Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
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.
Late 20th Century North American Modernist Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Citrine, Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Modernist Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Aventurine, Citrine, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold, Gold
1950s American Modernist Vintage Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Amber, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1970s American Retro Vintage Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century American Modern Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Ruby, 14k Gold, White Gold
1960s American Vintage Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
1940s American Vintage Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Rock Crystal, Blue Sapphire, White Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Citrine, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary German Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Citrine, Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Amethyst, Citrine, Gold, 14k Gold
1930s Art Deco Vintage Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Amethyst, Citrine, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Ruby, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, 14k Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Retro Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Black Opal, Ruby, Opal, White Diamond, Diamond, Yellow Gold, Gold, 14k Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Ruby, 14k Gold
2010s Turkish Modern Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Ruby, 14k Gold
20th Century Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Citrine, Diamond, Yellow Gold, 10k Gold
2010s American Contemporary Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Sapphire
1950s American Post-War Vintage Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Lapis Lazuli, Yellow Gold, Gold, 18k Gold
1990s Contemporary Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Kunzite, Topaz, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Modernist Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Amethyst, 18k Gold, Gold
1990s American Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Citrine, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century American Artisan Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold
1950s American Vintage Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Coral, Turquoise, 14k Gold
1950s American Vintage Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Diamond, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
2010s American Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Lapis Lazuli, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
American Retro Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Sapphire, 14k Gold
American Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Aquamarine
1940s Vintage Seaman Schepps Cocktail Rings
Ruby, Sapphire, 14k Gold