Jackie Kennedy compared him to Cellini. The Duchess of Windsor said he was today's Faberge, and The New Yorker described him as ?the new meteor around town.? Born in Asheville, North Carolina, David Webb became the jeweller for society swans and Hollywood stars during the cultural revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. At the height of his career, he operated two workshops with 200 master jewellers and 50 setters. 'David Webb: The Quintessential American Jeweler' is the first monograph on this important designer who redefined mid-twentieth-century American jewellery. The country was changing, and David Webb was in the centre of it all?the right man at the right place at the right time. He understood that women wanted one-of-a-kind pieces, and Webb the designer made them jewellery that offered bold shapes and exuberant colour. His signature animal bracelets and richly coloured assortment of jewellery, all set in the warmth of his favourite yellow gold, has attracted a vast clientele over the decades, including Nan Kempner, Diana Vreeland, Elizabeth Taylor, Leonore Annenberg, Brooke Astor, Gloria Vanderbilt, Doris Duke, Mrs. Paul Mellon, Evelyn Lauder, Mitzi E. Newhouse, and Marisa Berenson. From the time David Webb opened shop in 1948 at the age of 21, his jewellery has been made in America. The self-taught jeweller was influenced by a passion for art and ancient cultures, and today his archive includes more than 40,000 original drawings, sketches, and production records. This striking book, three years in the making and with specially commissioned photography of 300 pieces of jewellery, details Webb's evolution as an artist and identifies his major collections. All of the jewellery has been carefully authenticated and described in detail, and is accompanied by Webb's drawings, editorial from leading fashion magazines, photographs of the many women who adored his jewellery, and assorted ephemera. Published on the occasion of the company's 65th anniversary, this lavishly produced book honouring the man whose distinctly American jewellery can be summed up in two words: "Always modern." AUTHOR: Ruth Peltason runs Bespoke Books, which produces books on the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor, Director of Design and Style Books at Abrams. She is also the author of several books, including most recently 'Living Jewels', and editor of 'Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry'. She lectures on jewelry around the country.
