Seaman Schepps is one of the oldest American high-end jewelry brands. His jewels have been worn by actresses, celebrities or simply women with great money and refined taste. The brand was founded in 1904 in Los Angeles by Seaman Schepps, born in New York and the son of Hungarian immigrants. And his name was chosen by her mother (looking at a bank sign) because it sounded good in English, a language she didn’t know.
As in the most classic of American dreams, Schepps transformed from a street vendor in California into a jeweler once he returned to New York, in 1921, in the eclectic neighborhood of the Lower East Side. The jeweler has experienced success, through ups and downs, starting from 6th Avenue. Many of his clients were patrons of the arts and theater and stars of stage and screen. With the stock market crash in 1929, however, Seaman lost everything, including his newly built store. The shock pushed him to rethink his business strategy and develop designs mixing unique ideas, bold colors and sharp textures.
His jewels have found admirers such as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Duchess of Windsor and members of the Du Pont, Mellon and Rockefeller families. For this reason Schepps has been called “America’s court jeweler”. After the founder died in 1972, the Schepps brand continued its activity based on the heritage design concepts of the Maison. Many famous art collectors, such as Andy Warhol, Joan Quinn and Holly Soloman, have become fans of Schepps’ work. Today the flagship store is located on the corner of 69th Street and Madison Avenue in New York City.
