“Our family has had a great relationship with the museum for many years — we donated precious gems to the Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals when it reopened in 2021,” said David Yurman’s son Evan Yurman.
Now the long-standing relationship between the Yurman family and the New York City cultural institution continues with the recently opened Yurman Family Crystalline Pass at the American Museum of Natural History, featuring crystals from the collection of David Yurman.
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“Gems are an integral part of our family’s life and work, so it felt natural to partner with the museum on this project,” said Yurman, who was appointed president and chief creative officer of David Yurman in 2021.
A unique exhibit for museum visitors, the Yurman Family Crystalline Pass serves as a dazzling connection— featuring a 19-foot re-creation of a section of a 70-foot vein of naturally occurring transparent quartz crystals — between the museum’s Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals and the new, highly anticipated Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation.
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“When construction began for the new Gilder Center, there was discussion about how to connect the new wing to the Halls of Gems and Minerals. Around that time, the museum’s curator George Harlow was in touch with James Zigras, who owns Avant Mining in Arkansas. James showed George images of this beautiful vein of quartz crystals at the mine, and it sparked the initial idea for the Crystalline Pass,” Yurman explained, adding that they were fortunate to visit the mine during the crystal excavation, working closely with the museum over several years to bring the project to life.
To jewelry aficionados, quartz crystals from the Vortex Vein are understood to be some of the finest in the world. The Yurmans have a personal connection to the stone, using the crystal in several of their collections over the years, including their iconic cable collection.
“Instead of being bezel- or prong-set, each crystal in that collection is hand-wrapped with fine strands of precious metal and diamonds,” Yurman said. “These bespoke settings really accent what’s unique about each quartz center stone — the transparency, the striations.”
Over the years David Yurman’s design ethos has leaned into celebrating the raw, imperfect beauty of naturally occurring gems and stones, crafting immediately recognizable pieces. The pass aims to inspire and educate the museum’s millions of visitors about nature’s role in mineral formation and the awe of the creations it offers.
Designed by architect Jeanne Gang, the Richard Gilder Center for Science resembles a creamy white and pink hued cliff structure with widows jutting out to the New York City streets. The new wing includes customizable galleries for an insectarium and a butterfly conservatory; five stories of storage to house some four million scientific specimens; new classrooms; laboratories; a library, and a theater. Announced in 2014, the new wing of the famed institution has been highly anticipated since. Its debut has been met with positive reviews and accolades for its unique and colossal space. Case in point: the many posts and tags on social media since it opened in May.
The Yurman family’s relationship with the museum continues in the Allison and Roberto Mignone Halls of Gems and Minerals, a gallery of more than 5,000 gems and minerals from around the world. It also features rare and precious stones donated by the Yurman family, including opals and amethysts from Evan Yurman’s personal collection
“We are delighted to support the creation of this exhibit at the museum, and to share our love of art, nature and gemstones with the world. The Crystalline Pass will educate visitors about mineral formation, and its awe-inspiring beauty is a reminder that nature is an endless source of inspiration for us all,” Yurman said.