Seaman Schepps Earrings
A scrappy, self-made artist who transformed turbo shells into decadent earrings and crystal chessmen into bold bracelets, Seaman Schepps (1881–1972) tirelessly worked his way up from the tenements of New York’s Lower East Side to become “America’s Court Jeweler.”
Born to immigrant parents who named him for the Seamen’s Bank for Savings that his mother could see from the hospital — or so the legend goes — Schepps dropped out of school at the age of 14 and never had any formal jewelry training. He later moved to California, where he opened his first jewelry shop in 1904. In 1921, he returned to New York to build on the success he’d begun to enjoy as a jeweler on the West Coast, but it wasn’t long before his Manhattan house, which counted Broadway stars and theater patrons among its clientele, was hit hard by the stock market crash of 1929. Schepps used this disruption to rethink his approach to jewelry, debuting a new store in 1934 on Madison Avenue, where he would make his mark in playful custom adornments.
While many high-end jewelers of his era focused on the purest and most valuable gemstones, Schepps chose his materials for their color and shape, elevating flawed stones others disregarded in collage-like formations involving unconventional materials such as fine wood, coral, seashells and flea-market finds. Passersby of his New York City shop could find a frog-shaped brooch carved from rosewood, a vintage snuff bottle broken into links for a bracelet and loose-drilled pearls plugged with diamonds. Schepps’s whimsical pieces found fans in fashion icons who appreciated his unique statements, including Doris Duke, Andy Warhol and the Duchess of Windsor.
Following Schepps’s death in 1972, his daughter, jewelry designer Patricia S. Vaill, ran the jewelry house for two decades before it was taken over by Jay Bauer and Anthony Hopenhajm of Trianon jewelry. Following the closure of the company’s Park Avenue store in November 2020, sales for Seaman Schepps is now based in its boutique location out of Palm Beach, Florida, where the legendary brand carries forth its founder’s spirited designs.
On 1stDibs, find a distinctive collection of vintage Seaman Schepps jewelry, including brooches, bracelets and other accessories.
1980s American Modernist Vintage Seaman Schepps Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Quartz, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Modern Seaman Schepps Earrings
Aquamarine, Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
1960s American Retro Vintage Seaman Schepps Earrings
Gold, 14k Gold
Late 20th Century American Modern Seaman Schepps Earrings
Moonstone, 18k Gold
Early 2000s American Contemporary Seaman Schepps Earrings
Crystal, Diamond, Rock Crystal, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century Seaman Schepps Earrings
Crystal, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Seaman Schepps Earrings
Citrine, Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century American Modern Seaman Schepps Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, Yellow Gold
1960s American Contemporary Vintage Seaman Schepps Earrings
Lapis Lazuli, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Modernist Vintage Seaman Schepps Earrings
Carnelian, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Seaman Schepps Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century American Seaman Schepps Earrings
Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s American Modernist Vintage Seaman Schepps Earrings
Citrine, Quartz, Rock Crystal, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
1970s American Modernist Vintage Seaman Schepps Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Contemporary Vintage Seaman Schepps Earrings
Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Seaman Schepps Earrings
18k Gold
1970s American Modernist Vintage Seaman Schepps Earrings
Spinel, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s American Vintage Seaman Schepps Earrings
Peridot, Sapphire, Yellow Gold
1960s American Vintage Seaman Schepps Earrings
Ruby, 14k Gold
1980s American Modern Vintage Seaman Schepps Earrings
Crystal, 18k Gold
1980s American Modern Vintage Seaman Schepps Earrings
Carnelian, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Retro Seaman Schepps Earrings
Aquamarine, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century American Modern Seaman Schepps Earrings
Ruby, Sapphire, 14k Gold, White Gold
1980s American Modern Vintage Seaman Schepps Earrings
Rubelite, Tourmaline, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
20th Century American Modern Seaman Schepps Earrings
Amethyst, Diamond, Pearl, 14k Gold
20th Century American Modern Seaman Schepps Earrings
Diamond, White Gold
Early 2000s American Seaman Schepps Earrings
Crystal, Rock Crystal, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Seaman Schepps Earrings
Crystal, Diamond, 18k Gold
2010s American Seaman Schepps Earrings
Diamond, Quartz, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
1960s Vintage Seaman Schepps Earrings
Emerald, Pearl, Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold
