CLARTÉ’s malachite-and-diamond bangle wins INSTORE Gold Over $5,000 category

CLARTÉ’s Gemini bangle took both First Place and Retailer’s Choice in INSTORE’s Gold Over $5,000 category, and it did so with the kind of material tension that justifies a five-figure price tag: 14K yellow gold, engraving, 8.48 TCW of malachite and 0.75 TCW of diamonds. At $10,099, the bangle did not rely on size alone. It won on texture, contrast and finish, the exact cues that make a high-ticket gold jewel feel collectable rather than merely costly.

The judges, Viviana Langhoff, Ellie Thompson and Smitha Sadanandan, responded to the craftsmanship and to the freshness of the malachite treatment. That matters in a category where gold jewelry can easily collapse into sameness. Here, the engraving gave the surface depth, the diamonds brought sparkle without overpowering the design, and the green stone accents kept the piece from reading as another standard yellow-gold bracelet. The result was modern-classic: familiar in silhouette, but sharper and more editorial in execution.

AMÁLI Jewelry took the next two spots, and its placements showed the same appetite for jewelry that mixes gold with color and movement. The second-place tassel earrings, in 18K yellow gold with 14.0 TCW of Australian boulder opal and fringe, were priced at $5,950. The third-place symmetrical necklace, also in 18K yellow gold, carried 35.25 TCW of boulder opal and a $17,690 price. Together, the AMÁLI pieces made a clear argument for higher-end gold that feels alive, with stones chosen for pattern, texture and rhythm rather than strict symmetry alone.

That broader field backed up the trend. INSTORE said the 2026 competition marked the 11th edition of the Design Awards, with 229 entries, matching the previous year’s total. It also added a new Small Batch Colored Gemstone category for makers with five or fewer employees, a sign that colored stones are not a side note but one of the category’s main engines. Six retailers and three media personalities judged the entries through blind voting, while hundreds of retailers nationwide voted online to choose Retailer’s Choice winners in each category.

The Gold Over $5,000 lineup also included pieces such as the Boulder Opal Symmetrical Necklace, Pleiades 7 Station Necklace and Bujukan Split Bangle Bracelet. But CLARTÉ’s Gemini bangle stood apart because it delivered exactly what luxury gold buyers are rewarding now: classic metal, bold color and enough craftsmanship to make the price feel earned.