The 2025 COUTURE Design Awards was fuelled by emotions, excitement and celebration of community. In addition to announcing the finalists and winners selected by a panel of judges in 12 categories, the Best in Editors\u2019 Choice was decided by attending media, and the Best in People\u2019s Choice finalists were established by COUTURE\u2019s retail partners. Two additional highlights of the event included the presentation of the annual Cindy Edelstein Award and the introduction of a new, retail-focused award, Hidden Gem.<\/p>\n
MOKSH clinched third place in the \u201cBest in Haute Couture\u201d category for its sleek linear earrings featuring ear chains, all adorned with fancy-cut diamonds and pearls, while Gyan Jaipur was awarded second place in the \u201cBest in Coloured Gemstones Above $40K\u201d category for its earrings set with custom-cut emeralds, framed by fancy-shaped diamonds.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith all the craziness in the world, it\u2019s nice to be back as a community to remember how strong we are together and how much joy we bring to the world,\u201d Gannon Brousseau, Director of COUTURE, said when opening the show. \u201cAfter all of the hard work each of you has diligently committed to making this event, and this community, so special, it\u2019s great to finally take a moment to celebrate your success. Take a bow everyone, you deserve it!\u201d<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s panel of judges included Kat Stokes of Korman Jewelers, designer Selim Mouzannar, Liza Urla from Gemologue, Jennifer Farrington of Mitchell Stores, and Rachael Burrow Rummel of VERANDA, who put careful thought and consideration into deciding this year\u2019s finalists and winners.<\/p>\n
When winning the award for the Best in Gold, Lunar Rain designer, Melissa Chen, remarked, \u201cThis is so overwhelming. I\u2019d like to thank the COUTURE team and the COUTURE community for constantly supporting us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mimicking her sentiment was Vanessa Fernandez, who won the award for Best in Colored Gems Above $40,000 retail for an 18-karat gold necklace featuring over 38 carats of pear-shaped chrysoberyls and sapphires. \u201cThis piece is so special. It took me 120 hours to make. As a bench jeweller and a goldsmith, I feel like I\u2019m in the right place \u2026 I\u2019m so grateful to my community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeff Feero, Managing Partner of Alex Sepkus, was presented with the Cindy Edelstein Award, with his many nominators noting his penchant for discovering and nurturing talent in everyone around him. Jeff exclaimed when accepting his award, \u201cI am this version of Jeff Feero because of my people.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the close of the evening, Jan Mohr, COUTURE\u2019s long-standing Retailer Liaison, who is retiring after this year\u2019s event, was surprised with a new award, Hidden Gem. Intended to honour an individual in the retail space who consistently showcases kindness, respect and dignity to everyone around them, and has a sense of style, grace and aplomb, even under pressure, the award highlights the monumental impact Jan has had on establishing the essence of COUTURE.<\/p>\n
Here’s the list of winners and finalists:<\/p>\n
BEST IN PLATINUM<\/strong><\/p>\n 1st<\/sup> Place: r kheni<\/p>\n 2nd<\/sup> Place: PlatAfrica BEST IN BELOW $10K RETAIL<\/strong> BEST IN BRIDAL<\/strong> BEST IN COLORED GEMSTONES BELOW $40K<\/strong> BEST IN COLORED GEMSTONES ABOVE $40K<\/strong> BEST IN PEARLS<\/strong> EDITORS\u2019 CHOICE<\/strong> BEST IN DIAMONDS BELOW $40K<\/strong> BEST IN DIAMONDS ABOVE $40K<\/strong> BEST IN GOLD<\/strong> BEST IN INNOVATIVE<\/strong> BEST IN HAUTE COUTURE<\/strong> BEST IN DEBUTING<\/strong> BEST IN PEOPLE\u2019S CHOICE<\/strong> The 2025 COUTURE Design Awards was fuelled by emotions, excitement and celebration of community. In addition to announcing the finalists and winners selected by a panel of judges in 12 categories, the Best in Editors\u2019 Choice was decided by attending media, and the Best in People\u2019s Choice finalists were established by COUTURE\u2019s retail partners. Two…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31995,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[99,91,104,112],"tags":[],"thb-sponsors":[],"class_list":["post-31994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-design","category-events","category-features","category-international"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n3rd<\/sup> Place: Roberto Demeglio<\/p>\n
\n1st<\/sup> Place: Three Stories
\n2nd<\/sup> Place: By Pariah
\n3rd<\/sup> Place: White Space<\/p>\n
\n1st<\/sup> Place: Mason and Books
\n2nd<\/sup> Place: SEVAN BICAKCI
\n3rd<\/sup> Place: Rosario Navia<\/p>\n
\n1st<\/sup> Place: Harwell Godfrey
\n2nd<\/sup> Place: Lisa Nik
\n3rd<\/sup> Place: Fullord<\/p>\n
\n1st<\/sup> Place: Vanessa Fernandez
\n2nd<\/sup> Place: Gyan Jaipur
\n3rd<\/sup> Place: SOPHIA D<\/p>\n
\n1st<\/sup> Place: Francesca Villa
\n2nd<\/sup> Place: Mattia Cielo
\n3rd<\/sup> Place: SHIHARA<\/p>\n
\n1st<\/sup> Place: Robinson Pelham
\n2nd<\/sup> Place: r kheni
\n3rd<\/sup> Place: Carolina Neves<\/p>\n
\n1st<\/sup> Place: Bibi van der Velden
\n2nd<\/sup> Place: AMPM
\n3rd<\/sup> Place: Recarlo<\/p>\n
\n1st<\/sup> Place: Busatti 1947
\n2nd<\/sup> Place: Walters Faith
\n3rd<\/sup> Place: Mariani<\/p>\n
\n1st<\/sup> Place: Lunar Rain
\n2nd<\/sup> Place: Alice Herald
\n3rd<\/sup> Place: Castro Smith<\/p>\n
\n1st<\/sup> Place: YUTAI
\n2nd<\/sup> Place: House of Glik by Moritz Glik
\n3rd<\/sup> Place: Bijules<\/p>\n
\n1st<\/sup> Place: CHANTECLER CAPRI
\n2nd<\/sup> Place: Kavant & Sharart
\n3rd<\/sup> Place: MOKSH<\/p>\n
\n1st<\/sup> Place: ZAHN-Z
\n2nd<\/sup> Place: Circa 1700
\n3rd<\/sup> Place: By Pariah<\/p>\n
\n1st<\/sup> Place: SEVAN BICAKCI
\n2nd<\/sup> Place: PlatAfrica
\n3rd<\/sup> Place: Shinola<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"