Verdura Classic
Late 20th Century Chain Necklaces
18k Gold
20th Century Italian Wrist Watches
Rose Gold
1990s Chain Necklaces
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Link Bracelets
Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary North American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century Clip-on Earrings
Pearl, Amber, 18k Gold
Vintage 1980s Italian Drop Earrings
Citrine, Tourmaline, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1960s Link Bracelets
14k Gold
Late 20th Century American Rope Necklaces
White Diamond, 18k Gold
Mid-20th Century Italian Bangles
Diamond, Peridot, Blue Topaz, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Enamel
1990s Italian Modernist Clip-on Earrings
Agate, Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Italian Modernist Cocktail Rings
Coral, Turquoise, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Contemporary Modern Bracelets
Diamond, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, Platinum
1990s French Byzantine Cuff Bracelets
Bronze, Enamel, Gilt Metal
People Also Browsed
2010s Choker Necklaces
Diamond, White Diamond, Platinum
2010s American Contemporary Pendant Necklaces
Diamond, Pink Sapphire, Sapphire, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s American Cufflinks
Diamond, Lapis Lazuli, Gold, 18k Gold
Antique Late 19th Century Unknown Victorian Drop Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Sterling Silver
1990s Wrist Watches
Vintage 1980s French Modernist Link Bracelets
Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Link Necklaces
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Top Handle Bags
Early 2000s Contemporary Link Bracelets
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s Italian Contemporary Pendant Necklaces
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1950s American More Jewelry
Diamond, Platinum
Early 2000s American Modernist Brooches
Diamond, Pearl, Quartz, White Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century American Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
2010s American Edwardian More Jewelry
Diamond, Pearl, Platinum
2010s Italian Modern Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Yellow Diamond, Platinum
2010s Unknown Fashion Rings
Onyx, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Recent Sales
2010s American Link Bracelets
18k Gold
2010s American Artist Cuff Bracelets
Diamond, Jade, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Link Bracelets
18k Gold
20th Century American Link Bracelets
18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Drop Necklaces
Amethyst, Aquamarine, Citrine, South Sea Pearl, Rubelite, Blue Topaz, 18...
Late 20th Century American Retro Link Bracelets
18k Gold
1990s American Clip-on Earrings
18k Gold
1990s American Chain Bracelets
18k Gold
Vintage 1970s Chain Necklaces
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Cufflinks
Diamond, 18k Gold
Vintage 1980s French Enamel Frames and Objects
Brass
2010s Unknown Modern Wrist Watches
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1950s American Link Bracelets
14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Wrist Watches
18k Gold
2010s Link Bracelets
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, White Gold
Late 20th Century American Art Deco Cufflinks
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Modernist Clip-on Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Cocktail Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, Jade, Black Jade, Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Modernist Clip-on Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Modernist Clip-on Earrings
Agate, Gold, 18k Gold, White Gold
Late 20th Century Cufflinks
18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Platinum
20th Century American Contemporary Three-Stone Rings
Amethyst, Peridot, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Drop Earrings
Amethyst, Aventurine
20th Century Italian Modern Wrist Watches
Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Tourmaline, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Tourmaline, 18k Gold
2010s Italian Contemporary Link Bracelets
18k Gold
2010s Italian Contemporary Wrist Watches
18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Platinum
Late 20th Century Link Bracelets
Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Clip-on Earrings
Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold
2010s Beaded Necklaces
Rock Crystal, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Italian Modernist Hoop Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Art Deco Cuff Bracelets
Topaz, Sterling Silver
Early 2000s Italian Contemporary Dangle Earrings
Quartz, Topaz, Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1970s More Bracelets
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1950s American Modernist Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Pearl, Natural Pearl, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Choker Necklaces
18k Gold
Vintage 1960s American Link Necklaces
Aquamarine, 14k Gold
Late 20th Century American Cuff Bracelets
Jade, Citrine, Ruby, Amethyst, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold
1990s Italian Modern Fashion Rings
Diamond, Jade, 18k Gold
American Wrist Watches
Late 20th Century Link Bracelets
18k Gold, Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century French More Bracelets
18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Wrist Watches
1990s American Clip-on Earrings
Turquoise, 18k Gold
Vintage 1950s American Link Necklaces
18k Gold
Early 2000s American Cuff Bracelets
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s Wrist Watches
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s French Cufflinks
Rock Crystal, 18k Gold
20th Century Italian Clip-on Earrings
20th Century Italian Link Bracelets
1990s American Chain Bracelets
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Verdura Classic For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Verdura Classic?
