Accessories Council Accepting Entries for Annual Design Awards
There are two categories for fine jewelry, as well as two for fashion/costume jewelry.

The awards launched in 2019 to recognize the best in design across a wide variety of accessories, including handbags, sunglasses, eyeglasses, shoes, and jewelry.
There are four categories for jewelry: fine jewelry under $1,000 (suggested retail price); fine jewelry over $1,000 (SRP); fashion jewelry under $100 (SRP); and fashion jewelry over $100 (SRP).
Last year’s winner in the fine jewelry category was Lagos for its 18-karat gold and diamond “Caviar” Apple Watch bracelet, and, in fashion jewelry, Brosway Italia’s “Chakra Mystic” bracelet and the ombre blue “Rock Stars” chandelier earrings from Nadri.
Members of the public vote on the winners from finalist pools selected by the Accessories Council’s board of directors. The council said it had more than 10,000 votes for products last year.
The board chooses the finalists based on excellence in design, unique appearance and/or function, consumer needs addressed by product, appropriate aesthetics, innovative materials or technology, market positioning and competitive performance, social images, emotional appeal, and sustainability.
Entries are being accepted now through Aug. 30.
Finalists will be announced in partnership with Fashionphile on the evening of Sept. 10 at Fashionphile’s flagship store on West 26th Street in New York.
The winners will be revealed at the Design Excellence Awards breakfast, scheduled for Nov. 4 from 8:30-10:30 a.m. at The Fifth Avenue Hotel, 1 W. 28th St.
For more information, visit the 2024 Design Excellence Awards website.
The Latest

Everett covers colored stones’ surging popularity, the mellow return of the “Mellon Blue,” and his “The Devil Wears Prada” doppelgänger.

Fourth-generation CEO Lilly Mullen wants to emphasize experience, connection, and personalized service.

The addition of the diamond-producing countries as nation affiliated members broadens the federation’s global representation, WFDB said.

As gold prices rise, today’s retailers are looking for alternatives at prices that will appeal to wider audiences.

The NYPD is warning elderly New Yorkers to keep their jewelry hidden when walking outside to avoid being a target.


Designer Viviana Langhoff has realized her dream of owning a space for her Chicago jewelry store that looks and feels like her brand.

Former Stephanie Gottlieb Fine Jewelry executive Morgan P. Richardson is joining the lab-grown diamond jewelry brand.

With the trade and customer trust in mind, GIA® developed NextGem™ – on-demand training designed specifically for retail.

The $400 pocket watch is a blend of Audemars Piguet’s iconic eight-sided Royal Oak and Swatch’s unserious Pop watches from the ‘80s.

With gold prices on the rise, the “Modern Electrum” collection uses an alternative, non-tarnishing metal alloy composed of gold and silver.

Fruchtman Marketing has new owners, Erin Moyer-Carballea and Manuel Carballea, and will relocate to Miami.

In a column for the 2026 State of the Majors issue, Smith lists 10 time-tested principles about sales that still ring true.

In a column for the 2026 State of the Majors issue, Golan spells out how the growing economic divide in the U.S. is reshaping the market.

The “Limitless Expansion of Joy and Hope” collection evokes summer through colored gemstones and motifs of butterflies and florals.

The jewel, circa 1890, is from the late Victorian era and was owned by descendants of the last high king of Ireland.

This is what the nine recipients plan to do with the funds.

The Western star’s 14-karat gold signet ring sold for six times its low estimate following a bidding war at U.K. auction house Elmwood’s.

The discussion, "Rebuilding the Jewelry Workforce," will take place on Saturday, May 16, in Troy, Michigan.

The jewelry industry is reassessing its positioning as Gen Z reshapes the retail landscape and lab grown continues to gain market share.

A matching pair of 18.38-carat, D-color diamonds from Botswana’s Jwaneng mine sold for $3.3 million, the top lot of the jewelry auction.

Sponsored by A Diamond Is Forever

The next generation of lapidarists are entrepreneurial, engaged online, and see the craft as a means for artistic expression.

It was the second auction appearance for the fancy vivid blue-green diamond, which sold for $7.8 million at Christie’s Geneva 12 years ago.

Members of the U.S. Marshals Task Force took a 22-year-old man into custody. He was charged with tampering with evidence.

While the overall number of crimes was down, there were more incidences in which robbers pulled out guns, mace, or rammed cars into stores.

Jack Sutton Fine Jewelry is closing its store inside the downtown shopping center after 40 years in business.

Reena Ahluwalia’s painting of the rare red diamond is the first contemporary painting to join the National Gem Collection.




























