Seaman Schepps Brooch
20th Century Brooches
Diamond, Pearl, Platinum
20th Century American Modern Brooches
Pearl, Diamond, Platinum
Mid-20th Century American Retro Brooches
Aquamarine, Diamond, Platinum
Vintage 1980s American Brooches
Crystal, Diamond, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s American Brooches
White Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
20th Century American Brooches
Diamond, Ruby, Gold
Mid-20th Century American Retro Brooches
Diamond, Pearl, 14k Gold
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
Vintage 1950s American Brooches
Yellow Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Artist Brooches
Turquoise, Gold
Vintage 1940s Brooches
Gold
Vintage 1970s Brooches
Chalcedony, Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1940s American Art Nouveau Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 14k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1960s American Brooches
Diamond, Turquoise, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s North American Contemporary Brooches
Carnelian, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Turquoise, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Contemporary Brooches
Carnelian, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Vintage 1940s American Brooches
Coral, 14k Gold
Vintage 1970s American Modernist Brooches
Carnelian, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s American Contemporary Brooches
Citrine, Diamond, Cultured Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Brooches
Diamond, Onyx, Gold
Vintage 1950s American Post-War Brooches
Diamond, Jade, Ruby, White Diamond, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
American Brooches
Vintage 1940s American Art Deco Drop Necklaces
Aquamarine, Diamond, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1910s Unknown Art Nouveau Brooches
Coral, Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Vintage 1980s Brooches
Turquoise, Gold, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Brooches
Coral, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Books
Paper
Vintage 1950s American Post-War Cocktail Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Pearl, Natural Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gol...
People Also Browsed
Vintage 1920s French Art Deco Brooches
Onyx, Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Brooches
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1950s French Brooches
White Diamond, Yellow Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
Antique 18th Century Italian Victorian More Jewelry
18k Gold, Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold
Early 20th Century French Belle Époque More Jewelry
Diamond, Platinum
Vintage 1960s American Brooches
Emerald, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Artist Brooches
Diamond, Platinum
Vintage 1960s French Drop Earrings
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, Platinum
Vintage 1950s American Post-War Brooches
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
Vintage 1980s American Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Retro Bracelets
Pink Diamond
21st Century and Contemporary Chain Necklaces
Diamond, Onyx, Rose Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Cufflinks
Onyx, Pearl, 18k Gold, Enamel
Antique Early 19th Century British Early Victorian Drop Earrings
Turquoise, Gold, Yellow Gold
Antique Late 19th Century British Late Victorian Brooches
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, Silver
Recent Sales
Mid-20th Century American Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, Gold
Vintage 1950s American Brooches
Emerald, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Brooches
Citrine, Diamond, Pearl, Yellow Sapphire, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Brooches
Citrine, 18k Gold
Early 2000s American Brooches
Carnelian, Citrine, Turquoise, 18k Gold
Vintage 1950s American Brooches
Blue Sapphire
Vintage 1960s American Brooches
Citrine, Diamond, 14k Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Brooches
Aquamarine, Crystal, Iolite, Tourmaline, 18k Gold
Vintage 1950s American Brooches
Citrine, Sapphire, 14k Gold
20th Century American Brooches
Amethyst, Iolite, 18k Gold
Vintage 1940s Brooches
Cultured Pearl, Diamond, Emerald, Peridot, 18k Gold
American Brooches
Diamond
Vintage 1950s American Brooches
Vintage 1960s American Brooches
Vintage 1970s American Brooches
20th Century American Brooches
Coral, Pearl, 18k Gold
Vintage 1950s American Brooches
Citrine, Diamond, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s American Brooches
Coral, Emerald, Blue Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Brooches
Crystal, Rock Crystal, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century American Modern Brooches
Diamond, Moonstone, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1980s American Brooches
Citrine, 18k Gold
American Brooches
Carnelian, Citrine, Emerald, 18k Gold
Vintage 1950s American Retro Brooches
Turquoise, 14k Gold
Vintage 1940s American Retro Brooches
Aquamarine, 14k Gold
Late 20th Century Brooches
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Vintage 1960s American Brooches
Emerald, Rock Crystal, Blue Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Y...
