Seaman Schepps Retro Bracelets
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.
Mid-20th Century American Seaman Schepps Retro Bracelets
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Diamond, Emerald, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Seaman Schepps Retro Bracelets
Diamond, Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
1960s Retro Vintage Seaman Schepps Retro Bracelets
White Diamond, Pearl, Ruby, 9k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold
2010s American Contemporary Seaman Schepps Retro Bracelets
Diamond, Yellow Diamond, Pearl, 14k Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
1950s American Vintage Seaman Schepps Retro Bracelets
Pearl, Blue Sapphire, Sapphire, Gold, Yellow Gold, 14k Gold
1980s French Vintage Seaman Schepps Retro Bracelets
Pearl, Yellow Gold, Gold, 18k Gold
Mid-20th Century Seaman Schepps Retro Bracelets
Pearl, Diamond, Cultured Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
Late 19th Century Dutch Victorian Antique Seaman Schepps Retro Bracelets
Garnet, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Modern Seaman Schepps Retro Bracelets
Diamond, Pearl, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1980s Japanese Vintage Seaman Schepps Retro Bracelets
Pearl, Freshwater Pearl, Yellow Gold, 14k Gold
1950s Italian Retro Vintage Seaman Schepps Retro Bracelets
Pearl, Topaz, Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald, Diamond, Coral, Silver, Rose Gold...
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Victorian Seaman Schepps Retro Bracelets
Diamond, Emerald, Pearl, Gold, Silver
Early 2000s Italian Retro Seaman Schepps Retro Bracelets
Amethyst, Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, 9k Gold, Rose Gold, Silver
2010s Seaman Schepps Retro Bracelets
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century American Artist Seaman Schepps Retro Bracelets
Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
20th Century American Artist Seaman Schepps Retro Bracelets
Coral, Diamond, White Diamond, Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Seaman Schepps Retro Bracelets
Lapis Lazuli, Yellow Gold
1960s American Vintage Seaman Schepps Retro Bracelets
Aquamarine, Tourmaline, 14k Gold