Iconic US Designer Ed Levin Retired Modernist Sterling Silver & 14K Yellow Gold Neck Ring and Earrings Set

Circa 1980s

Measurements: Earrings: 1.1"W x .6"T (2.79cm x 1.52cm)   

Neck Ring: Inner Circumference: 14"R + 1.5"Gap (35.56cm + 3.81cm)  

Markings: © Ed Levin STER/14k

Weight: 14.6g

Superb vintage sterling silver and 14k yellow gold earrings and neck ring by iconic US designer Ed Levin.

Earrings feature an asymmetrical shape with solid sterling silver back in a glossy mirrored finish. The faces of the earrings are 2/3 yellow gold in an ombre shaded style and 1/3 white sterling silver, also with a glossy mirror finish. They are post-backs for pierced ears. 

Necklace is a V-shaped torc style, that features a solid white sterling silver back in a glossy mirror finish and the front is split 50/50 between yellow gold and sterling silver, also in a glossy mirror finish. It is thin and pliable and will comfortable fit a neck up to 17" round (43.18cm) 

The set has recently been professionally polished and looks practically new!

Mannequin is a life-size torso representation

Edward Levin (1921-2008) NYC, NY. Levin studied Fine Arts at Columbia University NYC and furthered his studies at the Barnes Foundation, New School for Social Research, Alfred University. Additionally he studied with Sculptor Chain Gross and painters Kurt Seligman and Paul Wieghardt. During World War II, he was a pacifist and social activist working with the early beginnings of CORE, the movement for racial equality. In the late 1940s he returned to New York after an apprenticeship with a prominent Argentinian Goldsmith, and began making jewelry in a railroad flat underneath what is now Lincoln Center. In the 1950s he and his wife Ruth moved their shop to Vermont due to his deep inspiration with nature and formally established the Ed Levin Jewelry Company. His early jewelry was made from sterling in the Constructivist tradition, though he was also drawn to Primitivism and the Modernist work of Braque. In 1964 he moved his shop back to NYC to accommodate his growing popularity and need for a larger shop. In the 1970s, he again moved his shop to Cambridge, NY to an even larger facility, where it is still to this day. Peter Tonjes worked for Levin for 30yrs as a Production Manager, right out of college and was eventually appointed President in 2004. He purchased the company from the Levin family in 2012. - Courtesy of the book: "Modernist Jewelry 1930-1960 The Wearable Art Movement by Marbeth Schon" Published 2004 by Schiffer Publishing and EL Designs Website.