GeoGems wins Kering’s Generation Award x Jewelry for sustainable innovation

GeoGems won the startup prize in Kering’s second Generation Award x Jewelry. The French gemmological expertise firm, based in Nantes and Guérande, advanced OriGems, a project built to make a stone’s origin scientifically verifiable rather than simply claimed. In the student category, Yang Yuchan of the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology won with Perching Willow, a design that turns discarded compact discs into fine jewelry.

Kering launched the second edition on February 6, 2026, with CIBJO and POLI.design at the Politecnico di Milano, and with backing from Boucheron, Pomellato, DoDo and Qeelin. The theme, Second Chance, First Choice, called for reducing the jewelry industry’s environmental footprint across products, processes, services and technology. The program drew applicants from 10 universities and academies specializing in jewelry and sustainability, alongside established startups. The finalists presented their projects on July 9 at Kering’s Paris headquarters during a special event tied to Paris Haute Couture Week and the Fashion Our Future Jewelry program co-organized with Marie Claire.

Startup finalists were assessed on new innovative materials, AI, packaging and retail-focused technologies, while student entries had to transform discarded materials into jewelry. GeoGems will receive mentorship from POLI.design, while Yang will receive an internship with one of Kering’s jewelry maisons. The other finalists were Japanese startup Novanoma and Jill Schmid of Rochester Institute of Technology, whose Acacia project used wood shavings.

At the inaugural edition, held at JCK Las Vegas in 2025, Lee Min Seo won the student prize with jewelry made from discarded leather from traditional Korean jang-gu percussion instruments, and Chinese startup Ianyan won for work involving fractured opals and imperfect gems.