Editors

These 10 Designers Are About To Be the Talk of Couture

EditorsMay 30, 2019

These 10 Designers Are About To Be the Talk of Couture

Get to know the jewelry trade show’s new Design Atelier class.

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A ring from Prounis, one of ten designers new to the Couture show’s Design Atelier this year.

It’s all happening.

As Las Vegas jewelry week kicks off, retailers are on the lookout for the new and noteworthy, and there’s no better place to start than the Couture show’s Design Atelier.

An incubator for fresh jewelry talent, the DA can act as a launching pad for emerging brands to get in front of some of the world’s most influential retail tastemakers.

This year, 10 brands are joining the Couture fray as they make their DA debuts at the jewelry trade show. Here’s an introduction, and yes, no matter how busy the week, you should make time for each of them.


Jewelers in need of a fresh design perspective need look no further than Aisha Baker. Designed by duo Aisha Baker and Hoonik Chang out of Dubai and crafted by artisans in London, the brand hits several current jewelry trend boxes (Enamel? Check. Color? Whimsy? Check and check.) but is still original.

Check out their graphic, puzzle-like rings that bring to mind chaotic cityscapes, and their overtly feminine ribbon-inspired collection, as seen above.


At the moment, designers are infatuated with enamel and the robust variety of color options the medium provides. Andy Lif is having a romance with plique-a-jour enamel, to be specific, and its somewhat translucent quality.

The way in which the designer frames his enamel with gold is reminiscent of stained glass. He also shares his penchant for color through a variety of mouthwatering gemstones he sets as solitaires.


It’s difficult to do Italian designer Anna Maccieri Rossi justice with words. To say that a pendant features meticulously hand-engraved mother-of-pearl doesn’t quite suffice in communicating the designer’s originality.

Nonetheless, I’ll give it a shot. She’s taking Swiss watchmaking techniques to jewelry, incorporating moving parts into a cuff, for example. Applying painstakingly esoteric levels of craftsmanship to her depictions of natural motifs like the night sky, a wolf, or a bear lends these subjects a surreal, almost mythical quality. The bottom line: Check it out in person to experience the full effect.


Like Anna Maccieri Rossi, Bia Tambelli has shown at jewelry trade show Vicenzaoro’s DA counterpart, “The Design Room.”

The Brazilian designer’s latest collection finds her ruminating on the universal perfection of geometry and the significance of particular numbers and shapes across various religions and philosophies. Tambelli expresses these ideas in elaborate pyramid-shaped rings and cuffs that feel like mini sculptures.


Liza Borzaya High Jewellery
creates just that—one-of-a-kind pieces with spectacular stones. The Russian designer has a particular affinity for a hand bracelet, and this is where her imagination seem to run the most wild, portraying whimsical vignettes of various flora and fauna.


In the small amount of time since she’s launched her eponymous line, Jean Prounis has garnered a buzz among press, earning a much coveted spot in Town & Country editor Will Khan’s “Will’s Notebook” Instagram account, which subsequently ended up in The New York Times (a press coup if there ever was one).

The adoration is based on talent. The young designer is informed by her Greek heritage and seeks ancient inspiration to create utterly timeless pieces in 22-karat gold, in a specific alloy she customized. She also shows a surprising amount of restraint and design maturity for a jeweler in her 20s, which is sure to resonate with stores.


Graphic, geometric silhouettes and plenty of diamond and gemstone bling create the fierce elegance that is Ralph Masri.

The Lebanese designer might be new to Couture, but he’s not quite under the radar. Among his many admirers is Queen Rania, who is often photographed in Masri’s jewels.


French-American Sandrine de Laage is a jewelry world veteran, having worked for the likes of Cartier, Harry Winston and De Beers. Perhaps honing her talents at brands with mass appeal explain why her jewelry possesses such a wearable ease.

Interlocking rings and sleek ID bracelets are no-brainers for the self-purchaser—they’re classic but with a contemporary, cool feel, the perfect base of an excellent jewelry wardrobe.


Look at Satta Matturi’s Instagram, and you can see the namesake designer’s favorite piece of jewelry to create is an earring.

Intricate metalwork accented with an array of diamonds, and always a splash of colored gemstone, fan out from earlobes, each style slightly more elaborate than the next.


If State Property had to be expressed in one piece of jewelry, I’d put my money on a cocktail ring.

Large-scale and symmetrical with enamel, diamonds and gemstones are all elements that add up to produce some seriously covetable and hard-to-miss ring styles.
Ashley Davisis the senior editor, fashion at National Jeweler, covering all things related to design, style and trends.

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