Monica Rich Kosann wins brand-innovation award after 20-year rebrand

Monica Rich Kosann’s brand-innovation award is really a vote of confidence in a relaunch that did not throw out the house style. The company still leans on lockets, charms and heirloom jewelry, but after its 20th anniversary it pushed harder on design innovation, sharper silhouettes and pieces meant to fit into daily rotation, not just special occasions.

The Accessories Council will present the honor at the 2026 ACE Awards on Tuesday, May 5, at The Pierre in New York City, as the organization marks 30 years of accessory excellence. Kosann is listed as the 2026 ACE honoree for Brand Innovation, a category that fits a label built around storytelling as much as adornment. Her brand says it has been creating luxury jewelry for two decades, with a mission to make pieces that are beautiful, meaningful, empowering and story-driven.

That story starts with photography. Kosann has long said the medium inspired her to launch the jewelry line, and the brand frames its pieces as an extension of that idea of personal portraits. In practical terms, that means lockets designed to hold inspirational quotes, mantras, places, celebrations, family memories and other private markers of a life well lived. For buyers, the appeal is not just sentiment. It is modular jewelry with a clear use case: something you can wear every day and still change, layer or personalize over time.

The rebrand did not erase the signatures that made Monica Rich Kosann recognizable. Recent company materials still center on lockets and storytelling-led collections, including its best-selling Slim Viv locket line, Peanuts collaborations and Good Grief pieces. That matters because plenty of rebrands strip away the original point of view in the name of looking current. Here, the modernizing move appears to be more precise: keep the emotional core, tighten the design language and make the pieces feel easier to live with.

Kosann has said the brand’s 20-year anniversary was not only about accomplishments and nostalgia, but about future opportunities, more design innovation, more iconic styles and continued hard work. The company’s Certified B Corporation status, earned in 2020, adds another layer for readers weighing not just beauty but values. For everyday jewelry buyers, the takeaway is straightforward: Monica Rich Kosann is trying to stay recognizable while making its heirloom-minded pieces more relevant to how people actually dress now.