A ROCK CRYSTAL, ONYX, DIAMOND AND CULTURED PEARL...

A ROCK CRYSTAL, ONYX, DIAMOND AND CULTURED PEARL PENDANT/BROOCH, BY DAVID WEBB

The rock crystal pendant accented with brilliant-cut diamonds and onyx, suspending a tassel of cultured pearls of white tint, measuring approximately 9.50mm, mounted in 14 & 18K gold and platinum, diamonds approximately 3.30cts total, signed Webb, length 13.2cm

David Webb began designing jewellery as a young boy growing up in North Carolina. In 1940, he moved to New York at the age of seventeen and apprenticed at his uncle’s silversmith shop, where he learned metal smiting techniques, further honing his keen eye for jewellery design. Five years later, Webb founded his eponymous jewellery line on Manhattan’s Madison Avenue. His brand would go on to help define the direction of American jewellery over the next two decades. Webb’s designs standing out as one of the few artists of the 20th century who lay claim to an aesthetic style which remains wholly their own. Devoted clients of Webb included Jacqueline Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor and Estée Lauder, all of whom proudly wore his designs throughout the 1950s and 60s. Throughout his lifetime, his pieces took centre stage on the covers of fashion magazines such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Town & Country.

Webb’s designs are distinguished by a vivid colour palette, dimension, and meticulous attention to detail. He oversaw the whole process of jewellery making, from the initial conceptualisation of the pieces to the finished product, with his entire production process sometimes being comprised of as many as 18 steps before his designs came to fruition. Webb worked in enamel, coral, jade, carved crystal, and gold alongside a vibrant mixture of gemstones and pearls. He drew inspiration from a vast range of cultures and periods, founded in his regular visits to all the museums and collections New York city had to offer. This included the Metropolitan Museum of Art where Webb made a point of going weekly to study and admire the ancient collections housed there, from the painted terracotta vases of the Bronze Age Minoans to the papyri of the Ancient Egyptians and the gold jewellery of the Byzantine Empire. For Webb, a Minoan bull became a gold belt buckle, and Greek penannular bracelets were transformed into the models for his signature gold animal bracelets.

It was this breadth of influence, boldness of design and unabashed individuality which drew the attention of First Lady Jackie Kennedy, when she asked Webb to create the White House Gifts of State in 1960. Directed to use minerals native to the United States, all seven designs were accepted, sparking a lifetime of collaboration between the pair. When Webb passed away in 1975, at the young age of 50, his legacy was remembered by those who admired his work. The Duchess of Windsor remembered him as “Faberge reborn”, whilst his friend and associate Jackie Kennedy called him a “modern day Cellini”. In 2010, Marc Emmanuel and Robert Sadian bought over the company, bringing David Webb designs into the 21st century by faithfully restoring the jeweller’s original designs from his archives. Today, all of David Webb’s jewellery continues to be made on the premises in New York, as it has been since 1948.