Gem Gossip Visits David Webb on Madison Avenue, NYC

I confess I am even now a NYC beginner. I have visited probably four times and that i get astonished appears to be like every time I notify anyone that, specially given that I grew up in western Big apple. But with each individual visit, and perhaps if these visitsare less than 24 hrs (similar to this a person), I’m going all out. This distinct trip I manufactured each bit count and squeezed in the cease on the iconic jewelry shop and workshop of David Webb around on Madison Avenue, where I obtained a personal personal tour from Levi Higgs, who operates their social networking and performs inside the archives. Levi has been a fantastic buddy for the number of years now, currently being highlighted on Gem Gossip from the earlier and also visitor running a blog from NYC’s antique shows for me. He is also a damn good photographer (he shot the photos noticed below) and critically requirements a trophy of excellence for creating the beautiful material that is found on David Webb’s social media platforms. He genuinely has an indescribable knack for magnificence.

David Webb is one of the 1st folks I think of if an individual ended up to request me to name the best, most legendary jewelers. His name is synonymous to greatness, he defines American jewelry, and it is no wonder the subtitle to his 2013 introduced e book is “The Quintessential American Jeweler.” This North Carolina-born learn of creativity and expertise has made a reputation for himself inside the short time he was here on this Earth. I try to remember sitting in my really initially jewelry meeting back in 2010 up in Rhode Island and hearing Simon Teakle speak. His lecture was termed “Twelve Months of Modify: The Ups & Downs in the Jewelry Market” and on the time he was the director of antique and estate jewelry for Betteridge Jewelers. As Mr. Teakle spoke, he could not have stressed how significant he felt David Webb’s designs are and how much of an investment piece each a single genuinely is. His resonating quote from that lecture was, “Rarity and quality prevail,” and that day I to start with learned what it means to display such high quality and craftsmanship like a David Webb piece. That lecture stuck with me and i always felt David Webb was inside a category of its own from that day forward.

Who would have ever known, fast forward five decades later and that i would be visiting the flagship in NYC, wherever above the shop resides some from cheap engagement ringsthe most talented craftsmen inside the jewelry industry. The David Webb workshop is unlike anything I’ve found. New-world techniques collide with old-world traditions and designs, and each piece is manufactured from start to finish right there on Madison Avenue. I got to meet Benjamin Ray (the man pictured with me wearing his polishing apron) who is a legend! He has long been working at David Webb for 50 many years, exactly where he initially landed the job back in 1965 within the young age of 21! He has become a part from the company for such an extensive period, working both before and after Webb’s passing, and has polished many famous pieces throughout the years-like Elizabeth Taylor’s David Webb collection, pieces worn by stars, celebrities and fashionistas. I could immediately inform that he takes great pride in what he does just based on his beaming smile he was flashing, sitting behind the polishing machine. The stories he could probably inform! I wished I had more time with this take a look at.

Onto the Archives room, where over 40,000 drawings and records call home. The files are endless and i could seriously get lost for days on end. I acquired to take a peek into the Taylor-Burton file, like it was an ordinary thing to do, but now that I’m home and i assume back I cannot believe the opportunity. Elizabeth Taylor’s extraordinary double-headed lion pearl necklace rendering?? YES. I saw it right before my really own eyes. Elizabeth Taylor and her husband Richard Burton commissioned David Webb to make this necklace in 1965. The star wore it in her film Ash Wednesday, and it was also featured on the cover of her e book, Elizabeth Taylor: My Love fashion earrings onlineAffair with Jewelry. How incredible?! Seeing the amount of drawings that had been stored in this article produced me realize how phenomenal and passionate David Webb was. It can be so tragic that he passed away in 1975 but left behind a legacy that has manufactured a huge impact on the world of jewelry and many others. What a special day to spend at David Webb!

David Webb

942 Madison Ave.

New york, NY 10021

www.DavidWebb.com

To read and learn more about David Webb, purchase this “Must-Have” Jewelry e book: