Seaman Schepps Jewelry
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.
1950s American Retro Vintage Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Aventurine, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1950s American Modernist Vintage Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Amber, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1950s American Post-War Vintage Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Diamond, Jade, Ruby, White Diamond, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1950s American Vintage Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Yellow Gold, 14k Gold
1980s American Vintage Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Coral, Diamond, Sapphire
1930s Art Deco Vintage Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1950s Italian Retro Vintage Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Diamond, Pearl, Ruby, 14k Gold, White Gold
Late 20th Century American Contemporary Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Lapis Lazuli, Sterling Silver, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Modern Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Diamond, White Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1950s Vintage Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Gold-filled
20th Century American Modern Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Pearl, Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Citrine, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1950s Modern Vintage Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 19th Century Victorian Antique Seaman Schepps Jewelry
14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Artisan Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Topaz, Imperial Topaz, Yellow Gold, Gold, 14k Gold, 18k Gold
1990s North American Contemporary Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Carnelian, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Turquoise, 18k Gold
1950s American Post-War Vintage Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Lapis Lazuli, Yellow Gold, Gold, 18k Gold
1950s American Vintage Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Pearl, Yellow Gold
1950s American Vintage Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 14k Gold
1950s American Vintage Seaman Schepps Jewelry
14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1950s Vintage Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Amethyst, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1950s American Vintage Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Coral, Diamond, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
1950s American Vintage Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Diamond, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
1950s American Vintage Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Coral, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1950s American Retro Vintage Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Turquoise, 14k Gold
1950s American Vintage Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Coral, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1950s American Retro Vintage Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 14k Gold
1950s American Vintage Seaman Schepps Jewelry
Diamond, Sapphire, 14k Gold, White Gold