Inside David Yurman’s Jewel-Filled Exhibition at Salon 94

Brittany SnowPhoto: Emma Beiles Howie

Before a design takes form, it begins as a noumenon—an unseen impulse shaped by emotion, history, and culture. It was this impulse that inspired David Yurman’s Thursday evening unveiling of an extravagant exhibit. Amid New York City’s Upper East Side brownstones, an array of guests filed into Salon 94’s townhouse-turned-gallery for a glamorous exploration of the jewelry brand’s five collectsions and the sources that shaped them.

Upon entering through the unmarked doors, attendees were immediately immersed in the Yurman heritage. Each room in the space displayed a collectsion of jewels, coupled by an explanation of its origin of form. Clad in floor-length gowns, Sculpted Cable gold bangles, and diamonds, invitees were welcomed into the DY Mercer parlor, honoring the line’s creative spirit of downtown New York in the ‘60s and ‘70s where the namesake founder had his first sculpture studio in Greenwich Village.

With Champagne flutes and caviar-topped beet chips in hand, the crowd made their way up the spiral staircase to the next floor of the installation which spotlighted the Petrvs and Artist Series collectsions—where Matt Bomer could be spotted in a Petrvs signet ring showcasing the bee’s representation of eternal life and rebirth. Eiza Gonzalez gleamed nearby, donning DY Mercer, and Carmelo Anthony perused the exhibits in the Armory link bracelets and rings.

One more precarious flight of stairs up (or an elevator ride for those in unforgiving stilettos), friends of the brand mingled about and tucked into beef tenderloin toasts as a reward for reaching the top. Meanwhile, François Arnaud posed in the Waves series room as Brittany Snow and Victoria Monet admired the Armory collectsion, welcomed by Evan Yurman, the brand’s president and chief creative officer, who discussed the origin stories.