David Webb and the Art of Being Unforgettable

Among the highlights from the Estate of Miriam Parkes is a spectacular David Webb ring centered by an approximately 24.7-carat turquoise, its extraordinary sweep of blue-green color surrounded by 64 full-cut diamonds and mounted in Webb's characteristic combination of 18-karat yellow gold and platinum.

At 27.6 grams, this is not a quiet piece of jewelry. It has presence. And that is precisely the point.

For Miriam Parkes—a woman whose Beverly Hills collection reflects an eye for glamour, color, fashion and distinctive design—the ring feels particularly at home. It is jewelry with personality.

The Quintessential American Jeweler

David Webb occupies a remarkable place in the history of 20th-century American jewelry. After establishing his New York firm in 1948, Webb developed a visual language that was almost impossible to mistake for anyone else's: sculptural gold, diamonds, vivid hardstones, enamel, ancient influences and an exuberant use of color.

Rather than simply emphasizing the intrinsic value of gemstones, Webb approached jewelry as design.

His inspiration ranged from ancient civilizations and archaeological forms to Art Deco, modern art and the natural world. He was a frequent visitor to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, absorbing historical forms and then reinterpreting them for a thoroughly modern American woman.

That approach helped make Webb one of the defining American jewelers of the postwar era.

His clientele included some of the most recognizable tastemakers of the 20th century, among them Jacqueline Kennedy, Diana Vreeland and the Duchess of Windsor.

Today, Webb's importance extends well beyond the jewelry counter.

His work is represented in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, the Newark Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art's own assessment is particularly telling: the museum describes Webb as one of the leading American jewelers of the 20th century, citing his originality, historical references, Pop sensibility, craftsmanship and glamorous clientele. His celebrated Zebra Bracelet, originally designed in 1963 and famously associated with Diana Vreeland, entered The Met's permanent collection in 2018.

Color as a Signature

And then there was color.

Turquoise was particularly suited to Webb's vision. Rather than treating colorful stones as secondary to diamonds, Webb made color itself the event. The house still describes turquoise as a material that "lights up the face."

The Parkes ring demonstrates exactly why.

A single monumental turquoise dominates the composition, while the surrounding diamonds create an architectural frame of light. Yellow gold adds warmth and platinum allows the diamond-set areas to appear almost suspended around the stone.

The contrast is quintessential Webb: turquoise against diamonds, color against brilliance, substantial scale balanced by sophisticated construction.

It is glamorous without being conventional.

A Jewel That Tells Us Something About Its Owner

Perhaps that is what makes the ring particularly compelling within the Miriam Parkes Estate.

A collection is ultimately a portrait assembled through objects. The paintings someone chooses, the clothes she wears, the silver on her table and the jewelry she puts on her hand reveal something about how she saw herself and the world around her.

This David Webb ring speaks volumes.

It suggests a collector who wasn't afraid of color or scale; someone attracted to objects that were luxurious but also distinctive. In Webb she found a designer whose jewelry occupied the same territory: sophisticated, unmistakable and made to be noticed.

And that philosophy can be seen throughout the Parkes collection.

The ring isn't simply an impressive piece of jewelry within the estate.

It is a small portrait of Miriam Parkes herself—and an expression of the bold Beverly Hills glamour that defines her collection.