Among the winners of the 2026 Couture Design Awards was the “Big Zaha Art Deco” ring by Zahn-Z, which was honored in the “Best in Diamonds Below $40,000 Retail” category. It was the second year in a row that the designer behind Zahn-Z, Hiba Husayni, took home a Couture Design Award.
Las Vegas—The annual Couture Design Awards returned Saturday night in Las Vegas, recognizing excellence in jewelry design across multiple categories and paying tribute to the late Cindy Edelstein and Jan Mohr.
“Tonight is a very special night. It’s a night where we recognize the best in design, and where we honor the hard work and brilliant creativity of some of the finest designers in the world,” Couture Director Gannon Brousseau said at the start of the show.
“Tonight is also a celebration of some of the remarkable individuals whose dedication, passion and commitment to our community are held in the highest esteem by their peers.”
Mohr’s daughter Madelyn Fischer assumed her late mother’s role as the “Vanna White” of the show, which started with the presentation of the first Jan Mohr Award for Excellence.
It went to Mildred Marcano, director of sales and marketing at Reinhold Jewelers.
“Thank you so much, I’m very grateful for this,” Marcano said on stage.
“I had a great mentor, Marie Helene Reinhold. I’m very grateful to her because it’s thanks to her I’m here. I’m also grateful to my team who are here with me, and I really appreciate all of the designers, all the work that you do; I don’t know what to say, this is a big surprise!”
Following the presentation of the new award named in Jan Mohr’s honor, the show transitioned into announcing the winners of the design awards, which are presented in 12 categories selected by a panel of judges, as well as two voted on by show attendees, Editor’s Choice and People’s Choice.
This year’s judges were: Carla Carter from G. Marie Luxuries, Corina Madilian from Single Stone, Jon Kaiser of Bloomingdale’s, Miguel Enamorado from Harper’s Bazaar, and writer Smitha Sadanandan.
The 2026 winners are as follows.
Itä
Debuting this year in the Design Atelier, Itä took first place in the “Best in Below $10,000 Retail” category for its “Yarí İznik Whirl” ring.
This winning ring is the latest version of the brand’s “Yarí Whirl” ring, which has been a National Jeweler Piece of the Week, and features enamel inspired by the historic Turkish city İznik, which is known for its rich tile-making tradition.
The second- and third-place finalists were Yvonne Léon and FerriFirenze, respectively.
The “Best in Bridal” winner was Uniform Object, which took home the prize for its “Mantle” ring.
The category’s second- and third-place winners were Kamyen and Harwell Godfrey, respectively.
Jorge Adeler
An opal ring by Jorge Adeler took first place in the “Best in Colored Gemstones Below $40,000 Retail” category.
The second- and third-place finalists were Karina Choudhrie and JV Insardi, respectively.
Jared Lehr
Jared Lehr’s ring took first place in the “Best in Colored Gemstones Above $40,000 Retail” category.
Mindi Mond was in second place while Miseno was in third.
Demeglio
Demeglio broke the streak of rings winning a Couture Design Award when its piece took home “Best in Platinum” honors.
The category’s second- and third-place finalists were Plat Africa and Le Gramme, respectively.
Zahn-Z
Zahn-Z designer Hiba Husayni took home her second consecutive Couture Design Award, this year in the “Best in Diamonds Below $40,000 Retail” category for her “Big Zaha Art Deco” ring.
The two-tone ring uses 18-karat yellow and blackened white gold, and centers on a 0.89-carat old European-cut diamond surrounded by round old European-cut, single-cut, and pear-cut diamonds.
The second-place winner was Mattia Cielo while Ondyn was in third.
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Stenzhorn
The “Best in Diamonds Above $40,000 Retail” winner was a necklace by Stenzhorn.
The category’s second- and third-place winners were Crisscut and Idoro, respectively.
Rainbow K’s “Tourbillon” necklace won first place in the “Best in Gold” category.
The piece features 14-karat gold accented by 3.25 carats of diamonds.
Salima Thakker was in second place while Peruffo was in third place.
Pen Mané
Also debuting in the Design Atelier this year was Pen Mané, which took home two Couture Design Awards.
The brand’s necklace won in the “Best in Innovative” category, beating out Francesca Villa, who came in second place, and Busatti 1947, who came in third.
The designers behind Pen Mané returned to the stage when their necklace won the “Best in Editor’s Choice” category.
Mariani was in second place and Juliana Xerez Fine Jewelry, another brand marking its Design Atelier debut, came in third.
Ashna Mehta
Wins from new brands in the Design Atelier continued as Ashna Mehta won in the “Best in Haute Couture” category for her “Gilded Bloom” haute bag bijoux.
The transformative piece is both a pendant and bag charm. It features a 36.89-carat fancy intense yellow diamond surrounded by kite- and rose-cut diamonds set in 18-karat yellow gold.
The category’s second- and third-place winners were Saboo Fine Jewels and Austy Lee, respectively.
Jiahn
The “Best in Pearls” winner was Jiahn.
The second-place winner was Gellner while Yutai was in third place.
Crisscut
The “Best in Debuting” award went to Crisscut for its necklace.
In second place was Daniel Yu and in third place was AG Mehta.
Helena Rose
The “Best in People’s Choice” award, which is voted on via text during the Couture Design Awards, went to Helena Rose.
The second- and third-place winners were Chantecler Capri and Harry Kotlar, respectively.
This year’s Couture Design Awards marked the 10th anniversary of the untimely passing of Edelstein, a well-respected adviser and advocate for independent designers.
Her daughter Remy was in attendance to see the presentation of the award created in her late mother’s honor.
Fittingly, the award went to another outspoken designer advocate: Elizabeth “Beth Anne” Bonanno, co-founder of The Gems Project.
“I wouldn’t have a job, I wouldn’t have this passion, I wouldn’t have this relationship without the designers,” she said in her acceptance speech.
“It wouldn’t matter how hard I worked or what I did if they didn’t trust in me and us to take this precious work that they do and represent them.”
Cheekily, Bonanno, who is also an outspoken advocate for veganism, concluded her speech with this directive: “Don’t eat animals.”
