Business News

Stuller designer sparkles in major trade show competition

Travis Withers wins top honor at JCK Las Vegas for domed platinum and diamond pendant.

A stunning platinum and diamond cage pendant by Lafayette-based jewelry manufacturer Stuller Inc.’s Travis Withers won Best in Show at this year’s JCK Platinum Innovations Awards, a design contest held as part of the largest trade show in North America.

The competition, in its sixth year, invites jewelry designers exhibiting at the JCK Las Vegas trade show to submit their most innovative platinum pieces. A panel of industry experts judged more than 130 pieces in three different categories before selecting Withers’ piece for the top prize.

Travis Withers

Withers, a UL Lafayette graduate, has been with Stuller’s virtual design team since 2011. Withers says his interest in dome architecture is what inspired him to create his first award-winning piece as a jewelry design professional.

“While creating the domed structure, I found myself exploring the patterns that emerged when the two domes were positioned opposite of one another, and after much experimentation, what I had finally achieved was a perfect vault formed by a delicate almost lace-like shell,” says Withers in a press release announcing the honor.

This is Stuller’s second time winning Best in Show at JCK’s Platinum Innovation Awards, hosted by Platinum Guild International. In 2011, Stuller’s Michael Bartlett brought home the top honor with a modern engagement ring design.

Stuller, which provides a wide range of goods and services for jewelry professionals worldwide, offers bridal jewelry, wedding bands, fine jewelry, mountings, diamonds, gemstones, findings, metals, tools, packaging and digital solutions.