By Amy Toosley

GIA Jewelry Design graduate Eun-Young Lee, G.G., has been named “Top Diva” by the Women’s Jewelry Association (WJA) after winning first place in an annual design competition sponsored by the organization.

Lee was awarded $2,500 in the WJA’s eighth annual DIVA Design Competition for her Twinkle Star necklace. Her rendering features platinum and 18-karat yellow gold with melee diamonds fashioned to imitate the twinkling of a star. This year’s theme was “Stars! Stars! Stars!”

Lee was also honored at a ceremony in Las Vegas June 4 during the JCK Show. She said it was the first time she has ever won a jewelry design contest in the United States, and she credits her GIA education as the key reason.

“GIA’s Jewelry Design class was so helpful in that I learned how to develop an idea and put it beautifully on paper,” Lee said. “I really appreciated my instructors because they showed me how to articulate exactly what the customer wants and make adjustments for them, right in front of their eyes.”

Lee grew up in Korea and attended Kyung Sung University for metalsmithing and the Brugo Fashion Institute in Italy for fashion design. She came to GIA at the recommendation of one of her professors.

Vickie Riggs, also a graduate of the Design class and a Graduate Gemologist, won third place in this year’s DIVA Awards for her Tahitian Night brooch. It features 17 diamonds, abalone shell and a Tahitian pearl set in white gold. Riggs was awarded $250 for her rendering.

“GIA’s design class thrilled and surprised me because it teaches very specific illustration techniques. I learned to draw stones and metal so realistically,” she said. “The G.G. program also helped; it gave me industry confidence and taught me about stones and materials.”