Couture Design Awards honor emerging talent and emotional high jewelry

Subtle is over in high jewelry, and Couture’s Design Awards made that plain in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The annual program recognized design across 12 judged categories, along with Editor’s Choice and People’s Choice, and the strongest pieces leaned into personality, symbolism and a clear point of view.

Couture director Gannon Brousseau opened the evening by calling it “a very special night” that honored the best in design and the work behind it. The show also paused to remember Cindy Edelstein and Jan Mohr, with Jan Mohr’s daughter, Madelyn Fischer, stepping into her late mother’s role as the event’s “Vanna White.” The first Jan Mohr Award for Excellence went to Mildred Marcano, director of sales and marketing at Reinhold Jewelers, a reminder that Couture still wants the industry to celebrate more than just the finished jewel.

The judging panel reflected that same mix of taste and trade knowledge: Carla Carter of G. Marie Luxuries, Corina Madilian of Single Stone, Jon Kaiser of Bloomingdale’s, Miguel Enamorado of Harper’s Bazaar and writer Smitha Sadanandan. Their choices pointed to a market that rewards narrative as much as carat weight. Zahn-Z’s “Big Zaha Art Deco” ring won Best in Diamonds Below $40,000 Retail, giving Hiba Husayni a second straight Couture Design Award and underscoring how geometric, architecture-driven diamond work continues to hold its own in a crowded field.

The more surprising win came from Itä, a first-year Design Atelier exhibitor, which took Best in Below $10,000 Retail for the “Yarí İznik Whirl” ring. The piece is a newer version of the brand’s “Yarí Whirl” ring and uses enamel inspired by İznik, Turkey, long known for its tile-making tradition. That is exactly the kind of detail that could ripple into birthstone jewelry next: not bigger stones, but sharper silhouettes, richer surface treatment and a story customers can feel immediately.

Couture’s own programming pushed in the same direction. One education panel focused on how spending is becoming more intentional and how jewelry now sits at the intersection of emotional meaning and financial consideration. Another session, “The Art of Custom: Bringing Exceptional Jewelry Visions to Life,” reinforced the idea that personalization is no longer a niche request but a design standard. The show’s Belonging @ Couture mentorship program, now in its third year, brought seven designers together as The Iridescence by Couture in the Cristal ballroom, continuing Couture’s effort to amplify underrepresented voices.

The message for birthstone jewelry is clear: the next wave will favor pieces that feel personal, look purposeful and carry a visible design story. Couture has been testing that formula for years, and the trickle-down from high jewelry to everyday wear is already underway.