Design Art and Photography

The winning design from Chad Allison can be broken down into three separate pieces: a large circle pendant, a small circle pendant and earrings. Shown here is the “master pendant.”

New York–Jewelry designer Chad Allison has been awarded the winner’s cup–or mug in this case–in the first-ever Couture-NY Designer Challenge.

The brand was one of six Couture exhibitors at the JA New York Winter Show to take on the challenge of re-imagining the iconic New York Greek coffee cup as a piece of wearable art. The competition was intended to play off the idea of reducing, reusing and recycling, with designers using a portion or an entire coffee cup in their design.

The competing designs were showcased on the JA New York Web site, as well as on the show floor at JA New York. Online voters and attendees of the show chose Chad Allison’s piece as the favorite, with a design by Heather Moore coming in as runner-up.

The winning design features a large “master pendant” crafted in 18-karat white gold and accented with colorless diamonds and blue sapphires, as well as a portion of the coffee cup featuring its iconic scroll motif in blue and white. The design can be converted and worn as three separate pieces: earrings, one large circle pendant and one small circle pendant.

Heather Moore’s design is also quite inventive, composed of a bangle bracelet and a cuff bracelet that can be combined into a carrying device for the cup. The cuff bracelet is used to surround the cup, with the bangle forming a handle. The Heather Moore brand is well known for its signature charms, and to top off the piece, an “I Heart NY” charm swings from the cuff.

Additional designers in the competition included Gurhan, Monica Rich Kosann, Paola Ferro and Vibes.

Bailey Beeken, vice president of Nielsen Business Media’s Jewelry Expositions Group, presented each of the participating companies with a ceramic mug version of the paper coffee cup, and Chad Allison was awarded a spa pass to the Wynn Las Vegas, among additional prizes.

The designs will be showcased at Couture 2009, taking place at the Wynn Las Vegas from May 28 through June 2.