Bright New Gems 2026 names six graduate winners

Bright New Gems has named its six winners for 2026. Katherine Campbell-Howard, Kyra Xu and Aya Alshalal won Show Off, Statement Pieces. Madhawi Alzuabi, Hana Mulaku and Ana Luisa Braun won Responsible Thinking, Sustainable Eco Heroes. Four are BA graduates and two are from MA courses from across the UK.

Bright New Gems is the industry mentoring platform for new jewellery talent. In 21 years it has supported 104 designers, helping them show their work to the industry, retailers and opinion formers early in their careers. This year brought a record number of applications, from graduating designers at eleven UK universities and colleges: Birmingham City University, Bishopsland Educational Trust, Carmarthen School of Art, Central Saint Martins, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, Edinburgh College of Art, Glasgow School of Art, Hereford College of Art, the Royal College of Art, the University of Brighton and the University of the Creative Arts.

The 2026 winners at a glance

Show Off, Statement Pieces

This category rewards creative flair, inventive use of materials and commercial potential. Between them the three winners cover a ring set with pearls, a 3D printed headpiece and a pair of bold earrings.

Katherine Campbell-Howard studied at Birmingham City University School of Jewellery. Her Velare collection (above) starts with the skeletal structure of a decaying leaf, where the delicate framework reveals a hidden strength. She has turned that into sculptural silhouettes that enclose pearls, and the Veil Ring is made in silver with gold plate, freshwater pearls, cubic zirconia and synthetic spinel. She works from sketches and CAD through to the bench, including the stone setting.

Kyra Xu, (main image) a BA graduate of Central Saint Martins, sits at the other end of the category. Her Metamorphosis collection imagines an extraterrestrial organism attaching itself to a human host and gradually turning it into a hybrid of human and insect. The pieces are large, change the wearer's silhouette and are designed for editorial and runway use. They combine traditional metalwork with 3D printing and mixed media. The Diabolon Helm, a headpiece and eyewear, is made from plant based resin, electroplated PLA and stainless steel.

Aya Alshalal (above)  is an Iraqi Canadian designer and an MA graduate of Central Saint Martins. Her family has a history of preserving tribal and Bedouin jewellery, silversmithing and textiles from Iraq and the wider region, and her collection reinterprets endangered Iraqi and Bedouin jewellery traditions and the women who carried them across generations. She works in bold, visually heavy pieces that combine sculptural form, digital processes and traditional craft. The NIYYA earrings are silver plated copper.

Responsible Thinking, Sustainable Eco Heroes

This category is for pieces made with responsibly sourced or sustainable materials, again with commercial potential. All three winners work with materials that sit outside the usual jeweller's choices: date seeds, oyster shell, golden grass and fish scales.

Madhawi Alzuabi (above) is a Saudi designer who studied for her BA at Central Saint Martins. She takes her starting point from her father's date palm farm in Saudi Arabia and turns discarded date seeds into jewellery, interested in how an overlooked material carries cultural meaning. The Nawa Necklace I is date seeds and silk thread, and the Nawa Rings combine date seed with gold plated brass.

Hana Mulaku (above) is London based and also studied for her BA at Central Saint Martins. Her debut collection, Cultivated, began with a discarded oyster shell. It was shown at the Dover Street Market Summer Exhibition 2026 and featured in the Financial Times. The pieces take their graphic geometry from aerial photographs of oyster farms. Low Tide echoes the articulated racks of cultivation, while Held takes its line from the stakes to which young oysters are first tied.

Ana Luisa Braun (above)  was born in Brasília, is based in London and has an MA from Central Saint Martins. Her sculptural work draws on the bold geometry and sinuous curves of Brazilian modernism and on Brazilian materials and craft, among them golden grass and naturally dyed fish scales finished to a velvety surface. She has also studied and worked in Paris, including at Chanel, and trained in gemmology at the Gemmological Institute of America. The Multiple Scale Pieces, from her Shimmer collection, combine 18K gold plated sterling silver with the fish scales.

How the judging worked

The judges work independently through the entries, and there are more of them every year. It is a lengthy process, because the standard of design, and often of execution, is high and the concepts are so varied. Good photography helps, and so do concise descriptions of the pieces. Given the number of entries and the breadth of the work, I was surprised by how close the judges came to unanimous, especially as we come from different backgrounds: jewellers, an industry consultant, a retail buyer and, in my case, a journalist. We agree that creativity is thriving, and that each year brings a new wave of designers who deserve the support and recognition of these awards.

The 2026 panel was:

• Ruby Beales, jewellery buyer at Liberty London
• Tomasz Donocik, designer and 2006 Bright New Gem
• Maria Doulton, Editor-in-chief and co-founder of The Jewellery Editor
• Liz Olver MA RCA, independent jewellery consultant
• Susi Smither, jewellery designer, sustainability expert and founder of The Rock Hound and the Fair Luxury collective

What happens next for the winners

The National Association of Jewellers will mentor the winners. Retail Jeweller is providing support and a showcase at the Retail Jewellery Festival in February 2027, and Jewel Ads will promote the winners and their work online in the lead up to the festival. The Goldsmiths' Centre has opened ‘Getting Started’ to them. More about the programme is at brightnewgems.com.