While the lives of our designers and brands also revolve around our special corner of jewelry camp, they have many more milestones around which their businesses are built. Number of years in business, the anniversary of an iconic collection launch, and even their years exhibiting at COUTURE, are all marked with aplomb. In advance of our 2026 event, we’re highlighting just four COUTURE brands who are marking milestones, both in business and in their connection to COUTURE.

We caught up with brands Colette, Three Stories Jewelry, Leigh Maxwell and Sydney Evan to find out what banner moment they’re celebrating, how they’re acknowledging the accomplishment, and to get a little perspective on how they view their achievements.

Colette Jewelry:

COUTURE: What year are you celebrating?

Colette Steckel: I am celebrating 30 years of Colette Jewelry. Thirty years of working with gold, of searching for stones that hold something beyond beauty, of building a language through my hands,piece by piece, instinct by instinct. It’s not a milestone I measure in time, but in depth, how much closer I’ve come to understanding what jewelry can truly carry. Thirty years, and I feel like I am only beginning.

C: How are you acknowledging the milestone year?

CS: I am marking this year with a deeply personal collection, Anis. It is rooted in everything I’ve learned over the past three decades about stones, about balance, about intensity and restraint. The collection centers on the earth’s treasures, chosen for their presence and their singularity, not just their perfection

C: To what do you most attribute the ongoing success of your brand?

CS: I attribute it to staying true. I have never designed to follow trends. I design to express something: an emotion, a memory, a connection. Gold and stones are not decorative to me; they are carriers of meaning. Longevity comes from depth, from respecting the material, and from creating with intention rather than reaction. When something is real, it lasts.

C: Looking back, did you ever anticipate you would be where you are now when you first started out?

CS: No, I never anticipated this. I didn’t begin with a plan to build a brand. I began with a fascination. With stones, with color, with transformation. I simply followed that instinct. What surprises me is not where I am, but how unchanged the core feeling remains. The same curiosity, just deeper.

C: Any words of advice for others who would like to reach this milestone?

CS: Stay close to your truth. It’s very easy to get distracted by expectations, by trends, by what you think you should be doing. But longevity doesn’t come from tha,t comes from depth, from consistency, from integrity. Take the time to understand your craft and respect it. Build something that has meaning for you, because if it is meaningful to you, it will resonate in a way that lasts.

Leigh Maxwell: 

COUTURE: What milestone are you celebrating?

Jennifer Maxwell: I can’t believe it’s been 5 years of COUTURE! When I started in the industry, I never dreamed I could exhibit at COUTURE and now we are marking our 5^th year. Still being here, being an exhibitor, surrounded by so many remarkable designers and having a seat at the table, is reason enough for me to celebrate.

C: How are you acknowledging the milestone year?

JM: We create small, limited production collections and one-of-a-kind pieces, so there is constant change. This year we are excited to present the Bauble capsule collection which highlights some of the finest quality, juiciest pieces we have created to date.

C: To what do you most attribute the ongoing success of your brand?

JM: Our team is fabulous! It truly takes a village to create every piece of jewelry and get it to our clients. We have an incredible studio team in Iowa, an amazing agency that supports us and the absolute best retailers. Of course, none of us in this industry could do it without those behind the scenes – the miners, cutters and bench jewelers.

C: Looking back, is this where you thought your business would be at the five year mark?

JM: I honestly had no 5-year vision when I started my business, I just loved working in a creative way with the people I still work with every day. Of course, I hoped someone would connect with my jewelry and that someone would occasionally buy a piece, but I just wanted to make jewelry with gemstones and beads I found beautiful.

C: What do you consider one of your biggest accomplishments in the past five years?

LM: My biggest accomplishment over the past five years has really been allowing my brand to evolve into something that feels deeply personal and creatively expressive. My background is in the sciences, so stepping into a more artistic space is something I’ve had to grow into, and it’s been incredibly rewarding. That creative voice, at first, was hard to trust but now I am leaning into it and love the evolution of the brand as a result.

C: At 5 years, you’re still a relatively young brand. Where do you see the trajectory of your brand taking you?

LM: We are a very young brand!  I feel like I learn something new every day, which is super fun.  Over the next five years, I see the brand evolving with intention rather than speed—favoring organic growth that allows us to stay deeply connected to our craft and our clients. The focus will remain on sourcing only the highest quality gems, with a strong commitment to responsible and ethical practices at every stage. By continuing to produce in small batches, we preserve a sense of rarity and ensure each piece receives the level of attention it deserves. The trajectory isn’t about scaling for the sake of visibility, but about refining a luxury experience—one rooted in exclusivity, integrity, and quiet distinction.

