Editor’s Note
Kering’s second ‘Generation Award’ spotlights sustainable innovation in jewelry, with this year’s theme focusing on circularity and giving materials a “second chance.”
The global luxury group Kering is returning with the second edition of its ‘Kering Generation Award x Jewelry’. The award aims to highlight sustainable innovation in the jewellery sector.
This year’s theme, “Second Chance, First Choice”, focuses broadly on impact across the jewellery sector. The award brings together ten universities and academies, offering training in the following topics: innovative new materials, the use of AI, packaging, and retail-oriented technologies. The award is intended to support impact-driven start-ups in the sector.
Working with their professors, students will be required to create a piece of jewellery that embodies the values championed by the award, while start-ups will be asked to propose a service, product or technology that likewise demonstrates these commitments.
The competition will take place in July, with participants presenting their projects to the jury during Haute Couture Week.
The competition offers the winner in the student category an internship at one of the Kering group’s jewellery houses (Boucheron, Pomellato, DoDo and Qeelin), while the winner in the start-ups category will benefit from a mentoring programme offered by Politecnico di Milano (POLI.design).
In 2018, in partnership with Plug and Play China, Kering launched the first edition of the “Kering Generation Award” to support Chinese start-ups with a positive environmental and social impact. Since then, the scheme has been rolled out in Japan and subsequently in Saudi Arabia, with the support of the Fashion Commission. Following the success of the first edition dedicated to jewellery, held at JCK Las Vegas in 2025, this second edition was launched.
