This was my third year in a row attending Jewelry Week in Las Vegas, but the first time I went on my own, meaning I didn't have to "work" and could spend my time actually walking the show floors. I also had my darling husband in tow so he could be my date, my agent and appreciate our gorgeous room at Aria.

First stop: JCK on Saturday afternoon. We went straight to the Prestige Promenade pavilion to see how the show was going for Jade Trau, clients & friends! Here are a few of Jade's amazing cuff bracelets that were selling especially well (and getting lots of press & attention pre-show!)

After stopping by to see some more friends & clients at Prestige Promenade, we took the shuttle back to the Aria and got ready to meet another client & friend, the very brilliant Elina Bromberg, a private jeweler I'm doing a few marketing projects for. Elina invited us to an event the Natural Color Diamond Association was hosting at Gold Bar, and I met the Pancis Gems family for the first time. Here's a photo of a ring they displayed at their booth, which I visited the next day, featuring a very rare natural fancy pink diamond from the even rarer Argyle mine stock from Australia!

Ring by Pancis Gems featuring a rare pink Argyle diamond

On Sunday morning we visited AGTA (another first for me) and reveled in the amazing colors and textures, just piles upon piles of jewels! Here are some of my favorite "loose" photos:

Keshi pearl necklace with briolette multicolor sapphires and ornate yellow gold clasp by The Pearl Exporting Co.

Gorgeous rutilation in these labradorite pieces, one of my favorite semi-precious stones!

Loved these stingray cuffs - sustainably farmed in Thailand, available (along with amazing iPhone cases!) from Oriental Arts Co.

In the afternoon we stopped by the Wynn to pick up badges for Couture and got an insider's view of the amazing Hilat booth designed by The O Group, where I spent a big chunk of my career! They did a beautiful job, though I don't have any photos 'cause as elegant as Couture is, they're a lot tougher with security! LOVED the Irene Neuwirth presentation: amazing opals, carnelians, my kind of color and organic, gold-heavy design. I also really liked the Mary Esses woven gold pieces, like lace but surprisingly durable when you try on the bracelets & rings.

After attempting to see the Maroon 5 concert and giving up after seeing the ridiculous line, we spent a nice quiet evening having outsized portion burgers at Todd English near our hotel and window shopping at Crystals - Brunello Cucinelli had a display that almost made me cry - summer leather in a sort of bisque bone color, the tailoring, the color, the details!!! It was kind of a Rachel Zoe moment, dying thinking about it since I can't even find it on Google Images!

On Monday I went back to Couture and met Alp Sagnak at Atelier Minyon - winner of 2 Couture Design awards this year! Such a unique aesthetic and artisan perspective, here's one of my favorite pieces:

AMAZING oxidized fluorescent diamond web cuff by Atelier Minyon

Our last trip over to JCK was spent saying hello to exhibitor friends like Natalie at Omi Prive - amazing people, stunning jewels. If you haven't seen their alexandrite lizard pin check it out here... soooo cool!

Imperial Topaz Ring with diamonds, set in rose gold - my kind of pretty in pink! By Omi Prive

We made it over to the Watch Pavilion just before the show closed so that my husband could ogle a bit - timepieces are his passion and I try to learn by osmosis! It was also interesting to pass through Elite Enclave and Luxury and see how everyone personalized and merchandised their booths, pretty impressive.

Our last night was spent packing, having pretty excellent pizza (Wolfgang Puck again) and losing about $40 in the slot machines... our little contribution to the extraordinary machine that is Las Vegas. Exhausted but inspired, I'm glad Jewelry Week is over and as usual, hope I have more time next year to catch up with friends AND spend some time at the pool.