Seaman Schepps, a jeweler synonymous with New York style and European refinement, has returned to New York after a two-year absence.
Its former boutique on Park Avenue and 58th Street was a gathering place for New York society and international style icons for several decades. Its clientele included actress Marlene Dietrich and former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Owner Anthony Hopenhajm closed the store in 2020 when he could not come to an agreement with the landlord over the terms of a new lease during the pandemic. The jewelry brand turned its attention to its other two locations in Palm Beach, Florida, and Nantucket, Massachusetts, as well as its e-commerce site.
The new boutique at 824 Madison Avenue was the result of a casual conversation and the offer of “a rent I couldn’t refuse,” Hopenhajm related in a recent interview. The bi-level space is four times larger than his former store, he added.
He is using the extra area to display 5,000 original jewelry sketches, ledgers, and a collection of historic jewels he received when he acquired the brand 30 years ago. These include pieces originally created for American heiress Doris Duke, among them a sapphire and diamond bracelet and a grape-cluster brooch. The latter features a mix of pale and highly colored sapphires, a large pavé diamond leaf, and additional leaves with engraved emeralds. It will be the first time in 15 years that these jewels will be on display.
Designed by Penny Drue Baird, the new space takes its inspiration from Parisian salons where artists and writers would gather. The soft blue and beige color palette serves as a backdrop for design accents that include an Italian rococo mirror from the 1850s, a crystal chandelier, and an angled vitrine in walnut — all from the original location. A spiral staircase leads to the lower level, which houses the original sketches and historic pieces. That floor also serves as a private event space for intimate gatherings. Nearly 50 feet of window displays will change seasonally and feature original watercolor backdrops by artist Diana Heimann, as well as a collection of jewels staged with natural objects such as wood, stone and shells.
“There’s not going to be a stand-up bar,” Hopenhajm says. “I want people to feel as if they are coming into my living room to sit and enjoy conversation and each other’s company. A place for friends to gather.”
The company’s classic designs — such as its iconic shell earrings, and its colorful mixture of gems and other materials like wood and jade — will remain. Alongside these will be more contemporary designs based on original drawings to appeal to younger jewelry connoisseurs. In fact, with the extra space, the entire collection of Seaman Schepps jewels will be on view. All pieces are in 18- or 22-karat gold.
Designing and producing the pieces takes place at Trianon, a New York jewelry workshop belonging to Hopenhajm and known for its high-quality cuff links. Both brands, he said, share an aesthetic of combining diamonds, gems, precious metals and unusual materials to produce multicolored sculptural pieces that reflect a classic New York style.
Image: Anthony Hopenhajm, owner of Seaman Schepps, inside the brand’s New York boutique at 824 Madison Avenue. (Kris Tamburello)
|
|
|
|
|