The debut Grand Prix de la Haute Joaillerie competition crowns the best in high jewellery

Bling lovers not unfamiliar with the horology world must have wondered why there isn’t a jewellery equivalent of the prestigious watch awards, the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Geneve. Now there is, with the inaugural edition of the Grand Prix de la Haute Joaillerie recently concluding in Monaco.

Held on 25 October 2025 inside the glittering Salle des Etoiles at the Sporting Monte-Carlo, the new Grand Prix de la Haute Joaillerie (GPHJ) was co-founded by the Monte-Carlo Societe des Bains de Mer (SBM) and Jean-Philippe Braud, president of Profirst France. Conceived as a platform to honour creativity, savoir faire, and cultural heritage, the GPHJ mirrors the prestige of Geneva’s horological counterpart to recognise jewellery as both art and cultural expression.

The event united an exceptional roster of the world’s most prestigious maisons: Chanel, Tiffany & Co., Dior, Louis Vuitton, Chopard, Boucheron, Van Cleef & Arpels, Messika, Dolce & Gabbana, David Morris and Sahag Arslanian. Each presented one outstanding creation before an independent jury of nine experts chaired by journalist Fabienne Reybaud, who evaluated every piece for design, craftsmanship, creativity, and alignment with the brand’s identity.

Honouring excellence across the entire breadth of high jewellery, nine accolades were awarded: Best Piece of the Year, Visionary of the Year, Best New Talent, Public Prize, Jury’s Special Prize, as well as in the areas of Savoir Faire, Design, Heritage, and Gemstone. And here are our five favourite wins.

Chanel: Best Piece of the Year

The evening’s highest honour, Best Piece of the Year, went to Chanel for the Sweater Prestige necklace from its Haute Joaillerie Sport collection. Reimagining the casual vocabulary of sportswear through the lens of preciousness, the necklace encapsulates Gabrielle Chanel’s enduring influence on elegance and ease — a style rooted in the maison’s heritage since the 1920s.

Crafted in white gold and platinum, and set with 11 emerald-cut emeralds totalling 37.18 carats alongside diamonds and onyx, the necklace interprets sweatshirts and drawstrings in scintillating form. The jury praised its originality and coherence with Chanel’s design codes, especially in how it fuses modern dynamism with timeless refinement.

Chopard: Visionary of the Year

Chopard’s co-president and artistic director Caroline Scheufele received the Visionary of the Year Prize for her continued leadership in uniting artistry with sustainability. Her vision has long steered Chopard towards ethical gold sourcing, as well as corporate social responsibility and transparency in luxury.

The jury lauded her capacity to balance innovation with tradition, citing her role in shaping Chopard’s contemporary narrative as a house that champions both glamour and conscience. The award also pays tribute to Chopard’s consistent presence at the forefront of high jewellery, embodying a principled spirit that resonates with modern collectors.

Dior: Prix du Savoir-Faire

Dior claimed the Prix du Savoir-Faire for the Diorexquis Foret Nacree necklace, designed by its artistic director Victoire de Castellane. This breathtaking piece reveals an enchanted forest crafted from iridescent mother-of-pearl, where flora and fauna sparkle among diamonds, pearls and multi-coloured gemstones.

Each element was meticulously cut and assembled to achieve a seamless flow of colour and texture, reflecting Dior’s unmatched expertise in miniature goldsmithing and storytelling. The jury described the work as “a virtuoso tribute to nature’s beauty and the poetry of forms”, emblematic of de Castellane’s romantic yet modern aesthetic.

Louis Vuitton: Gemstone Prize

Accepting the Gemstone Prize for the Apogee necklace from its Virtuosity collection is Louis Vuitton, in a triumph of craftsmanship featuring a 30.75-carat Brazilian pear-shaped emerald of mesmerising blue-green tones and a 10.56-carat D-Flawless LV Monogram Star-cut diamond.

The necklace, crafted in white gold and platinum, epitomises the maison’s heritage of travel and reinvention. Setting it apart is its detachability and transformability, offering three ways of adornment, along with its reference to Louis Vuitton’s historic trunk hardware through its diamond-set links. The jury hailed it as a showcase of gemstone excellence and innovation.

Tiffany & Co.: Jury’s Special Prize and Heritage Prize

US jeweller Tiffany & Co. achieved a remarkable double victory, taking both the Jury’s Special Prize and the Heritage Prize. Both awards celebrated the maison’s exceptional legacy of creativity and craftsmanship, exemplified by four masterworks from its high jewellery collections.

The Cascade necklace, in platinum and yellow gold, features ultra-rare natural saltwater pearls totalling nearly 75 carats and over 50 carats of diamonds, celebrating organic harmony and beauty. The Shooting Star necklace, centred on a 19-carat D-colour diamond that converts into a ring, exemplifies Tiffany’s technical ingenuity.

Meanwhile, the Legendary Bird pays tribute to Jean Schlumberger’s whimsical 1965 design, rendered anew with exceptional Argyle Pink diamonds. Commissioned in 1956 by American pharmacueticals heiress Bunny Mellon, who was inspired by the denizens of her garden, the Butterflies choker represents the maison’s enduring dialogue between art and nature.