b"A MESSAGE FROMTHE GEM AWARDS CHAIRWelcome to the GEM Awards presented by Jewelers of America. Over 23 years ago, the GEM Awards were created as a platform to celebrate talent in various areas of fine jewelry. The goal has remained the same to this day, while the facets of the GEMs have continued to be polished to reflect the evolving jewelry world. Tonight, I am pleased to announce two changes. One looks to the future and the other embraces our past. Both make the jewelry community even brighter.The David Yurman GEM Awards Grant will be added to the program next year. Conceived with David, Sybil and Evan Yurman, three of the most iconic figures in American jewelry and supported by the Yurman Family Foundation, the program will provide a $50,0000 grant and mentorship to an emerging fine jewelry designer who shows the potential to make a unique contribution to the field. More details about how to apply and the requirements will be available on the GEM Awards website beginning on August 4, 2025.This year, weve expanded the voting body beyond the GEM Awards Committee to include honorees, winners and nominees from the past five years. As always, votes are made confidentially and sent to an outside firm to calculate the results. No one knows the winners until they are announced tonight. The GEM Awards judges are an assemblage of extraordinary talent and the individuals are all listed in this program. An equally impressive group is being honored tonight. John A. Green of Lux Bond & Green, who has long been a pillar of the jewelry world, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. CHANEL's Haute Joaillerie Sport collection, which echoes the French House's sportswear legacy and playfully celebrates contemporary athletes and the Paris Olympics, is the recipient of the GEM Award for High Jewelry Excellence. The Jewelry Design nominees, Sophie Billie Brahe, Beth Hutchens of FoundRae and Selim Mouzannar, have each created individual codes of expression that stand out in todays landscape. A deeper look at their work shows they belong in the timeline of great designers.The Media Excellence nominees, Sam Broekema, Paige Reddinger and Trace Shelton, write and edit articles that illuminate the stories of jewelry and, in our digital age, they have proven there is still a passion to read about luxury in print magazines as well as on smartphones. The Retail Innovation nominees, Bernard James, CD Peacock and Reinhold Jewelers, demonstrate a range of imaginativewaystopresentjewelrytotheirclientsinbricksandmortarestablishmentsthatservelocal communities from Greenpoint, Brooklyn to Oak Brook, Illinois and San Juan, Puerto Rico.All of us on the GEM Awards Committee are thrilled you are here tonight to celebrate these nominees, honorees and our flourishing jewelry world.Marion Fasel Chair | GEM Awards 22 23RD ANNUAL GEM AWARDS"