Among the winners of the 2025 Couture Design Awards was this cat locket from Lunar Rain, a Vancouver, Canada-based brand helmed by designer Melissa Chen. The locket took first place in the “Best in Gold” category.
Las Vegas—Held Saturday night in Las Vegas, the Couture Design Awards honored excellence in jewelry-making in 12 categories and included an end-of-the-night surprise.
“With all the craziness in the world it’s nice to be back as a community to remember how strong we are together and how much joy we bring to the world,” Couture Director Gannon Brousseau said to open the show.
“After all of the hard work each of you has diligently committed to making this event, and this community, so special, it’s great 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 from Gemologue; Jennifer Farrington of Mitchell Stores; and Rachael Burrow Rummel, the style and market editor at Veranda magazine.
The 2025 winners are as follows.
Best in Platinum A sculptural platinum and diamond bracelet from R Kheni took first place in the platinum category this year.
R Kheni
PlatAfrica and Roberto Demeglio came in second and third, respectively.
Best in Below $10,000 Retail The “Wise Owl” flip pendant by 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” beneath it.
Best in Bridal Mason and Books’ “Slingshot” diamond ring won “Best in Bridal.”
“Starting my company truly didn’t just launch a brand. It actually saved me during some really incredible and hard personal times. It gave me both financial independence and a creative outlet,” an emotional Jamie Books said from the stage.
Mason and Books
“This particular ring, this ‘Slingshot,’ 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 power and like a slingshot, sometimes you have to be pulled backward before you can go forward.”
A ring by Sevan Bicakci came in second, while Rosario Navia’s ring came in third.
Best in Colored Gemstones Below $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 took home two awards Saturday night.
Harwell Godfrey
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 afghans of the 1970s and the 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.
Best in Colored Gemstones Above $40,000 The other For Future Reference designer to win a 2025 Couture Design Award was Vanessa Fernandez, whose necklace took home first place in the “Best in Colored Gemstones Above $40,000” category.
Vanessa Fernandez
Gyan Jaipur came in second and Sophia D was third.
Best in Pearls Designer Francesca Villa, who was awarded “Best in Debuting” 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.
Francesca Villa
Mattia Cielo came in second and Shihara was third.
Best in Diamonds Below $40,000 Bibi van der Velden won for her “Queen B” diamond alligator earring.
Bibi van der Velden
The adorable alligator is part of a larger collection of diamond designs dedicated to the reptile the designer introduced at Couture this year.
AMPM came in second and Recarlo was third.
Best in Diamonds Above $40,000 A piece by Busatti 1947 took first place in the “Best in Diamonds Above $40,000” category.
Busatti 1947
The brand beat out Walters Faith and Mariani, which came in second and third in the category, respectively.
Best in Gold Cat lovers of the jewelry world, rejoice.
Lunar Rain won first place in “Best in Gold” for its 18-karat solid gold “Moon Cat Locket,” inspired by the ancient Egyptian goddess Bastet.
Lunar Rain
Second place went to Alice Herald and third to Castro Smith.
Best in Innovative Yutai, a brand represented by Muse, won the award for “Best in Innovative” for this necklace, which features multiple gemstones that were cut precisely to bring out their beauty and then fused into a single stone.
Yutai
Second place in the category went to House of Glik by Moritz Glik, while Bijules, which made its Couture Design Atelier debut, came in third place.
Best in Haute Couture Chantecler Capri won first place in the Haute Couture category for this incredible necklace.
Chantecler Capri
The second-place winner was Kavant & Sharart while pearl-focused brand Moksh came in third.
Best in Debuting This year’s “Best in Debuting” winner was Zahn-Z, while Circa 1700—another For Future Reference Brand—and By Pariah came in second and third, respectively.
This year, she exhibited in the Couture Design Atelier.
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The Couture Design Awards also includes two awards that are voted on by show attendees—Editor’s Choice, and People’s Choice. Voting for People’s Choice happens live during the awards ceremony.
This year, Sevan Bicacki’s bridal ring won the “Best in People’s Choice” award, while the attending editors’ top choice was a gold necklace by Robinson Pelham.
The evening ended with the presentation of the annual Cindy Edelstein Award, as well as a new, retail-focused award called the “Hidden Gem.”
Jeff Feero, the force behind Alex Sepkus, the brand created by the late jewelry artist of the same name, won the Cindy Edelstein Award, and received a standing ovation as he took the stage.
“I am this version of Jeff Feero because of … everybody else on my team. I can’t be me without them. I would just be a dude,” he said.
“They bring it out and I am one patient [expletive]. I am so patient with my shop, my people, and that’s my only gift is to see people’s potential and be quiet and let them be them.”
The new Hidden Gem Award went to Couture’s longtime Retail Liaison Jan Mohr, a steady presence at every Couture who is retiring after this year’s show.
Couture said the new award is intended to honor an individual in the retail space who “consistently showcases kindness, respect, and dignity to everyone around them, and has a sense of style, grace, and aplomb, even under pressure.”
Mohr, who had no idea she was winning an award, took a seat on the stage to watch the video created in her honor.
She was presented with the Hidden Gem Award for the “monumental impact” she has had on making the Couture show what it is today.
