Esther Lewittes Modernist Silver Jewelry

Esther Lewittes Modernist Silver Jewelry

Born in 1904 in New York, Esther Lewittes was a renowned mid-century modernist jewelry designer. Lewittes graduated from Columbia University and studied industrial design at the Art Students League in New York. Noteworthy, she apprenticed with a jeweler who worked for Cartier before opening her own business in California.

Lewittes has made a name for herself not only as an artist and eccentric designer, but also as a gallerist, creating and selling her art works in her gallery in Los Angeles. Also, she sold her work through Georg Jensen in New York and Gumps in San Francisco, among others. Lewittes imbued her pieces with elegance by using cultured pearls, wood, and smoother lines than the average modernist jeweler. Markings on the back traditionally include “Sterling” and “Lewittes” and sometimes “handmade”.

Her designer cufflinks, brooches and earrings often graced exhibitions at the Pasadena Museum of Art in the 1960s and 1970s. After retiring in the late 1970s, Esther Lewittes (Jan 5, 1904 – Oct 1990) moved to her native New York City, where she later died at the age of 86.