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The COUTURE Design Awards The COUTURE
Design Awards are here!

COUTURE Design Awards are one of the highlights of COUTURE each year. All of the pieces entered into this prestigious design competition are on display in the design awards hallway in a museum-quality display. This dazzling collection of jewelry is demonstrative of what happens when our most creative minds stretch the boundaries of design.

A unique panel made up of retailers, editors and one fellow designer judge each piece based on a criteria that includes design, craftsmanship and salability. The judges vote for the winning pieces during The COUTURE Show, and winners are announced at the COUTURE Design Awards celebration on Wednesday evening at an event in our new outdoor pavilion. Our entire retailer community votes for the three finalists in the “Peoples’ Choice Award,” and the winner is voted on by text at the COUTURE Design Awards event, while attending editors select the finalists and winner in the Editors’ Choice Award. Click here for our COUTURE Design Awards FAQ’s.

Meet
The
Judges

Lynn Yaeger

Lynn Yaeger has been writing about fashion, jewelry, and culture for over two decades. Yaeger, a contributing editor at Vogue and vogue.com, began her career at the Village Voice, where she was a senior editor. She has written for many publications, including the New York Times, WSG magazine, Architectural Digest, Travel & Leisure, Town & Country, and Departures. In 2019 Yaeger won the coveted CFDA Media award. In her off hours, she can be found haunting the flea markets of the world, searching for special pieces of Georgian and Victorian jewelry. She lives, amidst her many collections, in downtown Manhattan.

Kareem Rashed

Kareem Rashed is an editor, writer and stylist based in New York City. He currently serves as the Style Editor for Robb Report, overseeing coverage for both the print and digital editions. He has worked for publications including Vogue, Elle, Interview, and Departures and served as a consultant and content creator for a number of brands and retailers such as Sotheby’s, David Webb, and 1st Dibs. His expertise includes women's and men's fashion and accessories, jewelry, and watches.

Yael Reinhold Lipnik

Yael Reinhold Lipnik, Vice President of Reinhold Jewelers, grew up in the apartment above the original Reinhold Jewelers, the epicenter for fine, designer jewelry in San Juan, Puerto Rico, founded by her mother, Marie Helene Reinhold. As early as the age of two, Yael gravitated downstairs to the store offering to polish the jewelry in exchange for being allowed to stay close to the excitement below. After graduating from Amherst College, Yael pursued a master’s degree in social work from the University of Chicago. While developing her career as a social worker, she also continued to work behind the scenes alongside her mother in the family business until 2019, when she began to take a more forward-facing role in the company, which now includes 5 stores. Yael continues her mother’s passion for distinctive design and craftsmanship. One of her favorite roles is overseeing the annual Holiday Book, now in its 21st year- a work of art that brings to light the connection between the beauty of jewelry and the often-unseen beauty in the world all around us. True to her social work roots, Yael’s true passion is in relationships with others. Following her mother’s long tradition, she prides herself on the strong connection Reinhold Jewelers has with each and every designer and in being the conduit between the stories they share through their work and the clients who collect it. Yael strives to find creative ways to deepen the relationship between a designer and her jewelry, between the act of shopping to one of connection to the creator of the piece and her story.

Liebe Gamble

Liebe Gamble is June Simmons Jewelry. The core of Liebe’s brand is the vision and passion to “give our clients a good story.” The story begins with her relationships with designers. She is inspired by the masters and loves supporting trendsetters and the talented prodigies. Liebe likes taking risks and believes with risk, comes reward. The intimate relationships Liebe has forged with designers transfers to the jewelry and the clients that covet these works. Emerging designers are given a chance. Confidence is built in their designs when she sells to collectors. The JSJ clientele trusts Liebe to expose them to designs they wouldn’t normally find in Sarasota. The art of curation is alive and well in the house of June Simmons Jewelry. Today’s JSJ is different from when Liebe started learning the business as a child, sitting bench-side next to her mother, the store’s moniker and founder. She was carving waxes and casting by age 10, learning fine trade skills while also gaining understanding of the art of retail and the spirit of entrepreneurship. Liebe was studying and working within the film industry in Los Angeles when she got the call to bring fresh design, retail and a point of view that was uniquely her own back into her hometown of Sarasota, Florida and rebrand the business of June Simmons. The flagship store in downtown Sarasota is an exceptional experience. The black walls, dramatic setting, mixed with some of today’s most collectable contemporary designers will have you feeling like you’ve walked into Liebe’s art filled living room full of inspiration. Clients are given a unique retail experience that leaves them feeling warm and inspired. The back of the store is a full workshop dedicated to the JSJ bespoke and custom work that the Sarasota client has loved for many years. Every day in the shop is a day to create magic and a story for anyone that enters. In 2012 Liebe opened a second location on St. Armand’s Circle as a shop within a shop where she continues to give the Florida Gulf Coast clientele a respite from the expected. Liebe’s trust within her own community for her vision and pushing the envelope has led her to work with many non-profits in helping them re-brand events while growing profits. Her passion for jewelry, art, her community and mostly her young children and husband is evident within minutes of meeting her. The story of the JSJ brand continues to grow as her next iteration of JSJ launches in fall 2021.

Silvia Furmanovich

Since launching her brand over 20 years ago, Silvia Furmanovich has become one of the most visionary artists working in fine jewelry today. Born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Silvia Furmanovich comes from a long line of Italian goldsmiths; her great-grandfather made ornaments for the Vatican, and as a child, Furmanovich spent hours observing her goldsmith father in his atelier. In 1998, she launched her own collection and opened her first boutique in Sao Paulo in 2009. Today, she has two boutiques, along with her own atelier, in Sao Paulo, and she is joined in the business by her three sons. Furmanovich draws on varied cultural and historical references and traditions – from Japan and India to Italy and the Amazonian Rainforests – but she takes these inspirations to an entirely new level, re-imagining and refreshing them through her in-depth exploration of materials and techniques. These include intricate wood marquetry to capture Brazil’s rich flora and fauna, Mughal romance portrayed through Indian miniature painting, Japanese bamboo basketwork reinterpreted using Amazonian bamboo, and jewels set with antique Roman micromosaics, a homage to her Italian heritage. All come to life through her courageous use of colour, particularly the coloured gems that are Brazil’s birthright.

The Finalists

Select a category

Best in Bridal

1st

Retrouvai

2nd

Busatti

3rd

Campbellian

Best in Colored Gemstones Above $20K

1st

VRAM

2nd

Fernando Jorge

3rd

Graziela

Best in Colored Gemstones Below $20K

1st

Harwell Godfrey

2nd

Meredith Young

3rd

Venyx

Best in Debuting

1st

Elsa Jin

2nd

Rosa Van Parys

3rd

Almasika

Best in Diamonds Above $20K

1st

Sutra

2nd

BAYCO

3rd

Oscary Heyman

Best in Diamonds Below $20K

1st

Ondyn

2nd

64 Facets

3rd

Harika

Best in Gold

1st

Mariani

2nd

Buddha Mama

3rd

Shimansky

Best in Haute Couture

3rd

Elsa Jin

1st

Lotus Arts de Vivre

2nd

Yeprem

Best in Innovative

1st

Studio Renn

2nd

Capolavoro

3rd

Persée

Best in Men's

1st

ArtyA

2nd

FOPE

3rd

Jorge Adeler

Best in Pearls

1st

Assael

2nd

Rosa Van Parys

3rd

Moksh

Best in Silver

1st

Tane Mexico 1942

2nd

Sheryl Lowe

3rd

Onirikka

The People's Choice

1st

Assael

2nd

Gismondi 1754

2nd

Vendorafa

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