Couture, with its rich history of hosting the world’s most coveted designer brands, recognized the pinnacle in fine jewelry design for 2012 at its Couture Design Awards.
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The annual program, held June 2 at the Wynn Las Vegas, recognized winning designers in 10 categories as well as the recipients of the People’s Choice Award and the Couture Time Awards.
Judging the entries were Susan Abeles, director of jewelry for Bonhams; Eric Ford, precious jewelry buyer at Neiman Marcus; Janice Blumberg, owner of Be on Park; Alison Rowe, fashion and accessories editor for Niche Media; Claudia Mata, jewelry and accessories director for W Magazine; and jewelry designer Stephen Webster.
Bridal
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John Apel was the winner in the Bridal category with this platinum engagement ring with pear-shape, marquis and round rose-cut diamonds.
Silver
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This bangle, made with 38 carats of rainbow moonstone and white topaz and set in black and white rhodium-plated matte silver, is from the Lauren Harper Collection and won in the Silver category.
Platinum
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Heinrich & Denzel’s Arcus bangle with 268 brilliant diamonds set in platinum took first place in the Platinum category.
Diamonds Below $20K
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This bracelet by Moritz Glik with rose-cut and brilliant-cut diamonds enclosed in double white sapphires in 18-karat yellow gold and blackened silver took first place in the Diamonds Below $20K category.
Diamonds Above $20K
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Stephen Webster won in the Diamonds Above $20K category for his Temptation of Eve ring, which features 7.75 carats of Forevermark diamonds, 3.34 carats of white pavé diamonds and black onyx set in 18-karat white gold.
Gold
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Majoral’s 18-karat yellow gold necklace won in the Gold category.
Pearls
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Mikimoto’s baroque black South Sea cultured pearl and diamond ring, set in 18-karat white gold, took first place in the Pearls category.
Colored Gemstone Below $20K
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Rodney Rayner won in the Colored Gemstone Below $20K category with his Via Roma ring, made in 18-karat rose gold with orange sapphires, champagne diamonds, white diamonds and irregular faceted citrine and smoky quartz centers, with a citrine center stone.
Colored Gemstone Above $20K
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This bangle by Lydia Corteille is made in 18-karat gold with brown diamonds, tsavorites, green turquoises and emeralds and took first in the Colored Gemstone Above $20K category.
Debuting at Couture
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Sevan Bicakci was recognized with the Debuting at Couture Award for his Magical Peacock pendant, made with silver, white and brown diamonds and a carved rutilated quartz center stone set in 24-karat gold.
People’s Choice
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The People’s Choice Award was given to Kwiat for these platinum and diamond earrings from the Legacy Collection.
Couture Time Awards
Romain Jerome’s Steampunk Chrono, a 50-milimeter retro-futuristic timepiece with 42-hour power reserve, won in the Couture Time Awards’ Architecture category.
HD3 Slyde’s domed sapphire touch screen timepiece, presenting a bevy of virtual functions and complications, took the Couture Timepiece Award for Innovation.
Graham London’s Silverstone Tourbillograph, an automatic one-minute tourbillon chronograph wristwatch, won in the Technical category of the Couture Time Awards.
Bremont’s aviation-inspired ALT1-WT watch took first place in the inaugural People’s Choice category of the Couture Time Awards.
Human Spirit Award
The Couture Design Awards also recognized Jim DeMattei, president of ViewPoint, with the Human Spirit Award, which honors a member of the Couture community who stands out for exceptional generosity of mind and spirit.
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| From left: Jan Mohr, of Couture retailer relations; Jim DeMattei, president of Viewpoint; David Rocha, executive director at Jewelers for Children; and Chris Casey, publisher of National Jeweler and vice president of Nielsen’s jewelry exposition group. |
