Inspired by sea Seaman Schepps
Inspired by sea Seaman Schepps (1881 – 1972)
Today, 50 years after his death, he continues to inspire modern jewelers. Even the name of the designer – “man of the sea” predestinated his fate. The son of immigrants from the East Side and a lover of the gifts of the ocean, he did not immediately find his niche. At the end of the XIX century the young Seaman Schepps tirelessly traveled from California to New York, searching for goods for antique shop in Los Angeles.
In 1931, 47 year-old Schepps changed direction and began creating and selling his own jewelry. Newborn designer opened the first retail outlet on 516 Madison Avenue, NY. Things were going uphill. A few years later the company moved to a bigger store at Madison Avenue, 399.
Manager of antique jewelry shop Mr. Schepps once had a chance to see what Fulco di Verdura, Duke and Marquis, was doing out of the ordinary shells, and it impressed him. Admiration turned into jewelry quite reminiscent of jewels by his idol – aristocrat from the coast of Sicily.
Fortunately, Schepps brought his own vision in jewelry design. The freshness and variety of style, use of natural materials (sea shells, pearls, coral, sandalwood, walnut, carved rock crystal) are associated with his name’s relentless refinement.
Inspired by sea Seaman Schepps
Schepps loved to tell stories that designer David Webb (then still a very young man) shamelessly stole his ideas, for hours peeping in the window shop. And once he broke down and proposed a “guest”: “David, you’re probably very tired. Do you need a chair? “.
Meanwhile, Schepps himself admired the works of talented colleagues – French jewellery designer Suzanne Belperron, Jeanne Toussaint, not taking into account Fulco di Verdura.
Noteworthy, among the admirers of Schepps were DuPont and the Rockefellers, the Hollywood elite, led by Katherine Hepburn, Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of the president and the artist Andy Warhol. Also, the most stylish Europeans – trendsetter Coco Chanel, the Duchess of Windsor, Queen Maxima, and others.
Schepps lived ninety-one years and died in 1972. The business inherited his daughters – Patricia and Virginia. Twenty years later, Jay Bauer and Anthony Hopenjam bought the family business.
Today, products of this brand can be bought at the luxury shop on Park Avenue in New York City, on the campus in Palm Beach (FL), the boutique on the island of Nantucket.
Archive of Seaman Schepps firm contains five thousand six hundred and fifty drawings and shapes of castings, which allows represent genuine Seaman Schepps design.
Inspired by sea Seaman Schepps
