…we are honored to have been appointed the official jeweler of The Miss Washington Pageant.

Hartley Jewelers of Olympia, Washington, has been selected to be the official jeweler of the prestigious Miss Washington Pageant. To celebrate and mark the occasion, Hartley Jewelers is designing the official Miss Washington ring, which will be awarded to the pageant winner for the first time this year.

“Since we started our business in 1967, we have always had a passion for community involvement. Each year we are pleased to donate a gold and diamond crown pendant designed especially for the new Miss Washington. We are thrilled to have been asked to design the official Miss Washington ring, and – needless to say – we are honored to also have been appointed the official jeweler of The Miss Washington Pageant”, says Rick Hartley, founder of Hartley Jewelers.

The official Miss Washington ring is being created entirely by hand from sketch to finished piece (a process you can watch here). Several series of sketches were drawn, then narrowed down to styles that celebrate the regional Miss Washington Pageant, with a ‘W’ elegantly incorporated into the ring. The designs reflect elements of the national Miss America Pageant ring and tiara. There are three final sketches from which the winning design will be chosen during the month of May, 2012. The public can see the sketches and vote on their favorite at Hartley Jewelers’ Facebook page or by texting “MISSWA” to 22828.

Peggy Miller, Executive Director of the Miss Washington Scholarship Organization, is overseeing the design and decision-making process of the new ring. ”We have always been impressed with the craftsmanship and generosity we have encountered at Hartley Jewelers. It seemed only natural to cement this long-standing relationship by appointing Hartley Jewelers official jeweler of The Miss Washington Pageant”, she says. ”We have had a lot of fun designing the new Miss Washington ring in cooperation with the goldsmiths at Hartley’s, and we are really excited to be able to present this beautiful commemorative ring to the pageant winner for the first time this year.”

The ring will be presented to the winner of this year’s Miss Washington pageant July 6th and 7th at The Highline Performing Arts Center in Burien, Washington. For more information about the ring or the Miss Washington event, please contact Peggy Miller at peggy@misswashington.org.