Jewelry Design

The GEM Award for Jewelry Design is given to an individual, not a brand, for excellence in jewelry design. Each honoree has an extraordinary design aesthetic and creates jewelry that shapes the future of design.

Sophie Bille Brahe
Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, fine jeweler Sophie Bille Brahe was raised with a deep respect for craft and storytelling. After training in the traditional ways as a goldsmith, Sophie graduated from London’s prestigious Royal College of Arts with a master’s degree. She returned to Copenhagen in 2011 to establish her eponymous jewelry brand, which is now sold in some of the world’s most esteemed luxury and fine jewelry spaces and stores, from Dover Street Market to Bergdorf Goodman.

Sophie Bille Brahe has always been fascinated by the point in the horizon where the sky and the ocean meet, creating a beautiful curve. This specific point is an everlasting source of inspiration for the designer who imagines diamonds as shining stars and pearls as the moon.

Beth Hutchens
FoundRae was founded in 2015 by Creative Director Beth Hutchens. Hutchens was born in Ohio, raised in Texas, and found her true home in New York when she was 21, where she has lived ever since. She co-founded Rebecca Taylor at the age of 23. Twenty years later, she sold the brand and launched FoundRae – a collection of modern heirlooms that serve as tools of self-expression and self-discovery.

Hutchens is a member of the CFDA, and industry honors include her nomination for the 2021 "Jewelry Design of the Year", 2019 “Emerging Designer of the Year” by the CFDA, a recipient of the 2018 Town & Country Jewelry Award for “Breakthrough of the Year” and a GEM Award nominee for Retail Excellence in 2020.

Selim Mouzannar
Selim Mouzannar hails from a family of jewelers serving the Ottoman Empire since the 19th century. Growing up in his father’s Beirut workshop, French and Lebanese, Selim studied mineralogy before managing a prominent jewelry workshop and becoming a stone hunter. Inspired by Ottoman and Art Deco architecture, Selim’s jewelry reflects a dynamic heritage. Every piece, crafted by his skilled artisans, showcases his expertise in color and form.

An optimistic epicurean, Selim’s commitment to non-violence and solidarity is exemplified by his award-winning necklace, Amal (HOPE), which won a Couture Design Award in 2016. The collective emergent designers in his new outlets, Macle Jewels and The Jeweller Vintage, demonstrate his passion for jewelry while his favorite exclamation “Vive La Vie!”, reflects his deep connection to nature.