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23 Sep 2026

Ashna Mehta Wins Haute Couture Design Award at JCK Vegas Show; Profiled in International Media

Ashna Mehta at the JCK Couture Awards 2026

Ashna Mehta was the winner of top honours in the Haute Couture category at the JCK Couture Design Awards 2026 held earlier this year in Las Vegas, USA. Alongside, the young designer’s innovative new product line – removable fine jewellery under Bag Bijoux – has received significant international attention, and been featured in leading business and lifestyle publications including Financial Times, The New York Times, Vogue and Forbes.

Daughter of Payal and Dipu Dilip Mehta, Ashna is an Antwerp-born, and now Dubai-based, jewellery designer.

The winning piece - Gilded Bloom

Given her family legacy in the diamond industry through the Indian-Belgian company Rosy Blue, she moved smoothly into developing her own brand at a young age. As she told Financial Times, "Diamonds are in my DNA and because of my family business, they became my medium for self-expression."

Earlier in her career, Ashna created a 54.47-carat diamond necklace for Nicki Minaj. The piece was subsequently featured as part of Ice Cold: An Exhibition of Hip-Hop Jewelry at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, which Ashna considers one of the most meaningful recognitions of her work.

The Gilded Bloom Haute Bag Bijoux which was the winning piece at Las Vegas, centered around a 36.89-carat fancy intense yellow diamond and valued at approximately US$2.1 million. It can be worn as a brooch, pendant or bag charm. Ashna calls it "the crown jewel" of Bag Bijoux, and the host at the JCK awards said it sparked "the most animated conversation" among the judging panel, and "stopped each of our judges in their tracks". [1]

Waterfall Diamonds by Bag Bijoux

“I’m trying to reinvent the way jewellery is worn,” Ashna said in a recent interview.

The idea for Bag Bijoux — a range of 18-karat gold bag charms that includes initials, hearts and other symbols inspired by animals, nature, sports and travel — was developed by Ashna and her younger sister, Aria in 2024, when they were looking for ways to personalize their Hermès handbags. The early idea was to render their initials in natural diamonds and gold, they told the media, but with the charms crafted in a manner that would not damage the resale value of their bags and could be converted into pendants. The multi-functionality of the pieces makes them extra attractive.

“A lot of R&D went into it,” Ashna had said, about their quest to get “the weight perfect so it doesn’t damage the straps… (yet) clips on very securely so even if you shake the bag, it never falls off.” A few media reports say that top retailers describe Bag Bijoux as “the birth of a new fine jewellery segment.”

She also said that her intuitive understanding of human psychology and consumer behaviour, which was her major at NYU (Psychology), has helped her understand and align with consumer preferences.

Click here to read articles in Financial Times and The New York Times