A Jewel of a Gift

David Yurman and his wife and business partner, Sybil, visit the SCAD campus in Savannah, Georgia, to meet with the Jewelry Design program’s class of 2022. Bottom right: An exceptional student shows off a creation that used precious stones donated to the college from the Yurmans’ personal collection.

DAVID YURMAN AND HIS WIFE, SYBIL, HAVE TEAMED UP WITH THE SAVANNAH COLLEGE OF ART AND DESIGN GREEN TO OFFER A SCHOLARSHIP TO A “RISING LUX BOND & STAR” JEWELRY DESIGN STUDENT.

Throughout its four decades in the jewelry business, David Yurman, one of the world’s most iconic luxury jewelry brands, has partnered with many charitable organizations to raise funds for a wide variety of causes. Its latest collaboration is a personal one that helps the next generation of jewelry designers as it pays homage to founder David and his wife Sybil’s humble creative beginnings as a sculptor and a painter, respectively.

David Yurman has announced the David Yurman Endowed Scholarship for Jewelry Design, which will be awarded to one “rising star” each year in the jewelry design program at The Savannah College of Art and Design’s (SCAD) School of Fashion in Savannah, Georgia. Additionally, the brand donated $1 million worth of gemstones from its personal collection to the university. Students in the jewelry design program, the largest in the United States, have been using them as inspiration in designing their own pieces.

These talented students got some real-life inspiration from the famous design duo too. Toward the end of the spring quarter, the New York-based couple visited Savannah to meet in person with the jewelry design students in SCAD’s class of 2022. Several students got to present their creations to David and Sybil and receive feedback on their work. Then, the entire group sat in on a lecture and Q&A session with the pair. “You need to be comfortable with the unknown to bring your own dreams into reality— and never take ‘no’ for an answer,” David told the graduates.

Surely the Yurmans’ gemstones, their scholarship fund and the inspiration of their example suggest a bright future for jewelry design and craftsmanship.