The inside of the newSeaman Schepps boutique at 824 Madison Ave.
After a two-year absence Seaman Schepps has returned to Manhattan, with an enormous, brilliant retailer at 69th and Madison Avenue designed to convey the heritage and historical past of the 118-year-old jeweler into the twenty first century.
The bi-level boutique is “4 instances the scale” of its earlier Park Avenue boutique, the place the model was housed for 60 years, says Anthony Hopenhajm, who acquired the model 40 years in the past.
Led by famend inside designer, Penny Drue Baird, who divides her time between Paris and New York, the purpose was to show the area on 824 Madison Ave. right into a Parisian salon the place shoppers might calm down in a snug, intimate setting.
Anthony Hopenhajm, proprietor of Seaman Schepps, contained in the model’s New York boutique
To do that Baird selected to go together with a smooth blue/beige colour palette that enable design accents to pop and shine all through the shop. Design highlights embrace an Italian Rococo mirror from the 1850s, a Baccarat metal and crystal chandelier, and a singular angled vitrine, all of which graced the earlier location.
“There’s no stand-up bar,” Hopenhajm says. “I need folks to really feel as if they’re coming into my front room to sit down and luxuriate in dialog and one another’s firm. A spot for pals to assemble.”
A spiral staircase, painted in a pretend metal and heat walnut end results in the decrease degree which homes a vault of historic items and greater than 5,000 authentic jewellery sketches, which the model makes use of to supply its newest jewels. Many of those drawings embrace the title of the shopper for whom the piece was designed. The clientele through the years included famend editor and writer, Blanche Knopf, the Duchess of Windsor, Marlene Dietrich, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and American opera diva, Marguerite Wenner-Gren. Andy Warhol was an avid collector.
An 1850s Italian Rococo mirror was one of many objects reused from Seaman Schepps’ earlier location
Hopenhajm says that is the primary time he has a devoted area to rejoice the historical past of the corporate.
For instance, it will likely be the primary time in 15 years that items initially created for American heiress Doris Duke might be on show together with a grape cluster brooch with a mixture of pale and extremely coloured sapphires, a big pave diamond leaf, further leaves with engraved emeralds and sapphire and a diamond bracelet Duke would typically pair with the brooch.
The decrease degree additionally serves as a non-public occasion area the place invited visitors can peruse this historical past at intimate gatherings.
The decrease flooring accommodates authentic drawings and different historic objects associated to Seaman Schepps
This new retailer additionally has almost 50 ft of home windows. Hopenhajm says he’ll use this for seasonal shows for jewels paired with pure objects, corresponding to wooden, stone and shells, with a backdrop of authentic watercolor work by artist Diana Heimann.
Its former boutique on Park Avenue and 58th was a gathering place for New York society and worldwide type icons for 60 years. Hopenhajm closed the shop in 2020 when Hopenhajm was unable to renegotiate the lease with the property’s landlord through the Covid pandemic. The jewellery model turned its full consideration to its different two places in Palm Seaside, Fla., and Nantucket, Mass., and its eCommerce web site.
Hopenhajm acquired Seaman Schepps in 1992. All items are set in 18k or 22k gold and are designed and produced at Trianon, a New York jewellery workshop owned by Hopenhajm that’s identified for its high-quality cufflinks.
Seaman Schepps jewellery on show
The traditional designs corresponding to its iconic shell earrings and its colourful combination of gems and different supplies stay within the assortment and are blended with extra modern items. All of the designs are based mostly on authentic drawings.
Hopenhajm says Seaman Schepps and Trianon share an aesthetic of mixing diamonds, gems, valuable metals and strange supplies—corresponding to wooden and jade—to supply multi-colored sculptural items that mirror a traditional New York type.
“The power of Seaman Shepps is that girls are shopping for jewellery that appears good on them and is flattering, quite than jewellery that simply displays household achievement,” Hopenhajm says. “Our jewellery is about somebody placing their outfit collectively and the way they view their private type and style.”
