David Yurman celebrates the re-opening of its boutique this month, boasting 1,000 square feet dedicated to the brand’s 12 collections, including Gold, Silver, Silver Ice, Pearl, Men’s, Cable Kids, Women’s and Men’s timepieces. The Bal Harbour store will also carry One of a Kind, Limited Edition, Couture and Bridal collections, which are exclusive to David Yurman boutiques.
Designed by New York-based architectural firm Design Republic, the new store was inspired by the mid-century California modernism of Richard Neutra, Craig Ellwood and the Case Study Houses of that era, and is defined by a horizontal flowing sequence of spaces. Each collection is given a dedicated space within the store, marked by free-floating wall panels and subtle shifts in the flooring pattern.
Design details like textured plaster, natural concrete and artisanal metal finishes (in both blackened and satin-finished stainless steel) allude to a sculptor’s studio. This comparison is apt given David Yurman’s background as a sculptor.
As an apprentice to several famed sculptures, David Yurman began his own career creating beautiful objects that were displayed in a gallery context, but when he met Sybil, the artist who became his muse and then his wife and co-designer, he gradually began to work in a more romantic, more classical mode. He made sculpture with the materials and tools of a jeweler. Instinctively, he began handcrafting works that used precious metals and gemstones to exalt the human spirit and embrace the body.
David established his namesake brand in 1979, and has become recognized as America’s leading fine jewelry brand. What sets the company apart from all others, however, is the commitment to artistic inspiration and exploration through the creation of these wearable sculptures.
While Yurman may be best known for its Cable bracelet, first introduced in 1983, that single sterling silver twisted helix silver with 18-karat gold and gemstones on its finial ends spawned an entire collection of pieces that have become as iconic. Similarly, the black and white ad campaigns shot by Peter Lindbergh are as recognizable as the jewelry that appears within them.
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