INSTORE Pearl Over 5K awards spotlight statement-making high jewelry designs

A 16.13 mm cultured golden pearl, set in 14K yellow gold and ringed with more than 16 carats of colored stones, carried Robin Callahan Designs LLC to first place in Pearl Over $5,000 and underscored why top-tier pearl jewelry now reads like collectible sculpture, not a classic strand.

The win came in the 11th annual INSTORE Design Awards, which drew 229 entries across 31 categories and used blind voting from six retailers and three media personalities. Retailers nationwide also voted online to name a Retailer’s Choice winner in each category, while a new Small Batch Colored Gemstone category reflected just how hot colored gems have become in the market.

Callahan’s Bubbles cuff is the kind of piece that explains a $69,000 price tag without needing a sales pitch. The design centers a 16.13 mm cultured golden egg-shape pearl in a frame of 14K yellow gold, then stacks pink sapphire, London blue topaz, tsavorite garnets, sapphires, amethyst and blue sapphires around it for a total of 16.62 carats of accent stones. The effect is lush and architectural, with the pearl treated less as a solitary gem and more as the luminous core of a larger high-jewelry construction.

Catherine Fitzgibbon summed up the appeal in plain language: “The bracelet is fun, not too serious, and just makes me happy.” That mix of play and polish is exactly where premium pearl design is moving in 2026, away from conservative symmetry and toward statement pieces that rely on scale, unusual color pairings and substantial metal work to justify their position in the five-figure market.

Callahan, a custom jewelry designer, metalsmith and lapidary artist based on Bainbridge Island, Washington, has built a pearl language around the materials themselves. In November 2023, the Cultured Pearl Association of America named her Bubble ring a U.S. finalist in its 14th Annual International Pearl Design Competition, describing it as an 18K yellow gold design with a 16 mm golden South Sea cultured pearl and the same kind of gemstone chorus she favors here. A 2024 profile later noted that her Harmony won CPAA’s Visionary Award for 2023, alongside a Retailer’s Choice Award and second place in INSTORE’s pearls over $5,000 category.

That track record matters because it shows pearl luxury is no longer being judged only on luster and size. It is being judged on invention, on how confidently a designer can turn one exceptional pearl into a statement object that feels as alive as the stones around it. Callahan has said competition pushes her to create work that is “essentially a part of your heart and soul,” and the Bubbles cuff makes that ambition visible in gold, color and scale.