Their record speaks for itself: 5 times awarded Louisiana’s Overall Custom Jewelry Designer of the Year,
3 times National First Place Winner, 11 times First Place Winner in Louisiana and over 20 Second and Third Place
winners for Louisiana and Nationally. They have over 100 years of Design Experience producing and winning more
Custom Jewelry design awards than other jeweler in the state!

Jewelers of Louisiana announced that Richard Melancon was there pick for Custom Jewelry Design of the 2011.
It was presented at the Jewelers of Louisiana convention in Lafayette, La. Jewelers of Louisiana is represented
by national and local jewelry sale representatives, jewelry store owners and employes form across the state.
The main purpose of the conclave was to participate an outstanding educational forum, networking, socializing
and to show case the custom made jewelry from around the state.

This beautiful 4.06 carat total weight Dinner Ring is a symphony of yellow colors and different shapes to include:
8 pears, 2 hearts, 1 marquise, 2 cushion, 2 radiants, 1 emerald cut, 2 kites, 3 trillion and 2 oval cut diamonds. Each
piece of this creation was hand fabricated by Richard and Master goldsmith, Kenneth Ray Hardy. Their
collaboration goes back almost 30 years.

It all started with a parcel of natural fancy yellow diamonds that Richard picked up on one of his buying trips. We
hand selected 5 pear shape diamonds for last years winner, the Croix du Soleil. The rest of the parcel I envisioned
a beautiful collage of different shaped yellow diamonds in a dinner ring. The first basic sketch was tweaked into
the design that you see today. The actual drawing was replicated in 14 karat white gold with the dramatic contrast
in the intense color of the yellow diamonds. Another interesting fact about this ring is that the shank of this ring in
made from one continous piece of gold. Like a cork screw from the front to the back. From conception to completion
it took approximately 44 hours of work to complete this design.

As a tradition, the designers at Melancon Jewelers name their design. The formulation of the names come in a number
of way; a dedication, the look or most often they just name themselves. Last year we had such a wonderful time
with “Naming contest” that we decided to do it again this year. We has a lot of great name submitted last year and
expect more again! $100 certificate will be again awarded to the individual that comes up with the best name.
Register the name at Melancon Jeweler’s, via email (richard@mjewelers.com) or at our face book page.
All entries must have a date and time stamp verification. We had some duplications of names last year, so get your
entry in soon. First entry in has the rights to the name submitted. So name this spectacular ring and walk away
with $100 certificate to Melancon Jewelers.

Their love of custom jewelry design and the art of a Master Goldsmith produced a number of custom design through
the years. A small fraction of these designs have been submitted to state and national contest always being a constant
winner. Also capturing first place in several national contest. Richard has collected pictures and paraphernalia
through out the years and turned it into a photo book entitled “The Art of Custom Jewelry Design” It show all the
design pieces enter into contest since they started designing jewelry. A spinet of it can be previewed on their website,
Mjewelers.com or in person at Melancon Jewelers.

Designing is a family affair with LaNell Melancon’s design being awarded second place at this year Jewelers of Louisiana
convention. This spectacular hand made 3 diamond necklace is a sentimental pieces designed for herself. This is the
essence of what we do. From a poem by Peggy Cunningham one the verses is “Jewelry takes on it’s own meaning”
As with this piece, that she custom designed for herself including diamonds that are very sentimental to her.(not for sale)

This annual design competition showcases and recognizes the design talents of bench jewelers/designers across the country. This competition invites all state jewelers associations to submit winners of their own individual previous years’ design contests to compete nationally.

Competition for the Torch Award was by invitation only. You must compete in the Jewelers of Louisiana design contest and win the 2010 Custom Jewelry Design of the year to qualify. This years design was a beautiful 2 carat total weight diamond cross Croix du Soleil- french for Cross of the Sun.

“Many of the state and regional jewelry associations host design competitions to recognize the amazing talents and skills of their members – often showcasing the winning designs at state conventions. We wanted to find a way to share these beautiful designs with an even broader industry audience. The Atlanta Jewelry Show venue truly sets the stage for the exposure a national competition can offer to the winners, as well as the state associations,” explains Carol Young, executive director of the SJTA, producers/managers of the Atlanta Jewelry Show.

