Seaman Schepps opened his first shop in 1904, at age 23, in Los Angeles. In 1921 he and his family returned east to his birth place and opened a shop at the heart of New York City. After the stock market crash in 1929 he lost everything including this shop. This led Schepps to a turning point and in re-thinking his business strategy he decided to develop exclusive designs mixing unique ideas, bold colours and sharp textures. In 1934 he opened his shop on Madison Avenue and in the 1930s he rose to prominence with jewelry that challenged the status quo. Schepps’ jewelry was featured on the covers of among others Vogue and Harpers Bazaar and appealed to clients like Katherine Hepburn, Coco Chanel, the Duchess of Windsor and Andy Warhol. By serving most powerful and influential individuals, Schepps became known as America’s Court Jeweler. Since Schepps’ death in 1972, the appreciation of his work has grown. Many renewed art collectors such as Andy Warhol became aficionados of Schepps’ work, collecting it as works of art. The Seaman Shepps store is still based in New York. Today’s designs draw on the Schepps archives which contain over 5000 jewelry renderings and 650 molds.
