THE RING’S THE THING
A ‘democratic luxury’
David Yurman is a self-described pioneer of the affordable luxury market.
From the early beginnings of his eponymous jewelry brand, which he started with his wife Sybil in New York in 1980, he aimed to create a range of pieces at various price points that a wide array of people could afford.
“I’m a proponent of there being democratic luxury,” Yurman explains of the ethos. “We kind of created a category of designer jewelry that was a luxury product but based on a name with the founder/ creator of the product as its signature. And it was very relaxed and very attainable.”
But not everyone embraced the idea of mass luxury in those early years. To say Yurman faced resistance within the luxury ranks for his all-inclusive approach is an understatement.
“I think we created that category of accessible luxury and some people weren’t happy and they tried to keep me politically out of certain areas,” he says of the initial reaction from other brands. “I had issues where they wanted me not to take a better space at the premiere world exposition at Basel. ... They said, ‘No, Yurman should not be here because he sells to Bloomingdale’s, he sells to Neiman’s, Saks, Holt Renfrew … he’s not luxury.’
“And the guy who was saying it was trying to get into Bloomingdale’s and Saks,” he says with a laugh.
Despite the negative remarks from industry peers, Yurman forged ahead with his mission to create appealing jewelry pieces that would be attainable to, well, pretty much everyone.
“I thought it would be wonderful to make a really well-made product with a signature design that, and this actually happened, that Liz Taylor would send her assistant to buy a piece and the assistant would come back later and buy a piece for herself,” he says. “And I love that democratization. I love to be available, affordable, accessible — all those words that allow someone to participate.”
Taking his inspiration from the Bauhaus model, in that different types of design could be combined for a total work of art, Yurman has spent the past 36 years creating a collection of jewelry that has expanded to include 250-350 new designs per year for men and women.
“If you have the eyes for it, you should have the pocket for it,” he says of his designs.
His model is one of the reasons Yurman’s brand has grown to include 46 retail and concession locations within the U.S., Canada and France, as well as more than 350 authorized retailer locations worldwide. And one of Yurman’s latest retail outposts is the newly expanded shop-in-shop at Holt Renfrew in Vancouver.
“It’s the largest anywhere for a shop-in-shop,” Yurman confirms of the 1,226-square-foot space, which is home to the brand’s Heritage pieces, men’s jewelry, the wedding collection, fine jewelry and more.
For Yurman, the expanded footprint in the city is a direct response to a five-year boom in the Canadian market, and more specifically in Vancouver, for the American jewelry brand’s top-tier luxury pieces.
I love to be available, affordable, accessible — all those words that allow someone to participate.
“You gravitate toward where you’re excepted,” Yurman says. “The growth has been phenomenal. It’s off the charts how strong the business is. But the particular strength is, not across the board but percentage-wise, it’s more to the unique, super high quality.”
Whereas Yurman’s designs start at around $250 and average at $1,500, these “unique” pieces can start at $50,000 to $100,000 — and up. And according to Yurman, it’s these exquisitely rare pieces that are proving the most popular with local shoppers. And he’s just fine with that.
But it’s not just the dollars and cents the sale of these high-calibre pieces represent that pleases Yur- man most, although that undoubtedly helps. It’s their ability to further his exploration of fine stones and materials.
“These are rare pieces that I love to hunt,” he says. “It’s one of the reasons I got lured into this business.”
Yurman is, after all, a sculptor first and a jewelry designer second.
“People ask me, ‘ Where do you get your inspiration?’ And the only thing I ever ‘get’ in terms of inspiration is hunting stones. I hunt stones,” he says.
Yurman and his two full-time “treasure hunters” travel the world — visiting places like Arizona, Germany and Hong Kong — visiting mines and gem shows for rare stones for his latest designs.
“I’m kind of like a kid in a candy store,” he says. “It sounds corny, but the stone speaks to you.”
One such connection lies with Yurman’s affinity for pearls. Yurman was named the Designer of the Year by the Cultured Pearl Associations of America and Japan in 1981. It’s a “living stone” he’s been happy to incorporate into his collections year after year.
“I have a great love for (pearls),” he says. “It’s a love of product that eventually connects to a customer who takes time, who loves a product and actually has the means to buy it for herself. There’s a lot of love in that circle.”
In fact, it was Yurman’s appreciation for precious stones that allowed him to shake the moniker ‘The Cable Guy.’
“It used to be cable, and people would say, ‘Oh, he’s the cable guy’,” Yurman says of the design evolution. “But up until pretty recently, the majority of what we made had that sort of cable moniker.”
Yurman jokingly refers to his timeline of designs as being B.C., or “before cable” or “after cable.” But while Yurman’s designs may have changed throughout his career, his attention to detail has not.
“There isn’t a piece that’s produced in the company now that I don’t touch. Not one piece,” he says. “I originate most of them, and I touch them, on average, five or six times before they leave the shop.”
It’s that hands-on approach that Yurman says garners some digs from his son and fellow designer Evan Yurman.
“He call me an ‘utz-er’, as in, I’m always ‘utz-ing’ around,” he says with a grin.
“But the fact is, I’m a maker, I make things. I know by making. If you look at the first intent to what it finally ends up as, it’s definitely a line, but there are changes along the way. Most of the changes are esthetic and interpretation. But when these things come closer to being alive ... you sweat the details.”
Yurman says he works with his team to create “collaborative pieces with a single vision” rather than pieces crafted through a rigid, siloed process.
“It’s very much an iterative and a collaborative process,” Yurman says of the act of making jewelry.
“And, sometimes, the illustrator brings something I didn’t see, or the setter. And at the end of the day, you have a collaborative piece with a single vision. It sounds like an oxymoron. But I think it gives you a better piece. You get a piece that surprises you along the way.”
Speaking with Yurman, one gets the sense he’s an artist who is a bit of a reluctant businessman. Yes, he understands his customers and the importance of building his brand, but he’s also openly displeased with the direction the industry as a whole as taken.
“You sort of have to be careful what you wish for,” he says of the explosive success of the mass luxury model. “I think the market is more and more driven by the merchants and the business people.”
As a result, Yurman says brands and designers are being forced to design “too much.”
“The overall request for the amount, particularly of ready to wear because ready to wear is very hungry. What’s the next thing and the next thing … First of all, I don’t think the market can absorb that much,” he says.
“And I think we’re starting to see this. This is a tough season in retail. It’s just too much. You’re asking us to make too much. And we’re putting it out there, and it starts losing the value.” So, what’s driving the retail push? “It’s greed,” he says. “Just straight up greed. More, more, more, more, more.”
Yurman pointed to the selective release models of brands such as Hermés and Dries van Noten as reflecting a more sustainable business model based on control.
“They’re artists in what they do. We’re going to eat as much as we can digest and we’re going to put out what we think is right. And we’re not going to chase market,” he says. “And I think we’re kind of wanting to be in that, but we’re newcomers on the block.”
The topic of overproduction has been causing a stir in the fashion industry for several seasons now — so Yurman isn’t alone in his belief that it’s time for change.
“Maybe the goal is to do less than you did last year and put more effort into building a structure that can handle,” he says.
There isn’t a piece that’s produced in the company now that I don’t touch. Not one piece.