Rodney Rayner's award-winning jewellery

Rodney Rayner's new jewellery has once again won the "Best Design in Colour" prize at the elite Couture jewellery show in Las Vegas. Fresh off the plane from the USA, Rodney Rayner got in touch with us to tell us: "We just won the Couture Awards again, in our usual and obvious category " Best Design in Colour". We are very excited and proud to win this great Award again, against very strong competition, it's always the most hotly contested category."

Rodney Rayner is rightfully proud of being a four-time winner of this award and he makes no bones about his strong design style, imbued through and through with Rayner's approach that simply doesn't compromise. His pieces have always been proud to be thoroughly individual, so much so that unique details fill every piece no matter how close you look or from what angle. And what stands out is his powerful use of colour and vivacious designs that shout 'fun'. No wonder they are such a hit in the USA where the American ladies appreciate big and bold jewels with a strong style.

With every creation made first in wax each piece is beautifully made and this new collection benefits from a more than liberal use of colour, with every ring, pendant and earring available in a delicious array of colours all built around one particular palette, be it aqua blues, smokey oranges or lighted greens. Each piece uses a variety of stones to impressive effect, every setting seemingly giving a sculpted form to the final result. Just take a look at the Via Roma rings to see what I mean: each one is set in red gold and available in various combinations. The dizzying line up includes rhodollites, rose amethysts, pavé pink sapphires, champagne diamonds and diamonds; citrines and smokey quartz, pavé orange sapphires, champagne diamonds and diamonds; or blue topaz, blue sapphires and blue tsavorites.

One of the more interesting facets of this jewellery is that the colour schemes are probably the strongest unifying theme, for many of the stones of the Via Roma rings are employed throughout but deployed in different and just as effective ways in the Laguna rings and pendants, the latter though benefiting from more delicate and subtler settings. Likewise the bold Arabesque rings in 18ct red or white gold with pavé champagne diamonds and pink sapphires display once again Rayner's confident use of colour and shape.

But there is one particular collection that standouts and that is the 'Bouquet' rings and pendants, so different are they in comparison with the rest. These handsome blooms each draw their colour from the mother-of-pearls at their centres, surrounded by pavé diamonds and making them a refreshing alternative to the lively blushes on show elsewhere.

Rodney Rayner is a four-time winner of 'Best Design in Colour' at the Couture show in Las Vegas, and having just won it again this year it's no surprise that he is one of the few independent jewellery designers working today confident enough to make pieces that rival the colourful dazzle of even the glitzy city itself.