Jewelers of America CASE Awards spotlight bold tourmaline necklace and ring designs

Jewelers of America’s CASE Awards turned into a clear signal for 2026 layering: more color, more scale, and a stronger appetite for one commanding jewel to anchor everything around it. The most arresting winners were not dainty add-ons but a 14k yellow-gold custom necklace from Kennedy’s Jewelers in Blue Springs, Missouri, and an 18k yellow-gold double bullet diamond ring from Renisis in New York, pieces that read like statements first and accessories second.

The 2026 CASE Awards marked Jewelers of America’s 36th annual competition, and CASE stands for Creativity, Artistry, Style and Excellence. More than 120 entries competed after the call for submissions ran from February 9 through March 20, 2026, open to employees of JA member retailers and suppliers and to MJSA members. JA said the judging focused on design excellence, originality, marketability and quality of manufacturing, with a panel that included GemGuide’s Brecken Branstrator, jewelry writer Tanya Dukes, designer Deirdre Featherstone, and representatives from GIA and National Jeweler. Synchrony sponsored the competition.

The retailer Best in Show piece, designed by Trisha Kennedy-Thompson and priced at $56,150, was built around 201.64 carats of cabochon tourmalines in pink, green and bi-color stones, plus 6.63 carats of accent diamonds. It is exactly the sort of jewel that suggests where layering may be heading: not toward delicate sameness, but toward one oversized, chromatic centerpiece capable of carrying a whole neckline. The fact that the necklace had already appeared as a Best Statement Piece finalist in JCK’s 2026 Jewelers’ Choice Awards only sharpened that read. This is a jewel made to do the work of an entire stack.

Renisis’s Best in Show supplier ring, designed by Sardwell and priced at $68,000, offered a different lesson in visual weight. Two rose-cut bullet diamonds totaling 4.09 ctw sat with navy blue vitreous enamel and pavé diamonds, a combination that gave the ring a sculptural edge instead of a conventional sparkle profile. In a market where stacking often depends on contrast, that kind of unusual cut and dark enamel ground a look the way a single strong cuff or signet does on a wrist.

The rest of the winners reinforced the same direction. Atelier Mythique’s La Dragonne long 3-finger ring and sculpture, Susan Eisen Fine Jewelry and Watches’ watermelon tourmaline crystal brooch, Michael Ryan Personal Jeweler’s pink tourmaline and pearl strand piece, Loriann Jewelry’s Etheria cluster earrings, Olga Shatrova’s sapphires-and-tsavorites ring, Jack Ferrero Inc.’s pomegranate ring, and Hearts on Fire’s DREAM Floating Necklace all leaned into scale, color, and distinctive silhouette. The CASE roster did not just reward craft; it suggested that the next wave of layering may be less about accumulation and more about one exceptional jewel setting the tone.