The firm of Oscar Heyman & Brothers was founded in 1912 in New York City, and since its inception has been a manufacturer of handmade jewellery of the finest quality. With no obvious prospects in their native Latvia, Oscar (b. 1888) and Nathan Heyman (b. 1885), thirteen and sixteen years of age respectively, left home to become apprentices with their uncle at the famous Fabergé workshop in St Petersburg, Russia. In 1906 they fled Russia to avoid conscription into the Imperial Army and moved to New York City. Oscar then worked for Pierre Cartier who was just starting Cartier, New York. With skills learned from these top jewellers, Oscar and Nathan, soon joined by other members of the family, formed the company we know today as Oscar Heyman & Bros.
The firm’s exacting craftsmanship was contracted out to other jewellers of great renown with Cartier as their first customer, and a list which was soon to include Van Cleef & Arpels, Tiffany & Co, Bailey Banks & Biddle, and Marcus & Co to name a few. For example, the world may think that Cartier made the necklace upon which hung the famous D flawless, 69.42 carat Taylor-Burton diamond, but if was in fact Heyman. There is a cachet to owning an Oscar Heyman piece, as the attention to detail and fine quality of materials is 'de rigueur' for the firm. They are the jeweller's jeweller, and are only recently being recognized for their lasting contribution to jewellery history.
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