Vintage 1960s American Brooches
Onyx, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Brooches
Carnelian, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Brooches
Citrine, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
American Brooches
Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold
1990s American Retro Brooches
Amethyst, Chalcedony, Citrine, Crystal, Emerald, Tourmaline, 18k Gold
Vintage 1980s American Brooches
Blue Sapphire, Chalcedony, 18k Gold
20th Century American Contemporary Brooches
Carnelian, Citrine, 18k Gold
Mid-20th Century American Retro Brooches
Coral, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Brooches
Quartz, Aquamarine, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
Vintage 1960s American Brooches
Diamond, Multi-gemstone, Natural Pearl, Quartz, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s American Artist Brooches
18k Gold
2010s American Modern Brooches
Amethyst, Iolite, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1980s American Modern Brooches
18k Gold
Vintage 1960s American Brooches
20th Century American Modern Brooches
Aquamarine, Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1940s American Brooches
Coral, 14k Gold
Vintage 1960s American Brooches
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, Ruby, 18k Gold
20th Century American Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Lapis Lazuli, Ruby, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Brooches
Citrine, Sapphire, 18k Gold
2010s American Brooches
Black Pearl, Coral, Diamond, Turquoise, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s American Brooches
Blue Sapphire, Cultured Pearl, Diamond, Rock Crystal, 18k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1950s American Brooches
Pearl, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1950s American Brooches
Coral, Diamond, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1950s American Brooches
Coral, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1960s American Brooches
Citrine, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1960s American Brooches
Chalcedony, Ruby, 14k Gold
American Brooches
Coral
American Brooches
Late 20th Century Brooches
Rock Crystal, Emerald, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s American Brooches
Coral, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s American Wrist Watches
Chrysophrase, Citrine, Lapis Lazuli, Pearl, 18k Gold
2010s American Clip-on Earrings
Coral, Diamond, Natural Pearl, Turquoise, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1960s American Brooches
Chrysophrase, Lapis Lazuli, 18k Gold
Seaman Schepps Brooch For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Seaman Schepps Brooch?
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.
Finding the Right brooches for You
Antique and vintage brooches, which are decorative jewels traditionally pinned to garments and used to fasten pieces of clothing together where needed, have seen increasing popularity in recent years.
Given their long history, brooches have expectedly taken on a variety of different shapes and forms over time, with jewelers turning to assorted methods of ornamentation for these accessories, including enameling and the integration of pearls and gemstones.
Cameo brooches that originated during the Victorian age are characterized by a shell carved in raised relief that feature portraits of a woman’s profile, while 19th-century micromosaic brooches, comprising innumerable individually placed glass fragments, sometimes feature miniature depictions of a pastoral scene in daily Roman life.
At one time, brooches were symbols of wealth, made primarily from the finest metals and showcasing exquisite precious gemstones. Today, these jewels are inclusive and universal, and you don’t have to travel very far to find an admirer of brooches. They can be richly geometric in form, such as the ornate diamond pins dating from the Art Deco era, or designer-specific, such as the celebrated naturalistic works created by Tiffany & Co., the milk glass and gold confections crafted by Trifari or handmade vintage Chanel brooches of silk or laminated sheer fabric.
Brooches are versatile and adaptable. These decorative accessories can be worn in your hair, on hats, scarves and on the lower point of V-neck clothing. Pin a dazzling brooch to the lapel of your blazer-and-tee combo or add a cluster of smaller pins to your overcoat. And while brooches have their place in “mourning jewelry,” in that a mourning brooch is representative of your connection to a lost loved one, they’re widely seen as romantic and symbolic of love, so much so that a hardcore brooch enthusiast might advocate for brooches to be worn over the heart.
Today, find a wide variety of antique and vintage brooches on 1stDibs, including gold brooches, sapphire brooches and more.