Jade Trau Wins Couture's Best in Bridal

RAPAPORT... Designer Jade Lustig of Jade Trau won the top Couture prizefor her double-banded diamond engagement ring on Saturday in Las Vegas. The jeweler received the Best in Bridal accolade at theCouture Design Awards. Fifteen awards were presented at the ceremony, whichtook place during the Couture luxury-jewelry show.  Jade Trau also won the top honor for bridal in 2017, andwas one of the runners-up in 2015. Meanwhile, Couture show director and senior vice presidentof Emerald Expositions, Gannon Brousseau, presented the inaugural WTF?! Awardto Stephen Webster for his design disaster. The new prize, which Couture created to add a humorous touch to the event, gives jewelers the chance to celebrate the worst design they have ever created. Each year, the winner's name will beengraved on the medallion, which will be passed down to the next recipient thefollowing year. The Cindy Edelstein Award - named for the jewelry consultantand author, who died in 2016 - was presented to Michelle Orman, the owner of LastWord Communications, for her hard work and commitment to the industry at large,and specifically to the Couture community. Couture also introduced the Best in Debuting category -which is only open to those exhibiting at the show for the first time - grantingthe winner $10,000 toward his or her show expenses the following year. The rest of the winners are: Best in Colored Gemstones Above $20,000: Adam Foster Best in Colored Gemstones Below $20,000: Noor Fares Best in Diamonds Above $20,000: Kataoka jewelry and objets d'art Best in Diamonds Below $20,000: Baentelli Best in Gold: Nikos Koulis Best in Haute Couture: Mike Joseph Best in Innovative: Silvia Furmanovich Best in Men's: Jan Leslie Best in Pearls: Karen Suen Best in Platinum: Jorg Heinz Best in Silver: SYNA Best in Debuting at Couture: Ara Vartanian Image: Jade Trau's winning design for the Best in Bridal category. (Couture)