The Story of DY Mercer®
Discover how the spirit of SoHo, New York City in the 1980s shaped the collection, inspiring bold designs, mixed metals, and sculptural forms.
Before they were known as jewelry designers, David and Sybil Yurman were artists shaped by the vibrant, creative spirit of SoHo, New York City in the 1980s. The DY Mercer® Collection reflects this origin story: a series of pieces that turn sculptural form into wearable art, where every chain, link, and gemstone serves as an artistic interpretation of the downtown energy that once defined the neighborhood.
JUN 16, 2025
Before they were known as jewelry designers, David and Sybil Yurman were artists shaped by the vibrant, creative spirit of SoHo, New York City in the 1980s. The DY Mercer® Collection reflects this origin story: a series of pieces that turn sculptural form into wearable art, where every chain, link, and gemstone serves as an artistic interpretation of the downtown energy that once defined the neighborhood.
June 16, 2025
Soho Roots The Beginnings of David Yurman
In the 1980s, SoHo was a raw, electrifying center of creativity, where artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Cindy Sherman lived and worked. It was in this vibrant neighborhood—also the site of David’s first sculpture studio—that David and Sybil Yurman forged their vision. As emerging artists—David a sculptor, Sybil a painter and ceramicist—they frequented art galleries with a community of like-minded creatives and experimental thinkers.
David Yurman first learned the fundamentals of sculptural metalwork under sculptor Ernesto Gonzalez, mastering the art of welding and form. By the 1980s, that early foundation had evolved into his signature style as jewelry designer, where the energy of large-scale sculpture was distilled into fluid, wearable design. Trained as a painter, Sybil Yurman approached art through intuition, layering color and form to capture feeling.
Discover Expressive Earrings
Across the collection, sculptural forms and layered materials create jewelry with a sense of movement, rhythm, and intention. Every piece is designed to be mixed, matched, and worn as a personal expression of bold creativity, echoing the vibrant energy that once filled Mercer Street’s lofts—the epicenter of SoHo’s artistic community.
Multi Hoop Earrings
Stacked huggie hoops from the collection—and more earrings inspired by deconstructed chain links—are stacked to give the illusion of multiple hoops in a single pair.
Huggie Hoop Earrings
Layered huggie hoops of varying dimensions are crafted in polished 18K yellow gold and sterling silver with pavé-set diamonds, featuring flashes of the brand’s signature Cable motif.
Circular Drop Earrings
Sculpturally striking diamond drop earrings capture this same dynamic interplay of mixed metals, channeling the structure and spontaneity that defined the Yurmans’ early work.
A Bold New Era: Evolving with the Spirit of Soho
SoHo looks different today than it did when David and Sybil Yurman first lived and worked among its lofts and galleries. But the David Yurman SoHo store on Prince Street, just blocks from the iconic Mercer Street, stands as a tribute to these ‘80s roots. And as the neighborhood has evolved, so has the DY Mercer® Collection—the latest designs feature expressions of proportion, material, and color.
For the first time, brilliant, cushion-cut gemstones—each set within clean bezels—enter the collection in a stunning selection of rings, introducing vibrant, colorful jewelry to DY Mercer®’s sculptural forms. Joined with hidden hinges using Stax technology, the layered rings give the illusion of multiple stacked bands in a single piece—and fan out across the hand in a dynamic expression of color.
Thoughtfully engineered for comfort, every detail is designed to move with you and feel effortless on the hand. Updated earrings and toggle necklaces play with scale, rhythm, and contrast, blending polished mixed metals, Cable textures, and pavé diamonds to create fresh, modern heirlooms. In every design, the bold, fearless spirit of Mercer Street lives on.
DY Mercer®’s Enduring Legacy
Every piece in the DY Mercer® collection captures a distinct sense of place, creativity, and personal expression. Fresh silhouettes and innovative constructions—from ingeniously layered jewelry featuring colorful stones to mixed metal earrings—distill the energy, freedom, and artistry of SoHo’s golden era into designs that feel timeless yet unmistakably modern.
With a lively rhythm of exaggerated oval links, DY Mercer® chains capture the bold creativity at the heart of downtown, New York City, where founders Sybil and David Yurman spent so many of their early years. Photographed in SoHo, model Iris Law embodies the collection’s easy glamour.
Iris Law on set for David Yurman New York, New York
DY Mercer®’s Enduring Legacy
Every piece in the DY Mercer® collection captures a distinct sense of place, creativity, and personal expression. Fresh silhouettes and innovative constructions—from ingeniously layered jewelry featuring colorful stones to mixed metal earrings—distill the energy, freedom, and artistry of SoHo’s golden era into designs that feel timeless yet unmistakably modern.
With a lively rhythm of exaggerated oval links, DY Mercer® chains capture the bold creativity at the heart of downtown, New York City, where founders Sybil and David Yurman spent so many of their early years. Photographed in SoHo, model Iris Law embodies the collection’s easy glamour.
Collectible, versatile, and deeply rooted in David Yurman history, every unique design in the DY Mercer® collection embodies NYC’s creative heart—and reflects David Yurman’s original artistic vision.
