David Webb

David Webb (1925-1975) opened his first shop on 2 West 46th Street, New York City, in July 1948: He was only 23. By 25 years old his jewellery was being featured on the front cover of Vogue and worn by a glittering array of the great and most beautiful women of the age. His jewels have been worn by Jacqueline Kennedy and Elizabeth Taylor. The First Lady, was particularly fond of Webb’s designs and commissioned him to create official gifts. This patronage affirms Webb’s place as an iconic American designer.

Bold and Theatrical

Webb’s jewels are not for the faint hearted, however. The pieces are bold and theatrical; holding centre stage. Little wonder, that today Webb’s jewels make regular appearances on the Red Carpet. Amy Adams wore a stunning pair of emerald and diamond drop earrings to the 2017 BAFTA’s. Helen Mirren dazzled at the 2019 LA premiere of ‘Catherine the Great’ in $250,000 worth of David Webb jewels. To match her turquoise dress, Mirren wore a matching set of Webb’s ‘Shandri-La’ turquoise earrings and necklace with a ‘Turban’ turquoise ring.

Quintessentially American

The firm has been in continuous operation, with over 40,000 sketches drawn by Webb to work from. These sketches are now preserved in the firm’s archive. In 2010, the company was brought by Mark Emanuel, Sima Ghadamian and Robert Salian. Webb designs are still produced in the Manhattan workshop by craftsmen who started their careers with David Webb. Webb is a quintessential American jewellery designer that rivals the more sedate French designers established a century earlier from the Place Vendôme. His pieces have an raw energy and embrace bold colour combinations: such as his characteristic coral and emerald.

The Zebra Collection

David Webb is unafraid of monumental scale. His jewellery requires a powerful personality to carry it off. His designs have an wildness and bold spirit.

The Zebra bracelet first appeared in 1963 and was shot by Irving Penn for voided the following year. It is perhaps one of his most iconic designs: gold bands intersect the black and white enamel stripes curving down the animals body. The Zebra’s cabochon ruby eyes are mounted in delicately arched gold brows and a highly stylised pave diamond mane runs between his ears. The iconic beast stands as the firms logo.

Eclectic Inspirations

Webb’s sources of inspiration were eclectic: famously Webb took weekly trips to the Metropolitan Museum of New York. A book by Felix Sutton, entitled ‘The Big Book of Wild Animals’ found in Webbs library hints at the birth of the iconic Zebra collection. But as Eugenia Shepard remarked: One thing you can count on, David Webb’s animals are never cute”.