While the judges had varying levels of familiarity with one another before they walked in the room, from casual acquaintances to working relationship to never-laid-eyes-on-you-before, everyone showed up promptly at 7:45am on Saturday morning and immediately gelled. This year’s panel included Corina Madelin from Single Stone, Miguel Enamorado from Harper’s Bazaar, writer Smitha Sandanandan, Carla Carter from G. Marie Luxuries, and Jon Kaiser from Bloomingdales, each of them contributing their unique points-of-view to their assessments and frequently bouncing their opinions off one another.

We came in hot with the judging process by starting with the Best in Diamonds Above $40K Retail category. While several pieces “made it into the room,” the panel was immediately enamored with the Lighthouse necklace from Stenzhorn’s NOTES collection, inspired by life at sea and the symbolic language of the sailor’s knot. Noting that the Crisscut and IDORO submissions, which took home 2^nd and 3^rd place in the category, were also going to be considered in Best in Debuting, they ultimately decided that the contemporary interpretation of high jewelry best represented the category.

Accepting the award at Encore Theater, Chris Stenzhorn stated, “We are deeply honored to receive this recognition and grateful to the COUTURE community for this distinction. This award is a tribute to the passion, creativity and craftsmanship of our entire team, and we are proud to see our creation recognized among so many outstanding pieces.”

We then moved on the Best in Pearls category. The group was enamored with the contrast of white pearls and colored gemstones in YUTAI’s Modular series necklace, which allows wearers to increase strands from single to double to triple, and the quality of two, exceptionally rare Marutea cultured pearls in Gellner’s ring submission was noted for their rich coloration, yet it was the originality of JIAHN’s Ggeuneum-jil-inspired ring blew their hair back with the obvious intricacy of its construction.

According to a brand statement, “The mother-of-pearl artistry featured in this pearl ring originates from centuries-old Korean decorative tradition once reserved for aristocrats and nobility, most commonly seen in fine furniture and treasured objects.” Explaining the process more in-depth, the brand shared, “Each piece of abalone shell is painstakingly ground to an extraordinary thinness, then individually cut and meticulously arranged according to the desired pattern before being carefully inlaid onto the stone surface. This highly intricate process demands exceptional concentration, patience and countless hours of skilled craftsmanship.”

Next came the Best in Bridal category, which had more entries this year than in years past. The judges loved Harwell Godfrey’s buckle ring and noted there was some precedent for the motif in traditional jewelry design. They also fell in love with the unique shape of Kamyen’s submission, admiring the matte finished ceramic boarder and rose gold setting. However, it was Uniform Object’s Mantel ring that they selected to define what the category means for our community, remarking on the quality of the stone and the subtle complexities of the design.

“We had been working on this specific design for about two years before we were happy with the result,” explains the brand’s founder, David Faruggia. “Although it appears simple, it was very complex to make the setting functional; this is my version of a ‘prong’ setting. I wanted the stone to be impossibly suspended by two solid gold clamps. This ring is the perfect example of a brutalist design that presents as something very elegant when paired with precious materials. This concept is the thesis of our design philosophy.”

Since we introduced the category three years ago, Best in Below $10K Retail has been among our most competitive, and this year was no exception. Though they were impressed with what a big look FerriFirenze had created in the price point with their Vito earrings, and they loved the originality in Yvonne Léon’s Le Vase et les Fleurs with its customizable bouquet, debuting Design Atelier brand, ÍTÄ’s Yari ring won their hearts with the intricacy of its enamel and diamond design.

“We are deeply honored to receive this award for our Yarí İznik Whirl ring during our first year at COUTURE,” said Inés Capó & Afet Burcu Salargil, co-founders of ÍTÄ. “This piece embodies so much of what ITÄ stands for: a celebration of cultural exchange, curiosity, and the connections that emerge when traditions are approached with appreciation and respect.”

Providing deeper context to the design, they told us, “Inspired by the rich artistic heritage of İznik and its centuries-old Ottoman ceramic tradition, the ring is hand-enameled and engraved with motifs that pay homage to this remarkable legacy. Its six rotating facets are designed to unfold like pages of a book, revealing different perspectives and stories with each turn. This ring is a reflection of our belief that jewelry can be a vehicle for discovery and dialogue.”

Next came Best in Diamonds Below $40K retail. While the judges were charmed by ONDYN’s Magic Bullet ring and fascinated by the engineering inherent in Mattia Cielo’s Rugiada ring, which they began affectionately referring to as the “slinky ring,” the most recent iteration of ZAHN-Z’s ZAHA silhouette was quickly established as the winner.

Explaining that the idea for the ring came to mind while she was watching The Great Gatsby, ZAHN-Z designer, Hiba Husayni explained, “I suddenly wondered, ‘What if Daisy Buchanan was wearing a ZAHA piece? What would it look like?’” The final product, she told us, “Became a silhouette that transcends time; a design born in 2026 yet perfectly at home in the glamour of the 1920’s. Art Deco geometry, black and gold contrasts, champagne hues, pavé diamonds, European-cut stones, and single-cut diamonds come together to evoke the grandeur, sophistication and excess of the Jazz Age.”

We always pull in the top scoring pieces, based on our panel’s preliminary choices, into the room before the judges arrive, explaining that we can pull additional pieces upon request. This way, if one judge particularly liked a piece and it didn’t make it into the room initially, they can make their case to the group. This happened multiple times in the Best in Gold category.

