Awards spotlight alexandrite, black opal and symbolic bridal designs

A 1.49-carat color-change alexandrite ring took first place in the engagement and wedding over-$5,000 category, and its message was as clear as its color shift: bridal buyers are moving beyond the standard diamond solitaire. Yael Designs’ Le Prisme ring in platinum, priced at $19,303, centered a Russian-origin alexandrite and framed it with round diamonds totaling 1.19 carats, marquise diamonds totaling 0.59 carats, trillion-shape diamonds totaling 0.29 carats and baguette-cut diamonds totaling 0.12 carats.

The judges rewarded that combination of rarity and romance. Catherine Fitzgibbon called it a refreshing new take on a halo style with a classic colored gemstone. Mary Murray said she adores an unconventional center stone on an engagement ring and found the alexandrite hue utterly romantic. John Mead was even blunter, calling it a killer alexandrite and saying the center stone does all the talking. That kind of response points to a bigger bridal turn: the stone itself is carrying the sentiment, not just the setting.

Second place went in an even more dramatic direction. Pompos Jewelry Corporation’s platinum ring featured an 8.83-carat oval cabochon Australian Lightning Ridge black opal, backed by round brilliant colorless diamonds totaling 1.53 carats, specially calibrated round brilliant sapphires totaling 0.80 carats, round emeralds totaling 0.62 carats and round Paraíbas totaling 0.44 carats. At $150,000, it was the most expensive of the winners, and its palette made the symbolism unmistakable: black opal from Lightning Ridge, widely regarded as the world capital of fine black opal, brings a deep, shifting fire that reads as private, moody and unmistakably individual.

Third place showed that symbolism is not limited to fully finished rings. Artful Eye Jewelry Design Center’s Signature engagement semi-mount in 14K white gold was priced at $12,995 and built around a 3.20-carat elongated D-color, VVS2 clarity-enhanced cushion-cut lab-grown diamond, with F-color, VVS-clarity lab-grown diamond accents totaling 1.41 carats and peekaboo pink tourmaline totaling 0.24 carats on each side. The Retailer’s Choice, Elena, was a bypass-style semi-mount in 14K yellow gold with emerald-cut diamonds totaling 0.85 carats, priced at $6,000. Both pieces suggest the same shift: bridal design is becoming more personal, more modular and more willing to let color carry meaning.

That direction fits the stones themselves. Alexandrite, one of June’s three birthstones alongside pearl and moonstone, was discovered in Russia’s Ural Mountains in 1830 and is often described as emerald by day, ruby by night. GIA also calls it the gemstone for the 55th wedding anniversary. Lightning Ridge’s black opal story is equally specific, with opal discovered there in the late 1880s, the first parcel of black opal sold in 1903, and mining revived in 1958. Rapaport has tied 2026 jewelry demand to meaning, individuality, emotional connection and storytelling, and these winners showed exactly how that looks in platinum, gold and stone.