Seaman Emerald
Vintage 1970s American Brooches
White Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
Vintage 1960s American Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
Vintage 1940s American Art Nouveau Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 14k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1940s Brooches
Gold
Mid-20th Century American Beaded Bracelets
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Diamond, Emerald, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century American Retro Brooches
Aquamarine, Diamond, Platinum
Late 20th Century Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Cultured Pearl, Rock Crystal, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold,...
Vintage 1940s American Retro Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
20th Century American More Necklaces
Pearl
Vintage 1960s American Brooches
Diamond, Turquoise, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1940s American Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Rock Crystal, Blue Sapphire, White Gold, Platinum
People Also Browsed
1990s American Link Bracelets
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Contemporary Chain Necklaces
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century French Belle Époque More Jewelry
Diamond, Platinum
Antique 1840s Italian Classical Roman More Jewelry
Coral, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Native American Cocktail Rings
Coral, Lapis Lazuli, Turquoise, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1940s Italian More Necklaces
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold
20th Century French Modern Chain Necklaces
Coral, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Artist Brooches
Diamond, Platinum
Vintage 1910s Brooches
Diamond, Platinum
Antique Late 19th Century Pendant Necklaces
Diamond, Gold, Silver
Vintage 1960s American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Lapis Lazuli, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Antique 1880s British Victorian Brooches
Diamond, Pearl, Ruby, Rose Gold
Vintage 1970s American Modernist Cocktail Rings
Quartz, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Antique Early 19th Century British George III Drop Earrings
Aquamarine, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Engagement Rings
Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
20th Century American Modern Cocktail Rings
Citrine, Diamond, Yellow Gold
Recent Sales
Vintage 1950s American Brooches
Emerald, 14k Gold
Mid-20th Century American Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, Gold
20th Century American More Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, Gold
Vintage 1940s Brooches
Cultured Pearl, Diamond, Emerald, Peridot, 18k Gold
20th Century American More Bracelets
Diamond, Gold
Vintage 1960s American Cocktail Rings
Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, Cultured Pearl, Diamond, White Gold, 14k Gold
Vintage 1960s American Clip-on Earrings
Emerald, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Clip-on Earrings
Emerald, 18k Gold
1990s Clip-on Earrings
Emerald, 18k Gold
Vintage 1960s American Modern Clip-on Earrings
Blue Sapphire, Emerald, 14k Gold
2010s American Drop Earrings
Chrysophrase, Emerald, Lapis Lazuli, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s American Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Clip-on Earrings
Sapphire, Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, 18k Gold
2010s American Modern Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Emerald, Pearl, Cultured Pearl, South Sea Pearl,...
2010s American Hoop Earrings
Emerald, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s American Modern Link Bracelets
Emerald, Jade, Rock Crystal, 18k Gold
Vintage 1950s American Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 14k Gold
Vintage 1970s American Brooches
Coral, Emerald, Blue Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Yellow Gold
1990s American Modern Link Bracelets
Emerald, Jade, Rock Crystal, 18k Gold
American Brooches
Carnelian, Citrine, Emerald, 18k Gold
Vintage 1960s American Brooches
Emerald, Rock Crystal, Blue Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Y...
Late 20th Century American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold
Vintage 1950s American Retro Cluster Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 14k Gold
1990s American Retro Brooches
Amethyst, Chalcedony, Citrine, Crystal, Emerald, Tourmaline, 18k Gold
Vintage 1980s American Link Bracelets
Quartz, 18k Gold
2010s American Modern Brooches
Amethyst, Iolite, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Link Bracelets
Diamond, Multi-gemstone, Chalcedony, Citrine, Emerald, Peridot, Quartz, ...
20th Century American Modern Brooches
Aquamarine, Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century American Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Lapis Lazuli, Ruby, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Clip-on Earrings
Pearl, Diamond, Emerald, Cultured Pearl, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k ...
American Clip-on Earrings
Mid-20th Century American Retro Brooches
Coral, 18k Gold
2010s American Cuff Bracelets
Blue Sapphire, Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Spinel, 18k Gold, White Gold
Late 20th Century Modern Bracelets
Late 20th Century Modern Bracelets
Vintage 1960s American Brooches
Citrine, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Brooches
Rock Crystal, Emerald, 18k Gold
2010s American Modern Bracelets
Diamond, Emerald, Jade, Moonstone, Quartz, 18k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1980s American Clip-on Earrings
Vintage 1970s American Clip-on Earrings
Emerald, Natural Pearl, Rock Crystal, Ruby, 14k Gold
Late 20th Century American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Emerald, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Vintage 1960s American Multi-Strand Necklaces
Cultured Pearl, Emerald, Jade, Ruby, Sapphire, Aquamarine, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s Unknown Art Deco Engagement Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Retro Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Sapphire, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s Lever-Back Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
Vintage 1980s American Clip-on Earrings
Emerald, 14k Gold
Vintage 1980s American Clip-on Earrings
Emerald, Sapphire, Yellow Gold, 14k Gold
Vintage 1950s Brooches
Amethyst, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Brooches
Diamond, Quartz, Ruby, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Clip-on Earrings
Emerald, Onyx, Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1960s American Modernist Clip-on Earrings
Emerald, Ruby, 14k Gold
Vintage 1960s Stud Earrings
Emerald, Pearl, Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold
Vintage 1940s American Clip-on Earrings
Emerald, Diamond, 14k Gold, Platinum
20th Century American Brooches
Emerald, 18k Gold
20th Century American More Earrings
Emerald, 18k Gold
Vintage 1940s American Brooches
Emerald, Diamond, 14k Gold, Platinum
1990s American Clip-on Earrings
Emerald, Cultured Pearl, Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Cufflinks
Emerald, 18k Gold
20th Century American More Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, Pearl, 18k Gold
Seaman Emerald For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Seaman Emerald?
Seaman Schepps for sale on 1stDibs
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.