Vintage Seaman Schepps
Mid-20th Century Retro Clip-on Earrings
Aquamarine, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century American Clip-on Earrings
Ruby, Sapphire, Gold
Early 2000s American Clip-on Earrings
Crystal, Rock Crystal, 18k Gold
20th Century Beaded Necklaces
Beryl, Diamond, Green Beryl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s Brooches
Chalcedony, Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1940s American Retro Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
20th Century American Brooches
Diamond, Ruby, Gold
1990s American Link Bracelets
Sapphire, 18k Gold
Early 2000s More Jewelry
Gold, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century North American Modernist Cocktail Rings
Citrine, Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1960s American Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Emerald, Platinum
20th Century American Clip-on Earrings
Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century American Retro Bangles
Diamond, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
Mid-20th Century American Art Deco Bangles
Diamond, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
Vintage 1960s American Brooches
Diamond, Turquoise, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s North American Contemporary Brooches
Carnelian, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Turquoise, 18k Gold
Vintage 1980s American Modern Clip-on Earrings
Tourmaline, Rubelite, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
Late 20th Century American Contemporary Brooches
Carnelian, Sapphire, 18k Gold
20th Century American More Earrings
Ruby, Sapphire, Gold
Vintage 1970s American Modernist Clip-on Earrings
Citrine, Quartz, Rock Crystal, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
Mid-20th Century American Beaded Bracelets
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Diamond, Emerald, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Retro Beaded Necklaces
Aquamarine, Ruby, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s Modernist Clip-on Earrings
Carnelian, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Modernist Clip-on Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Retro Cocktail Rings
Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1950s American Post-War Brooches
Diamond, Jade, Ruby, White Diamond, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1950s American Modernist Cocktail Rings
Amber, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s Modernist Link Bracelets
Pearl, Coral, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1960s American Clip-on Earrings
Ruby, 14k Gold
Mid-20th Century Art Deco Clip-on Earrings
Enamel
Vintage 1960s American Modern Link Bracelets
Mixed Metal
Vintage 1960s French Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Mixed Metal
Vintage 1980s Brooches
Turquoise, Gold, 14k Gold
Vintage 1980s American Modernist Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Quartz, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century American Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, Gold
Early 2000s Modern Stud Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Citrine, 18k Gold
1990s Stud Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Clip-on Earrings
Rock Crystal, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1950s American Link Bracelets
14k Gold
Vintage 1960s American Brooches
Emerald, Rock Crystal, Blue Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Y...
20th Century American More Earrings
Coral, Gold, Enamel
Vintage 1940s American Link Bracelets
Jade, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s American Modern Link Bracelets
18k Gold
Vintage 1960s American Brooches
20th Century American Modern Link Bracelets
18k Gold
Vintage 1960s Contemporary Stud Earrings
Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1960s Contemporary Stud Earrings
Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Lever-Back Earrings
Pearl, Yellow Gold
2010s American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Onyx, Rock Crystal, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s American Modernist Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Quartz, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Modern Modern Bracelets
Citrine, Diamond, White Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s American Modernist Clip-on Earrings
Chalcedony, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Modernist Clip-on Earrings
Coral, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Modernist Clip-on Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s American Modern Clip-on Earrings
Coral, Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s American Retro Clip-on Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Modernist Clip-on Earrings
Agate, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1970s American Modernist Cocktail Rings
Coral, Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s Lever-Back Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
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Vintage Seaman Schepps For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much are Vintage Seaman Schepps?
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.