David Yurman

David Yurman grew up on Long Island, NY and first stepped out as a designer and business man selling little sculptures in his high school cafeteria. Later, at age 16, he was introduced to Cuban welder and sculptor Ernesto Gonzales while visiting his sister in Provincetown, MA. In sculpting, David found an outlet and focus for his creativity, which he would develop over the next two decades as an apprentice under the tutelage of renowned sculptors Jacques Lipshitz and Theodore Rozack (he collaborated with Picasso and Modigliani). Following a year at NYU, David left college and hitchhiked across the country to California where he found refuge in the beatnik artist colony of Big-Sur.

In the late 1960’s, David returned from his bohemian sojourn in California to Greenwich Village where he began working with sculptor Hans Van de Bovenkamp. It was in his studio that David met Sybil Kleinrock, a gifted painter who, like David, recently returned from the beatnik scene in California.

While wearing one of David’s pieces to an art opening, Sybil caught the eye of the gallery owner who asked if it was for sale. Although David couldn’t dream of recreating something so personal, Sybil saw an opportunity. In the early 1970’s, David and Sybil moved to the countryside and formed Putnam Art Works. Throughout the decade, David and Sybil exhibited their designs and paintings at various craft fairs, and in 1979 they were married. By running Putnam Art Works, the dream team couple learned the marketplace for fine crafts and jewelry, laying the groundwork for the founding of David Yurman, the brand and company, in 1980. By the mid-1980s, Yurman had made a name for himself with his cable bracelet. This style has become iconic and remains David Yurman’s signature. His company has gone on to produce various jewelry and watch collections for men and women, as well as his own signature fragrance and eyewear collection.