It’s that time of the year again! The 2nd Annual Town & Country Jewelry Award results are in! I analyzed some pieces of the awards last year and you can read it by clicking the link. I’m not going to go through all those points from last year. I want to only look at one main issue I had with the awards and focus on how the awards have moved forward.
If you are a subscriber to Town & Country magazine you probably got a cover like this with your magazine last week.
Anne Hathaway in a multi-colored dress with a long rose gold earring. The rose gold earrings are by Vhernier, named innovator of the year in the Town & Country Jewelry Awards. A great designer but this earring choice was not a great statement of things to come.
The other cover on newsstands was no different in the jewelry department. This time rose gold and jet earring by the same designer, Vhernier.
There was something missing from the cover that I noticed immediately, compared to last year. Here is the last year cover if you don’t remember or if you haven’t read the post from last year.
See in the right-hand corner in red? It is the call out of the Town & Country Jewelry Awards! When I first saw this magazine, I was concerned that the awards were a one-time thing. For me that would be upsetting since I just renewed so I could receive this issue! I think for the Jewelry Awards Issue the accessories should be a bit bolder.
I was pleased to see a change in the voting. Instead of a small panel like last time (where 2 of the judges also won in the Media Category) this time more than 200 ballots were cast among Jewelry designers, collectors, T&C editors, industry experts and influencers. I was not on that list but the editor’s letter by Stellene Volandes mentioned the voting logistics in the first line. I really think this is better than leaving it to a select few that may have other interests involved. For me this issue got off to a better start.
The Categories
A list of the winners to discuss below:
I like that there are 12 categories, not too many but not too few. I do subscribe for the jewelry so I want to see plenty of it. A nice addition to the magazine was some of the categories also have finalists. For colored stones Chopard won, below is a stunning and colorful pair of earrings. The runners up were Irene Neuwirth and Martin Katz.
Some other categories to highlight:
Bulgari’s Wild Pop Collection: Bulgari is using more color in their creations and channeling the 1980’s. I was fortunate enough to walk by the New York store on 5th Avenue and catch some of their masterpieces.
Tiffany’s Save the Wild Collection: I have been watching this collection since it launched in 2017. Tiffany has animal themed jewelry like the elephant brooch below from their website, in which Tiffany is donating 100% of the profits to the Wildlife Conservation Network, which includes the Elephant Crisis Fund. You can learn more on their website. What I love about this collection is the price range $250-$35,000, so you do not need a lot of money to own a piece of jewelry that gives back to nature.
One category not listed is for social media influencers. Again, I was glad to see the social media panelists no longer choosing the winners. I think that category was unnecessary given how little is proven on how much influence social media has on branding and shopping.
Let me know your thoughts on the magazine. Is there a category you would like to see? I would like a few emerging designers, Town and Country does a lot with main stream, well known jewelry houses, that I think introducing some new faces would help make the magazine feel like a better source of what is happening in the world of jewelry. If you would like to see how to measure social media and its influence in your business send me an email and we can talk about your strategy and business goals. Return later as I get back into a more regular schedule of blogging on Data in the Rough! Thank you for visiting!