'The Power of Style: Verdura at 75' Opens To The Public

The Laurel Tiara was commissioned for Betsey Whitney and worn during the ceremony marking the appointment of her husband, John Hay Whitney, as UK Ambassador.

It’s rare that a retailer and jewelry design firm can put together a museum-quality exhibition as encompassing as the “The Power of Style: Verdura at 75.”

Original Coco Chanel Maltese Cross Cuffs 

The showcase not only celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Verdura brand, but more importantly it serves as a retrospective of the brand’s founder and namesake, Fulco di Verdura, whose work spanned five decades. The exhibition contains 216 pieces of Verdura jewelry in a museum quality space adjacent to the company’s Fifth Avenue flagship location. 

In the foreground is a bracelet worn by Greta Garbo on screen and in the background is a look at the Fulcon di Verdura and Coco Chanel photograph with the Maltese Cross cuff. 

“It started out being 150 pieces but as word got out that we were going to do a museum quality exhibition, people got excited about it and started opening their jewel boxes,” said Ward Landrigan, who purchased Verdura in 1985. “For people who wear this jewelry a lot, it’s a long time to be without it.”

Jewelry and photographs of famous women wearing verdura pieces, including Babe Paley, described as Verdura's muse, in the background.

The exhibition opened to the public Tuesday and will run till December 23 at 745 Fifth Avenue, 12th floor. Reservations can be made by following this link. 

A portion of the exhibition space is dedicated to ledgers that recorded sales and jewelry drawings by Fulco di Verdura.

Even though the business is a retailer and a creator of jewelry based on Verdura’s original designs, the company managed to put together a proper representation of the designer, his work and a glimpse into the man, known for his well-connected friends and for being the life of the party. At least part of the reason had to be because the exhibition was curated by international fashion designer, Carolina Herrera, and her husband Reinaldo, who were personal friends of Verdura. 

Bejeweled elephant

The items are arranged either by period, theme or style in large wall cases, where the jewelry appears to be floating, or in standalone cases for special pieces, such as the Chanel bracelets or the Whitney tiara. It is a well lit space from the inside and outside light colored walls and well-placed partitions give the space breadth and depth. 

Snail brooches

“First we get all this jewelry and then you try to make sense of what relates to what and how,” Landrigan says. “Luckily, because he did so many things that were of interest, we didn’t have any trouble with that.”

Kunzite Wing Brooch

Along with the pieces are jewelry sketches, photographs of Verdura, who died in 1978, miniature paintings by Verdura, and photographs of the many celebrities, aristocrats, politicians and business people (men and women) who wore his jewelry or collected his art objects. All of the business transactions, no matter how noteworthy the client, were recorded on ledgers. One ledger and photographs of others are on display, revealing some of the famous clientele.

Tea Rose brooch

All of the pieces have either been loaned to the exhibition by the owners or their estates or are part of Landrigan's personal collection. He stresses that none of the items are for sale. Those who donated their pieces include Brooke Shields, Sofia Coppola, Whoopi Goldberg and philanthropist Mercedes Bass. 

Fulco di Verdura and Coco Chanel. Verdura designed the Maltese Cross Cuff for Coco Chanel, which became an iconic fashion symblol for Coco, for Chanel and for Verdura. 

One of the standouts is the Chanel Maltese Cross Cuffs worn by Verdura’s personal friend and collaborator, Coco Chanel. These became her signature cuffs and were recreated as costume jewelry and sold by Chanel. Landrigan explains that people assumed Verdura made costume jewelry but he didn’t. He made jewelry for Coco Chanel who had them re-made as costume pieces. 

Greta Garbo wears Verdura gold bracelet in 1941 photograph by Clarence Sinclair Bull

Other pieces of note are a yellow gold bracelet worn by Greta Garbo on screen (one of many Verdura pieces worn in movies) and the Laurel tiara, commissioned for Betsey Whitney and worn for the occasion of her husband, John Hay Whitney, being appointed as UK Ambassador.

Blue Diamond Ring

One of the things about Verdura’s work is that he was a true bespoke jeweler, making one-of-a-kind pieces based on the personal preference of a client or a specific occasion. Just about every piece of jewelry and object on display has a unique story. There are many more examples of Fulco di Verdura’s creativity and imagination and many more stories in the exhibition. 