Verdura for sale on 1stDibs
Fulco di Verdura (1898–1978) is not exactly a household name, except for those who know a thing or two about highly original, often eccentric handcrafted jewelry and, even more so, for those fortunate enough to own some. In that exclusive group, Verdura is regarded as the most gifted and coveted designer of his time.
Verdura was born in Sicily in 1898, the scion of a noble family related to the Lampedusas. (His cousin, Giuseppe di Lampedusa, wrote the great Italian saga The Leopard). His life was charmed from birth. Raised in his family’s villa, he grew up during a time when Sicily, and Palermo in particular, were meccas for well-born and highly cultured European travelers.
A bona fide duke with no clear ambitions but creative leanings aplenty (he could draw and paint), the young Verdura was part of the wandering social circuit — the so-called beau monde — that went from capital to capital, resort to resort.
Verdura, though small in stature, had that indefinable quality called charm. As a result, he was the life of every party he attended. When he finally started designing jewelry under Coco Chanel in the late 1920s, many of his friends became his clients (or received the pieces as gifts). Elsa Maxwell took him under her ample wing when she was hired to do public relations for the Lido in Venice and introduced him to the local and visiting cognoscenti. Chanel, whom he met in Venice, hired him to work in the textiles division of her fashion house. But it was his flair for jewelry that soon caught Coco’s eye. Eventually, he rose to become her personal designer of fine jewelry.
In 2002’s Verdura: The Life and Work of a Master Jeweler (Thames & Hudson), Vanity Fair’s Amy Fine Collins describes the sensation of wearing pieces by Verdura, who drew inspiration from nature for his signature gem-studded seashell brooches and honeybee earrings. “They were ingeniously calculated to flatter the wearer,” writes Collins. “Earrings undulated to complement the convolutions of an earlobe, rings seductively followed the phalanges of a finger, and necklaces gracefully traced the anatomy of the throat.”
In 1934, Verdura left Chanel and together with two friends, aspiring actress Princess Natalia Pavlovna Paley and Baron Nicholas de Gunzburg, moved to the U.S. After several stops, he found a job through Diana Vreeland in Hollywood with Paul Flato, then the “jeweler to the stars.” Soon he was signing his work and helping Flato cultivate the crème de la creme of the silver screen — those both on it and behind it.
Verdura left Los Angeles for New York and opened his own salon, first on Fifth Avenue in 1939, just as World War II was beginning in Europe. His backers were Vincent Astor and Cole Porter, for whom he made bejeweled boxes and cigarette cases — gifts from Porter’s wife, Linda — to commemorate the opening nights of several musicals. Verdura began to expand both his repertoire — he became much more daring and flamboyant — and his clientele. The Duchess of Windsor, Daisy Fellowes, Greta Garbo and others routinely gave him commissions. In 1941, Verdura collaborated on a collection of six pieces with Salvador Dalí to accompany a Dalí exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. Verdura retired in 1972 and left the care of the company to his partner, Joseph Alfano. He later moved to London, where he died in 1978 at the age of 79.
Among the most prized pieces on display in a 2014 Verdura jewelry exhibition in New York were Greta Garbo’s curb-link bracelet watch, which Verdura designed for her in 1939; Coco Chanel’s pair of Maltese Cross cuff bracelets (she wore one on each wrist); and Diana Vreeland’s duo of Byzantine brooches.
Find a range of authentic Verdura jewelry today on 1stDibs.