(PRESS RELEASE) LAS VEGAS, NV — The 2025 COUTURE Design Awards was fueled by emotions, excitement and celebration of community. In addition to announcing the finalists and winners selected by a unique panel of judges in 12 categories, Best in Editors’ Choice was decided by attending media, and Best in People’s Choice finalists were established by COUTURE’s 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.
“With all the craziness in the world it’s nice to be back as a community to remember how strong we are together and how much joy we bring to the world,” Gannon Brousseau, Director of COUTURE, said when opening the show. “After all of the hard work each of you has diligently committed to making this event, and this community, so special, it’s great to finally take a moment to celebrate your success. Take a bow everyone, you deserve it!”
This year’s 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’s finalists and winners.
When winning the award in Best in Gold, Lunar Rain designer, Melissa Chen, emoted from the stage, “This is so overwhelming. I’d like to thank the COUTURE team and the COUTURE community for constantly supporting us.”
Mimicking her sentiment was Vanessa Fernandez, who won the award for Best in Colored Gems Above $40,000 retail for a 18k gold necklace featuring over 38 carats of pear shape chrysoberyls and sapphires, “I’m so grateful to my community. This piece is so special. It took me 120 hours to make and I feel so supported by my community. As a bench jeweler and a goldsmith, I feel like I’m in the right place.”
Jeff Feero, Managing Partner of Alex Sepkus, was presented with the Cindy Edelstein Award, with his many nominators noting his penchant for discovering and nurturing talent in everyone around him. “As my partner Alex said, a good line of bull$hit is better than a bag of jewels, and he said, ‘you got it,’” Jeff exclaimed when accepting his award. “I am this version of Jeff Feero because of my people.”
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At the close of the evening, Jan Mohr, COUTURE’s long-standing Retailer Liaison, who is retiring after this year’s event, was surprised with a new award, Hidden Gem. Intended to honor 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.
A complete list of winners and finalists is below, and a link to images of winning pieces can be found here.
BEST IN PLATINUM
1st Place: r kheni
2nd Place: PlatAfrica
3rd Place: Roberto Demeglio
BEST IN BELOW $10K RETAIL
1st Place: Three Stories
2nd Place: By Pariah
3rd Place: White Space
BEST IN BRIDAL
1st Place: Mason and Books
2nd Place: SEVAN BICAKCI
3rd Place: Rosario Navia
BEST IN COLORED GEMSTONES BELOW $40K
1st Place: Harwell Godfrey
2nd Place: Lisa Nik
3rd Place: Fullord
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BEST IN COLORED GEMSTONES ABOVE $40K
1st Place: Vanessa Fernandez
2nd Place: Gyan Jaipur
3rd Place: SOPHIA D
BEST IN PEARLS
1st Place: Francesca Villa
2nd Place: Mattia Cielo
3rd Place: SHIHARA
EDITORS’ CHOICE
1st Place: Robinson Pelham
2nd Place: r kheni
3rd Place: Carolina Neves
BEST IN DIAMONDS BELOW $40K
1st Place: Bibi van der Velden
2nd Place: AMPM
3rd Place: Recarlo
BEST IN DIAMONDS ABOVE $40K
1st Place: Busatti 1947
2nd Place: Walters Faith
3rd Place: Mariani
BEST IN GOLD
1st Place: Lunar Rain
2nd Place: Alice Herald
3rd Place: Castro Smith
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BEST IN INNOVATIVE
1st Place: YUTAI
2nd Place: House of Glik by Moritz Glik
3rd Place: Bijules
BEST IN HAUTE COUTURE
1st Place: CHANTECLER CAPRI
2nd Place: Kavant & Sharart
3rd Place: MOKSH
BEST IN DEBUTING
1st Place: ZAHN-Z
2nd Place: Circa 1700
3rd Place: By Pariah
BEST IN PEOPLE’S CHOICE
1st Place: SEVAN BICAKCI
2nd Place: PlatAfrica
3rd Place: Shinola