Sydney Evan:

COUTURE: What year are you celebrating?

Rosanne Karmes: This year, Sydney Evan celebrates 25 years of empowering women through fine jewelry.

C: To what do you attribute the ongoing success of your brand?

RK: From the very beginning, our vision was to make fine jewelry feel accessible, approachable, and part of everyday style — bringing it into women’s clothing boutiques and fashion spaces at a time when that was virtually unheard of. For 25 years, Sydney Evan has championed self-expression, independence, and individuality through fine jewelry designed to be worn, layered, and lived in every day.

C: Looking back, when you first started, did you ever anticipate that you would be where you are now?

RK: We always believed women would one day self-select meaningful jewelry to commemorate the important moments in their lives, much like a photograph captures a memory in time. Jewelry carries emotion, symbolism, and personal stories, becoming part of a woman’s identity and journey. Unlike trends that fade, our pieces are designed to hold lasting meaning — serving as daily reminders of milestones, loved ones, strength, love, and individuality.

C: What’s next for the brand?

RK: Looking ahead, Sydney Evan remains committed to expanding the ways women can curate collections that feel personal, joyful, and timeless. As the brand continues to evolve, its core philosophy remains unchanged: creating meaningful pieces that inspire connection, self-expression, and everyday happiness.

From our iconic love scripts to our signature smiley faces, each design is created to celebrate positivity, individuality, and the emotional connection women have with the jewelry they wear every day — pieces intended to inspire love, joy, and a lasting sense of personal meaning.

Three Stories Jewelry:

COUTURE: What milestone are you celebrating?

Emily Cohen: We’re celebrating our 5-year anniversary as a brand. It feels especially fitting to mark this milestone here at couture, since our very first couture show was held in our design atelier just six months after launching the business — so this world has been part of our story from the very beginning.

C: How are you acknowledging the milestone year?

EC: To mark our 5th anniversary, we launched our 5th Anniversary Silver Collection — beloved best-selling pieces from our 14k gold collection, reimagined in sterling silver with diamonds. Silver felt like the perfect way to celebrate this moment, not only because it’s so on-trend right now, but because it opens our designs up to a whole new way of being worn and loved. Timeless pieces, told in a new way.

C: To what do you most attribute the ongoing success of your brand?

EC: I think our success comes down to a few things that have stayed consistent from the very beginning — the stories we tell, the materials we use, and the versatility of the line. Our customers connect deeply with pieces that mean something. Designs like the Love Explosion and the Tree of Life have been among our most popular since the start, and I think that’s because they tap into universal stories, stories of love and stories of elements, that people want to carry with them. Beyond the meaning, our pieces are also designed to be worn in multiple ways, which gives them a longevity that our customers really appreciate.

C: Looking back, is this where you thought your business would be at the five year mark?

EC: We’re really happy with our growth and where we are at the five year mark. The fine jewelry landscape has shifted in ways we couldn’t have fully anticipated, from the rising cost of gold to the impact of tariffs, but we feel we’ve adapted well, and our customers have been appreciative of how we’ve navigated those challenges. It hasn’t always been easy, but we’re proud of where we stand and excited about where we’re headed.

C: What do you consider one of your biggest accomplishments in the past five years?

EC: There are so many moments we’re proud of, but a few really stand out. Winning the Couture Design Award at last year’s show in the under $10k category was a true honor. To be recognized by this industry means the world to us. Building the retail relationships we have over these five years has also been deeply gratifying. We set our sights on certain stores early on, and being carried in those doors today is something we don’t take for granted. Lastly, seeing Taylor Swift wear our Long Love Explosion Earrings was truly amazing.

C: At 5 years, you’re still a relatively young brand. Where do you see the trajectory of your brand taking you?

EC: At five years, we feel like we’re just getting started. We’re focused on expanding into new markets, with Europe and Asia being exciting opportunities we’re actively looking toward. We have new collections and new materials in the works, and we’re always thinking about fresh ways to bring our designs to life. But at the heart of everything, it always comes back to storytelling. We started Three Stories Jewelry to tell stories that resonate, and as we grow, we want to tell even more of them, including yours.