Famed Jewelry Designer Spills His Secrets on the Design That Changed Everything: This New Book Might as Well Sparkle

Famed jewelry designer David Yurman jetted into Houston pre-holiday for a book-signing party at his namesake Galleria store. In advance of that visit, PaperCity had a Q&A with the designer, who launched his famed cable designs in 1980 along with his wife, Sybil.

What made you decide to do the book?

The brand has been around since 1980, so this was a wonderful time to look back on the evolution of the cable at David Yurman, and our voyage from art to jewelry over the past 37 years. We revisited decades of artistic dreams and inspirations, and re-discovered the roots of the cable form — how prevalent it is in different cultures, in nature, art, and in the fashion industry.

Cable has proven to be the perfect foundation for mine and Sybil’s combined creative expression and individual points of view. The book is really a celebration of the cable that has been an inspiration to us since our time as a sculptor and a painter.

What do you hope the reader will take away from the book?

We’ve included a lot in this book about what inspired us in the early days of creating jewelry, and the cable bracelet specifically. The book is really a visual narration of the brand’s journey, including original sketches that have never been shown, and stunning photography. We hope the reader feels inspired by our journey from art to jewelry, and how this has led us to where the brand is today.

What was your initial inspiration for the cable? 

The cable bracelet came about in 1983 when I was exploring and working with wires, similar to those I was using to make sculptures — bundling, twisting, and warping them. Over the years since we made the first cable bracelet, the cable motif has been used in so many of our pieces — it symbolizes our company and is what brings all of our collections together.

We continue to evolve our use of the cable, so that it maintains a sense of modernity, while remaining a classic motif that we’ve used for over 30 years.

How do you explain the enduring appeal of the cable?

When we started researching the history of cable, we realized it is a motif that resonates throughout civilization. For example, the jewelry, architecture and decorative arts of the ancient Greeks, Scythians, Celts and Renaissance Italians relied on twisted linear motifs. For the past 30 years, we have evolved the Cable motif in our collections, reinventing the twisted helix, mixing metals, exploring infinite color possibilities. Yet even through reinvention, to this day it remains one of our most identifiable designs.

What is next for the David Yurman line?

For the spring, we’ve taken a lot of our classic collection and played with the scale and design of them. The new collections feature scaled down iterations of Starburst, Cable, Solari and Pearl collections that are classic pieces in delicate, whimsical styles. We’ve also introduced new styles and incorporated a lot of color, beading and playful styles for spring and summer.