Southern Jewelry News

(DAVENPORT, Iowa) - Gemvision Corporation held its 8th Gemvision Design Symposium event October 2-4, 2010 near Chicago in Schaumburg, IL at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center. A crowd of nearly 300 participants were on hand representing 16 countries worldwide and 38 US states. This unique jewelry design and technology event featured presentations of the latest Gemvision CAD/CAM innovations, training classes, networking opportunities, a live head to head Matrix Design Contest, and the Matrix Design Contest Awards Dinner announcing the contest winners.

One of the most highly anticipated presentations of the event was the preview of Version 7 of the award-winning Matrix 3D Design Software including a demonstration of new T-Splines technology integrated into Matrix. T-Splines modeling capability allows simple, fast, and easy creation of fluid organic shapes and complex flowing designs by pushing and pulling surfaces. Matt Sederberg, CEO of T-Splines, Inc., was a special guest at the event to personally see how this exciting technology will change the way jewelry can be created in Matrix.

An exclusive version of Matrix Version 7 WIP (Work in Progress) Software was distributed to all attendees to begin exploring new tools and functionality that will appear in the final version of Matrix Version 7 to be released in the Spring of 2011.

Also receiving a pre-release demonstration was the second generation of CounterSketch Studio utilizing design software from Gemvision and fulfillment of the custom piece by Stuller. CounterSketch Studio 2.0 features a comprehensive library update, print catalog support, visual search options that allow styles to be browsed for in different ways, and new quick estimate functionality that allows you to display pricing using multiple gem and quality options. Matt Stuller, CEO and founder of Stuller, was a special guest at the event to witness the unveiling of this latest evolution of the innovative custom design system.

Another highlight of the event was the live Head to Head Matrix Design Contest that challenged 2 teams, each consisting of a designer and a CAD technician, to respond in real time to a custom design request and produce their best design while the crowd watched their every mouse click. Participants in the contest were Jennifer Gargon, Ted Karl, Kassie Ramirez, and Marcelo Makar.

One of the most popular functions at the event was the announcement of the winners of the 2010 Matrix Design Contest at an awards dinner and presentation. Sponsored by MJSA, the Matrix Design Contest was open to Matrix users worldwide and recognized winners based on Best 3D Render, Technical Merit, Overall Design, Judges Distinction, and more. Contest prizes included Gemvision credit certificates, Apple iPads, gemstones provided by Stuller, and more.

As contest sponsor, the President of MJSA, David Cochran, kicked off the awards dinner with a motivating address to the crowd. New this year was a provided color gemstone contest category featuring 3 gems provided by Stuller that could be incorporated into a design using exact 3D models of the gems. Attendees at the dinner voted on the best design using each color gemstone. A Grand Prize “Best in Show” winner was also voted on by dinner attendees and awarded a high performance laptop computer system. Below is a complete list of 2010 Matrix Design Contest winners in every category:

• Grand Prize Best in Show: Christopher Moriarty, Moriarty’s Gem Art
• Overall Design 1st Place: Justin Scott, Meigs Jewelry
• Overall Design 2nd Place: Nicole Fanous, Fanous Jewelers, Inc.
• Overall Design 3rd Place: Bobby Gholson, Gholson Originals Fine Jewelry
• Overall Design Honorable Mention: Alexander Davis, Rowan Davis Jewellery; Michael Devlin, Devlin Jewelry Design; and Greg Stopka, Jewelsmiths
• Best Render 1st Place: Joseph Meadows, David Douglas Diamonds & Jewelry
• Best Render 2nd Place: Justin Scott, Meigs Jewelry
• Best Render 3rd Place: Brendan Thielman, Out of the Box
• Best Render Honorable Mention: John Bradley, Dot Jewellery; Jason Lee, Diamond Jewellery Boutique; and Nick Rowan, Rowan Davis Jewellery
• Technical Merit 1st Place: Tri Nguyen, Zoran Stojanovic
• Technical Merit 2nd Place: Kitty Hundley, Sierra Pacific Casting
• Technical Merit 3rd Place: David Armstrong, Charles Koll Jewellers
• Technical Merit Honorable Mention: Robert Lingham, Lingham Jewellery Pty Ltd; Christopher Moriarty, Moriarty’s Gem Art: and Tri Nguyen, Zoran Stojanovic
• Best Student Design: Rehan Sheikh, Pakistan Gems and Jewellery Development Company
• Provided Pink Tourmaline Gemstone: Brent Kehrle, Ron Rizzo Jewelry
• Provided Green Tourmaline Gemstone: Michael Devlin, Devlin Jewelry Design
• Provided Tanzanite Gemstone: John Witt, John Austin Designs Inc.

Gemvision is headquartered in Davenport, IA and was founded in 1990 by Jeff High. The award-winning provider of jewelry CAD/CAM products has facilities in the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as a global network of Authorized Dealers delivering technology solutions to jewelers worldwide. Find out more at www.gemvision.com.

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