, participation is rising: entries were up 21%, and 16% came from first-time participants, a sign that independent designers see the competition as a route to retailers. Second, the new under-$10,000 Innovation category points to where much of the American colored-stone business actually lives. Third, the judges kept rewarding untreated material and skilled cutting over size alone. Plumb Club marketing director Michael O’Connor, who emceed the ceremony, put it simply: “I rarely see as wide and as deep a collection of colored gemstones as I do here.”

For the collector

• Price: AGTA does not publish prices for winning pieces. Ask the designer or their retailers directly, and expect one-of-a-kind award pieces to be priced individually.
• Where to see and buy: Many winners will be displayed at AGTA GemFair Tucson (January 31 to February 4, 2027); check AGTA’s rules on who may attend before planning a trip.
• What drives value: For copper-bearing tourmaline, the report’s origin line and the intensity of the neon color; for sapphire and spinel, the words “no indications of heating.” Our ruby, emerald and sapphire guide explains how treatment changes price.
• What to watch for: Paraíba tourmaline is relatively soft and often included; ask about durability for rings worn daily, and insist on an independent laboratory report for any important stone.
• Resale: An award can add provenance and storytelling, but it is not a price guarantee, and past prices do not predict future value.

Frequently asked questions

Who won Best of Show at the 2026 AGTA Spectrum Awards?

Lezlie Slavens won Spectrum Best of Show with “Can’t Look Away,” a 101.34-carat Paraíba tourmaline carved as Medusa on a diamond and platinum necklace.

What is the difference between Spectrum and Cutting Edge?

Spectrum judges finished jewelry featuring natural colored gemstones and pearls, while Cutting Edge judges loose gemstones and the skill of the cutter or carver.

Where can I see the 2026 winners?

Many winning pieces will be shown at AGTA GemFair Tucson from January 31 to February 4, 2027, with the awards gala at the Tucson Convention Center on February 3.

What makes Paraíba tourmaline so valuable?

Its vivid neon blue to green color comes from copper, which is rare in tourmaline; intensity of color, size, clarity and laboratory-reported origin drive the price.

Sources: JCK, AGTA Names 2026 Spectrum and Cutting Edge Award Winners · JCK, Love at First Sight at the 2026 AGTA Spectrum & Cutting Edge Awards