Peruffo’s stunning, Chains mask was definitely a conversation starter, and the whole group immediately agreed it needed to be one of the finalists. Yet they were also drawn to the engineering in Salima Thakker’s signature modular bracelet with its interlinked golden rhombus shapes, yet it was the elegant, sculptural simplicity in Rainbow K’s gold and diamonds Tourbillon necklace that ultimately stole their hearts.

We had a whopping 26 entries into the Best in Colored Gemstones Below $40K category, and a lot of the submissions were carefully analyzed. The judges loved the “caviar-like” look of the navy blue cabochon cut sapphires in JV Insardi’s ring submission, and they responded to the cheerfulness of Karina Choudhrie’s Under the Sea earrings, but it was the quality of the opal in combination with the sculptural, handmade setting in Jorge Adeler’s Sphere ring that was the hands down winner.

“I have worked with a large number of Opals through the years and when I came across this one, I was truly awe struck,” Jorge told us. “It is rare to find a round opal with so much life, fire and play of color. My desire to truly highlight and celebrate this beautiful gem is what challenged and inspired me to create this design. I believe it showcases the Opal in the best possible way to see all of its glorious, iridescent brilliance.”

Best in Colored Gemstones Above $40K retail was next up for consideration. Miseno’s cuff featuring diamonds, blue sapphires, emeralds and aquamarine, and Mindi Mond’s Icon pendant earrings featuring astonishingly clear watermelon tourmalines received a lot of admiration, yet the judges kept coming back to COUTURE newcomer, Jared Leher’s ring featuring Paraiba tourmalines, purple sapphires, diamonds and aquamarines.

As Jared explained, the gemstones dictated the design, “This piece started with three incredible Paraíba tourmalines from Mozambique that I selected as the center stones. Once I had those, the rest of the design evolved organically around them. I incorporated purple sapphires, diamonds, additional Paraíbas, and aquamarines to create a full finger ring with movement, color, and energy. This is a confident ring!”

Jared went on to share how the pieces is an expression of his overall approach to the design process, “For me, jewelry has always been about creating an emotional connection. The gemstones lead the way, and my job is to create something worthy of their beauty. This piece was a celebration of some of my favorite colors and gemstones, brought together in a way that felt artistic, edgy, unexpected, and alive. To have it recognized by the COUTURE Design Awards, especially as a first-time nominee and first-time attendee, is something I am incredibly grateful for. It is an honor I will never forget.”

While our Best in Haute Couture category was not the most competitive, it prompted perhaps the most animated conversation of the morning. Saboo Fine Jewelry’s brooch featuring conch pearls and diamonds set in titanium was a huge hit with the group, and Austy Lee’s peacock brooch was remarkable for its innovation and artistry, but Ashna Mehta’s bag charm, featuring a stunning, 36.89ct Fancy Intense Yellow cushion cut diamond, stopped each of our judges in their tracks as the sure-fire winner of the category.

“Winning the Haute Couture award as a first-time participant is both thrilling and deeply meaningful to me,” Ashna told us. “Gilded Bloom represents everything I envision for bag bijoux, where rarity, craftsmanship and technical mastery come together without compromise. With this piece, I really wanted to push the category to its fullest creative potential. I believe it demonstrates that bag bijoux as a concept and category can stand confidently alongside the highest levels of haute joaillerie, with its own unique language of technical design and craftsmanship. I am immensely proud of this work and so grateful to see this vision recognized and celebrated by the COUTURE community.”

Our Best in Innovative category was also highly competitive this year. Busatti 1947’s black titanium pendant featuring a vivid sapphire core framed by architectural gold lines, partly clad in denim, stood out as a transformative design object, and Francesca Villa’s Welcome to Las Vegas brooch featuring a working timepiece got nods for its whimsicality, but PEN MANÉ’s black titanium neckpiece from the brand’s The Wild Coast collection featuring a 3ct Asscher cut diamond was the stand out winner, with its hidden clasp with the motto “Whatever may come, I will shine” settling the score. Not surprisingly, the piece also won top honors in the Best in Editors’ Choice Award.

PEN MANÉ’s co-founder, Vincent Guy-Raffin, tells us, “Winning two COUTURE Awards for our debut titanium creation is an incredible honor. This necklace from our inaugural Wild Coast collection is a sleek, minimalist band that seamlessly contours the neck. This piece took us nearly a year of research.

Driven by my 20-year background in high jewelry, I love blending functionality into design. We engineered the piece to sit perfectly by adding weight to the front, where the opening and security clasp are cleverly integrated directly into the central diamond-set section.

Perfecting the lightweight feel and the durable, matte charcoal finish required submerging the large components in a massive electrolyte bath—a process of intense trial and error. The industrial metal contrasts with a sensual, organic curve that is distressed on one side, revealing 11 carats of diamonds. At its heart, a 3-carat Asscher-cut diamond is suspended via a tension-inspired setting, meticulously assembled like a Lego puzzle.

Engraved inside is the collection’s motto, ‘Whatever may come, I will shine.’ Though when I wrote that, I didn’t think we’d literally get to shine on the COUTURE stage!”

Next we moved on the the Best in Platinum category, where the judges loved the use of platinum in Le Gramme’s origami inspired Le Plié brooch, and were impressed with the rotating mechanism revealing four configurations in Platafrica’s Eclipse pendant featuring platinum, tanzanite and diamonds in an ancient ostrich eggshell design.

Ultimately, it was the elegance of Demeglio’s flexible, platinum twisted stretch bracelet featuring white diamonds and blue sapphires that the panel determined best showcased the naturally white metal.