The winners of the 2025 Couture Design Awards.

On Saturday night in Las Vegas, the Couture Design Awards honored outstanding jewelry making in 12 categories and included a surprise at the end of the evening.

«With all the craziness in the world, it's nice to come back as a community to remember how strong we are together and how much joy we bring to the world,» said Couture Director Gannon Brousseau to open the show.

«After all the hard work that each of you have persistently put in to make this event and this community so special, it is wonderful to finally take a moment to celebrate your success. Take a bow everyone, you deserve it.».

This year's judges were: Kat Stokes of Korman Fine Jewelry in Austin, Texas; designer Selim Mouzannar; Liza Urla of Gemologue; Jennifer Farrington of Mitchell Stores; and Rachael Burrow Rummel, style and buying editor at Veranda magazine.

The 2025 winners are:

_{The best in platinum}

A carved platinum and diamond bracelet by R Kheni took first place in the white gold category this year.

PlatAfrica and Roberto Demeglio came second and third respectively.

_{Best at retail under $10,000}

The «Wise Owl» flip pendant from Three Stories won first place in this category, while By Pariah took second place and White Space took third place.

The double-sided pendant features black opal on one side, ombré sapphires on the other and opens to reveal a Tree of Life design with the word «wisdom» underneath.

_{Best in Bridal}

_{Mason and Books« »Slingshot« diamond ring won the »Best in Bridal" award.}

_{«In starting my company, I really didn't just launch a brand. It actually saved me during some really incredible and difficult personal moments. It gave me both financial independence and a creative outlet,» said an emotional Jamie Books from the scene}

_{«This particular ring, this 'Slingshot' ring, is incredibly personal to me. It was actually a redesign of my own original engagement ring. It's a symbol of reclaiming my story and turning pain into strength and like a slingshot, sometimes you have to pull back to be able to move forward.».}

_{Sevan Bicakci's ring came second, while Rosario Navia's ring came third.}

_{The best in colored gemstones under $40,000}

_{Going up against any designer from For Future Reference has become like swimming against Michael Phelps; chances are you're going to lose.}

_{The brand development agency picked up two awards on Saturday night.}

_{Designer Lauren Harwell Godfrey, of Harwell Godfrey, won «Best in Colored Gemstones Below $40,000» with her «Granny Squares Eleanor» bracelet, a nod to the colored afghans of the 1970s and sister to National Jeweler's most recent piece of the week.}

_{Lisa Nik's earrings took second place in the category, while Fullord came in third.}

_{The best in colored gemstones over $40,000}

_{The other For Future Reference designer to win the 2025 Couture Design Award was Vanessa Fernandez.}

_{Her necklace with more than 32 carats of gold vermeil took first place in the «Best in Colored Gemstones Above $40,000» category.}

_{Gyan Jaipur came second and Sophia D came third.}

_{Best Pearls}

_{Designer Francesca Villa, who was awarded the «Best in Debuting» award last year, won a Couture Design Award again this year, taking first place in the «Best in Pearls» category for her «Eyes on You» necklace.}

_{Mattia Cielo came in second and Shihara was third.}

_{Best in diamonds under $40,000}

_{Bibi van der Velden won for her «Queen B» diamond earring with an alligator.}

_{The adorable alligator is part of a larger collection of diamond designs dedicated to the reptile, which the designer presented this year at Couture.}

_{AMPM came second and Recarlo was third.}

_{The best in diamonds over $40,000}

_{A 1947 Busatti piece took first place in the «Best in Diamonds Above $40,000» category.}

_{The brand beat out Walters Faith and Mariani, which took second and third place in the category, respectively.}

_{The best in gold}

_{Feline lovers of the jewellery world, rejoice.}

_{Lunar Rain won first place in the «Best in Gold» category for its «Moon Cat Locket» in 18-carat gold, inspired by the ancient Egyptian goddess Bastet.}

_{Second place went to Alice Herald and third place to Castro Smith.}

_{Best innovator}

_{Yutai, a brand represented by Muse, won the «Best in Innovative» award for this necklace, which features multiple gemstones that were precision cut to showcase their beauty and then fused into a single stone.}

_{Second place in the category went to Moritz Glik's House of Glik, while Bijules, which made its debut at the Couture Design Atelier, took third place.}

_{The Best in High Rapture}

_{Chantecler Capri won first place in the Haute Couture category for this incredible necklace.}

_{Kavant & Sharart won second place, while pearl-focused brand Moksh came in third.}

_{Best newcomer}

_{This year's winner of the «Best in Debuting» award was Zahn-Z, while Circa 1700 - another brand for future reference - and By Pariah came in second and third place respectively.}

_{Hiba Husayni is the designer behind Zahn-Z and was among the «brilliant» of the couture last year.}

_{The Couture Design Awards also include two awards voted on by those attending the show - the Editor's Choice and the People's Choice. The public's choice vote is voted for live during the awards ceremony.}

This year, Sevan Bicacki's wedding ring won the «Best in People's Choice» award, while the top choice of the attending editors was a gold necklace by Robinson Pelham.  

_{The evening concluded with the presentation of the annual Cindy Edelstein Award, as well as a new retail-focused award called «Hidden Gem.».}

_{Jeff Feero, the force behind Alex Sepkus, the brand created by the late eponymous jewelry artist, won the Cindy Edelstein Award and received a standing ovation when he took the stage.}

_{«I'm this version of Jeff Feero because of ... everyone else on my team. I can't be me without them. I'd just be a dude,» he said.}

«They put it out there and I'm a patient [expletive]. I'm so tolerant of my shop, my people, and that's my only gift, to see people's potential and be quiet and let them be who they are.».


Source: nationaljeweler.com/