Design winners were voted based on skill in execution of design, technical merit of design, and wearability. Each entrant will receive rights-free, professional photography of their submitted piece that they will then be able to use in their own promotional efforts. The Torch Award winners will receive a cash prize and be featured in Southern Jewelry News and Mid-America Jewelry News.

Richard Melancon entered this beautiful 2 carat total weight diamond cross which exemplifies his love for jewelry that is exquisite as well as multifunctional. As a cross it is a showpiece but with a simply rotationit can be worn 3 additional ways, each spectacular. Each piece of this creation was hand crafted by Richard himself and his Master goldsmith, Kenneth Ray Hardy.

This collaboration of design, gold and two shades of natural diamonds produce a magnificent custom design. It all started with a parcel of natural fancy yellow diamonds that Richard purchased on one of his buying trips. The very best diamonds were hand picked to make a design, but what? A ring, pendant, bracelet or a broach. After a number of sketches, the cross rose to the top of the list. “I had never entered a cross and always wanted to.” Richard said. As in many things the first basic sketch was tweaked into the design that you see today. The actual drawing was replicated in 14 karat white gold with each piece interlocking with each other. The yellow diamonds were set in 18 karat yellow gold mountings to provide an interesting contrast with the white gold and accent the color of the yellow diamonds.

The original design called for a emerald cut yellow diamond in the middle but at the last minute the design was further elevated by placing a very white 0.77 Radiant Cut Diamond in the center. This catapulted the design into a new level of elegance with the fancy yellow of the canary diamonds contrasting to the pristine white of the sculptured cross and the Radiant diamond. Richard commented, “Much to my surprise, near its completion it was discovered that when the cross was positioned upside down or positioned sideways (both ways) it created a beautiful design independent of the cross.” From concept to completion it took approximately 60 hours of work to complete this design. As a tradition, the designers at Melancon Jewelers typically name their designs. The formulation of names come in a number of ways; dedication to a particular person, the look or most often the piece just name themselves. This year Richard could not come up with an inspiration for a name so he opened it up as a contest. Name the design? $100 gift certificate was awarded for the name “Croix du Soleil”- french for Cross of the Sun.

The collaboration of Richard Melancon and Kenneth Ray Hardy is an very important part of what makes Melancon Jewelers special. The love of design and the art of a master goldsmith produced a number of custom design through the years. A small fraction of these designs have been submitted to state and national contest always being a constant winner. In Louisiana they have won more awards for custom jewelry design than any jeweler in the state. They have also won several national contest. A collection of pictures and paraphernalia through out the years has been assembled into a photo book entitled “The Art of Custom Jewelry Design” It showcases most of the design pieces entered into contests since they started competing. A snippet of it can be previewed on their website at Mjewelers.com or in person at Melancon Jewelers.

This year Melancon Jewelers will be celebrating their 30th Anniversary. However between Richard, LaNell and Kenneth they have over 100 years of Design Experience. They have a celebrated past of being voted “Jeweler of the Year” three times by the Jewelers Louisiana Association and locally being voted as “The Best Jewelry Store.”

Read more: VermilionToday.com – Abbeville jeweler wins national award

“I am Blessed” says LaNell Melancon of Melancon Jewelers. LaNell loves to make original design jewelry. She had picked up some unusual shaped golden & chocolate Keishi pearls to design a necklace & bracelet set. While working with the pearls she noticed one golden pearl looked to her like a fish, so she kept it on the side. A couple of weeks later she & Richard were discussing an upcoming jewelry design competition. “ I was busy with other things and really didn’t have time to carve or mold anything but I remembered that pearl. It made me smile.” So with that in mind, she began her first place winning design appropriately called “Splash of Fun”. She wanted to keep it as natural as possible by adding another pearl as the backdrop and 14kt gold as the waves with diamonds as the splashes to make a beautiful broach. “I am Blessed to be able to enjoy such beautiful things and it makes me so happy when others enjoy them too.” LaNell, Richard and Kenneth Hardy have worked together at Melancon Jewelers for almost 25 years, they are a team. As she said “I couldn’t do it without them.”