As every year, the American Gem Trade Association announced the winners of its 2020 Spectrum Awards. Brenda Smith was among the winners, for the Best Use of Pearls category: she was classified with an 18-karat rose gold ring embellished with pink sapphires and lavender , diamonds, as well as from a pearl. The designer represents a deeply American model of jewelry. She is based in Woodstock, a small town near Atlanta, Georgia. In her career Brenda Smith has won numerous design competitions, including the first place in the International Pearl Design Competition several times, and has pieces exhibited in public and private collections, including the Smithsonian.
Before becoming a jewelry designer, however, she was a creative director with over 25 years of experience in advertising, design and teaching. Then, she decided to study as a jeweler and to earn a diploma as a gemologist. Perhaps also for this unorthodox training she introduced variations and innovations that differentiate her jewels from traditional ones.
