Tiffany and CFDA expand jewelry award with new scholar prize

Tiffany & Co. and the Council of Fashion Designers of America are widening their jewelry-design wager with a second cycle that reaches beyond emerging names and into the classroom. The 2026 to 2027 Tiffany & Co. x CFDA Jewelry Designer Award now includes a new Tiffany x CFDA Jewelry Design Scholar Award, a $25,000 scholarship and summer internship for an early-career student, alongside the main prize that gives one designer a $50,000 grant and a year-long paid fellowship with the Tiffany Design team.

Applications opened May 10 at 11:59 p.m. ET and close June 1 at 11:59 p.m. ET. For finalists, the program still reads less like a trophy case than a working studio: they will develop a 3 to 5-piece metal capsule collection, receive one-on-one mentorship from Tiffany’s design team, and present their work to the selection committee at an award ceremony at The Landmark, Tiffany’s Fifth Avenue flagship.

The addition of the scholar award is the clearest signal yet that Tiffany and the CFDA want to shape the pipeline before a designer has even built a brand. Jewelry is a capital-heavy field, and the cost of metal, tools, casting and prototyping can shut out young talent long before a first collection reaches a buyer or a showroom. By attaching real money to a summer internship, the new prize gives a student both the materials and the access that can turn sketchbook ideas into objects that hold their own in gold, silver or mixed metal.

That emphasis on making, not just mentoring, also distinguishes the program from a simple prestige award. Finalists are being asked to move through craft and material exploration, a format that favors designers who can translate concept into wearable construction, from clean bezel work to more architectural settings and surfaces. In a jewelry market that prizes both story and finish, the contest is effectively testing which students can think like artists and build like goldsmiths.

Jameel Mohammed, the inaugural recipient and founder of Khiry, will sit on the 2026 selection committee after joining the Tiffany Design team as a fellow in April 2025. He will be joined by Nathalie Verdeille, Rajni Jacques, Gabrielle Union, Bethann Hardison, Frank Everett, Karla Martinez de Salas, Andrew Bolton and Lynn Yaeger.

The scholarship is being established with the CFDA Scholarship Fund, which marks its 30th anniversary in 2026. Founded in 1996, the fund has awarded about $5.9 million through 415 scholarships, with jewelry among its specialties. The first Tiffany x CFDA jewelry award launched on July 29, 2024, selected 10 designers for mentoring sessions and Tiffany-led workshops, and ultimately named Mohammed the winner in January 2025. With this second cycle, Tiffany and the CFDA are no longer just celebrating the next generation of jewelry designers. They are underwriting it.