Verdura owner Ward Landrigan in the reflection of a display case that represents five decades of jewelry created by Fulco di Verdura. Behind Landrigan is a photograph of Verdura. Photo credit: Anthony DeMarco

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Verdura To Celebrate 75 Years With an Exhibition Curated by Carolina Herrera

Duke Fulco di Verdura. Photo credit: Anthony DeMarco

Verdura is one of the very few jewelers that elicit gasps from people when I say I’m planning a visit. Its respect and awe are well earned.

Duke Fulco di Verdura (1898 – 1978), already well-known as a high jewelry designer through his collaborations with Coco Chanel and Paul Flato, became a superstar in the rarefied world where royalty, business leaders and world-class entertainers mingle when he opened his eponymous boutique on New York’s Madison Avenue in 1939. The Sicilian native is credited with modernizing high jewelry and for adding colorful precious gemstones to yellow gold, which surprisingly wasn’t done previously.

“Medusa” Brooch, created in collaboration with Salvador Dalí, 1941.
Made of gold, morganite and ruby, it frames a miniature painting
of Medusa by Dali.

His work will be the subject of a retrospective titled “The Power of Style: Verdura at 75,” from October 14 till December 23 at a space adjacent to the Verdura flagship location on 745 5th Ave., just feet away from his original boutique. It will feature approximately 150 original jewelry pieces and objects d’art by Fulco di Verdura as well as a small selection of his 10,000 gouache jewelry designs, archival materials, personal miniature paintings and period photographs.

From left: Nico Landrigan, Verdura president, fashion designer
Carolina Herrera and Ward Landrigan, Verdura chairman and CEO. 
Photo credit: Anthony DeMarco

On Monday Verdura unveiled some of its plans for the exhibition led by Ward Landrigan, who purchased Verdura in 1985; his son Nico, its president; and the exhibit’s curators fashion designer Carolina Herrera and her husband Reinaldo Herrera, a Vanity Fair editor; and their daughter, Patricia Lansing, who arrived late directly from the airport following a flight from Brazil. The Herreras were friends with Duke Fulco di Verdura and are longtime friends of the Landrigan family.

The future exhibition space now under construction and posters of famous celebrity clients and jewelry that will be featured in the exhibit. Photo credit: Anthony DeMarco

The preview was held at the exhibit’s future space, currently under construction. Within the bare walls were several jewelry pieces, various posters, jewelry drawings and a poster-size photograph of Duke Fulco di Verdura in a white dress shirt and black tie smoking a cigarette. All will be included in the exhibition.

Gemstone, gold and enamel “Maltese Cross” Cuffs, circa 1930, originally belonging to Coco Chanel. 

Reinaldo Herrera, who knew the jeweler since he was a teenager, said Verdura had the ability to take precious materials and create artistic jewelry that didn’t necessarily demand immediate attention and could be worn casually. Prior to that high jewelry was big, bold and strictly worn on formal occasions.

Aquamarine and diamond necklace, 1933.

His collaborations with Salvador Dalí produced some of his most famous pieces. One item that was shown to the press Monday was the “Medusa” brooch, with 13 intertwined snakes made of 14k yellow gold with cabochon ruby eyes that frames a miniature painting of Medusa set with a 73-carat Morganite. Ward Landrigan called the piece the world’s greatest surrealist art work.

Gold, platinum and diamond “Laurel” tiara, 1957. Designed as a commission for Betsey Whitney

Verdura’s client base included the Whitneys, Mellons and Rockefellers; actors Joan Crawford, Katharine Hepburn and Rita Hayworth; and the composer and songwriter Cole Porter and his wife Linda who, along with Vincent Astor, gave Verdura his initial financing. Nearly all of the pieces in the collection are on loan by private owners. Ward Landrigan noted that the excitement building up to the exhibition is causing more owners to loan their pieces.

An example of the archives that will be part of the exhibition.

The Herreras revealed little of their plans for the exhibition, instead focusing on Verdura the man. “He was a fun person with a sharp tongue,” said a laughing Carolina; while Reinaldo added that “he said all the right things to all the wrong people.”

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