Amedeo Scognamiglio Joins Artisan Jewellery Design Awards 2026 Jury

Amedeo Scognamiglio has spent his life proving that a craft can carry centuries of memory and still feel urgent. The sixth generation of a family that has carved cameos in Torre del Greco, Italy, since 1857, Scognamiglio joined the jury of the Artisan Jewellery Design Awards 2026, organized by the Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council, in a pairing that speaks directly to what the competition is asking of its designers this year.

The 2026 edition runs under the theme "Quantum Couture – Re-Engineering Beauty and Cultural Codes," a brief curated by Paola De Luca, futurist and founder of The Futurist LLC, who conducted an online masterclass for more than 200 participants in January. GJEPC Chairman Kirit Bhansali framed the intent plainly: "India's artisanal legacy is not a static memory; it is a living force that is actively shaping the global future of design." The competition calls for entries where design heritage and technology coexist rather than compete, and where legacy technique is treated as a system to evolve, not an artifact to preserve.

For Scognamiglio, the role is not a departure from his practice but a distillation of it. He mastered cameo engraving at 15, working in his father's company, M+M Scognamiglio, in Torre del Greco before eventually relocating to New York. In 2001, he co-founded the fine jewelry house Faraone Mennella with Roberto Faraone Mennella. Five years later, in 2006, he launched his eponymous brand AMEDEO, opening boutiques on Manhattan's Upper East Side and in Capri. His collections, carried at Bergdorf Goodman, Barneys, and Neiman Marcus, reimagined the cameo through unexpected materials and imagery: skulls, robots, and Ganesha figures carved with the same precision once reserved for classical mythological profiles. Time Magazine named him one of its 100 Most Influential Designers; he received the Fashion Group International's Rising Star Award in 2007. At the 2019 Academy Awards, Spike Lee wore a pendant the house created for him.

What Scognamiglio brings to the jury is something more precise than prestige: a lived understanding of how heritage technique withstands transformation without losing authority. The jury's criteria prioritize storytelling, legacy methods, and the relationship between stone and metal, which is exactly the territory his three-decade career has navigated.

The Artisan Awards evaluation is multi-stage, beginning with technical assessment and progressing through multiple rounds of expert judging. Winners receive cash prizes along with internships at leading industry brands, and their pieces are exhibited at international trade shows under GJEPC's India Design Gallery. The council, established in 1966, represents more than 9,000 members and oversees a USD 40 billion trade.

For designers competing under the Quantum Couture brief, Scognamiglio's presence on the jury sends a precise signal: innovation here will be measured against deep craft knowledge, not in spite of it.