GIA Carlsbad Graduate Receives Buccellati Foundation Jewelry Design Award

Ninth and final award presented in Tucson on February 6, 2026

CARLSBAD, Calif. –  February 23, 2026 –  GIA (Gemological Institute of America), together with the Gianmaria Buccellati Foundation, presented the ninth annual Gianmaria Buccellati Foundation Award for Excellence in Jewelry Design on February 6, 2026, to GIA Carlsbad graduate Catherine “Cathy” Aulick.

The award was presented at the annual GIA Alumni Collective “Night at the Museum” event at the University of Arizona Alfie Norville Gem & Mineral Museum in Tucson on the closing day of the American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) 2026 GemFair.

Cathy Aulick’s winning design, featuring gold, Ethiopian opal and peridot, was selected from 12 finalists from the GIA Schools of Gemology and Jewelry Arts in Carlsbad, London, Mumbai, New York and Taiwan. “I want to thank the Buccellati Foundation and GIA for the honor of this award. Hand rendering has given me a new and beautiful language for communicating my designs,” said Aulick, who will be traveling to Italy to meet with a representative from the Gianmaria Buccellati foundation.

This will be the last year for the Gianmaria Buccellati Award for Excellence in Design. The award was established in 2018 to recognize the exceptional jewelry design talent among GIA students. “It’s been a pleasure collaborating with the Gianmaria Buccellati Foundation and presenting this award each year – recognizing all the wonderful talent in design among GIA students globally,” said GIA Chief Learning Officer Cathryn Ramirez. “GIA is currently planning its new design competition and details will be shared in the near future.”

The panel of judges for this year’s competition were Alishan Halebian, award-winning designer, goldsmith, and owner of Alishan Jewelry Studio; Andrew Connors, Director of Alburquerque Museum; Charles Lewton-Brain, master goldsmith, educator and author; Nanz Aalund, award-winning jewelry designer, educator and author; and Remy Rotenier, world-renowned jewelry artist and designer.

GIA’s Jewelry Design course teaches drafting, shading, design theory and illustration using several mediums, and more. At the completion of the course, students have a hand-developed portfolio of their work and a digital copy. GIA also offers programs in Jewelry Design & Technology, Comprehensive CAD/CAM for Jewelry and the Graduate Jeweler Program, our comprehensive bench jeweler program.