One of America’s foremost leaders in fine jewelry, David Yurman toasted three decades in business with the opening last week of a multimillion-dollar flagship in a converted townhouse adjacent to Graff on Madison Avenue at 63rd Street that represents the brand’s biggest single retail investment.
The five-floor flagship, which Yurman calls the Townhouse, is the exclamation point on a global two-year expansion plan that saw the brand’s recent entry into the European market with a 400-square-foot in-store boutique at Printemps in Paris, which launched in March, and another shop-in-shop at the Moscow luxury retailer Tsum.
The flagship, designed by Gabellini Shepherd Associates, boasts 2,000 square feet of selling space over three floors–the fourth and fifth are back office space–compared with just 800 square feet at Yurman’s previous Madison Avenue locale, one block north. Much like Yurman’s Tribeca headquarters, light and space are characteristics echoed throughout. While the building is narrow with no side windows, it has been given an enhanced sense of depth with double- and triple-height ceilings and an atrium. The focal point is the store’s nave, where a steel rod sculpture–evoking Yurman’s iconic cable bracelet–is suspended from the triple-height ceiling and wrapped by a curving staircase. The façade, meanwhile, has hand-etched glass onto which a projector within the building displays the brand name and other images. Gray canvas walls recall Sybil Yurman’s background in painting and the door handles have been hand-sculpted by David Yurman. Smooth planks of American walnut unfold across the ceiling and reflect the couple’s reverence for midcentury American design and furniture.
While the first two floors will carry Yurman’s signature men’s and women’s jewels and timepieces, the third floor will house the bridal jewelry collection along with a new Couture jewelry line–priced fom $18,000 into the millions.
