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David Adamson of Lynn Haven, Fla. was selected as the overall winner at the Battle of the Benches held over the weekend at Stuller’s headquarters.
The four bench jewelers competed out in the open on Stuller’s demo floor, where other jewelers attending the Bench Jeweler Workshop could watch. Their work was projected on large flat-screen monitors mounted above their stations.
Lafayette, La.--Four jewelers spent hours hunched over their benches in Lafayette, La. this past weekend, as Stuller held its first Battle of the Benches jewelry-making competition.
As the competition kicked off on Friday morning in Lafayette, Stuller Vice President of Merchandising Tammy Kidder noted that the company had more than 40 bench jewelers apply to compete in the Battle of the Benches, which took place during the company’s annual Bench Jeweler Workshop.
From the applicants, Stuller selected four competitors: David Adamson of David Adamson Designer Jewelry in Lynn Haven, Fla.; Patrick Dobbs of Dianna Rae Jewelry in Lafayette; Craig Farley of FCF Jewelry Design in Roanoke, Va.; and Jonathan Smiddy of Acori Diamonds & Design in Friendswood, Texas.
The first of three challenges the bench jewelers faced was the CAD and Render Challenge, taking their design cues from a hypothetical customer: a young woman in her mid-20s who needed a cocktail ring for an upcoming special event, and loves the beach and the color blue.
They had most of Friday to use CAD to create a design that Stuller then cast for them.
The first half of day two, Saturday, brought the Parts and Pieces Challenge, which was the jewelry-making equivalent of the Food Network’s Chopped. The bench jewelers were presented with a square piece of metal, some wire and gemstones, and had the morning to create a design from it.
The Polishing and Finishing Challenge took place Saturday afternoon, with the jewelers putting the finishing touches on the cocktail rings that they started Friday.
Adamson notched victories in both the CAD and Render and the Parts and Pieces challenges, and was named the event’s overall winner as well.
Smiddy took home top prize in Polishing and Finishing.
The Battle of the Benches took place during Stuller’s annual Bench Jeweler Workshop, held April 1 to 3 at the company’s headquarters in Lafayette.
Stuller said that more than 200 jewelers and 20 industry professionals attended this year’s workshop, which also included education sessions on topics such as diamond grading, improving profit margin with repairs and visual merchandising.
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