Sylva & Cie Fine Jewelry: Handcrafted, One-of-a-Kind Luxury Designer Jewelry

A Jewelry House Built on Individuality

Most fine jewelry is designed to be reproduced. A setting is drawn once, then cast, cut, and polished a hundred times over so that any customer, anywhere, can walk away with the same ring. Sylva & Cie was built to do the opposite. Every piece that leaves the workshop is meant to exist exactly once, which is precisely why so many collectors search specifically for this name rather than settling for something that merely looks similar.

At Augustina Leathers, our Carmel-by-the-Sea boutique carries a rotating edit of Sylva & Cie fine jewelry for exactly this reason. Clients come to us not because they want "a gold ring" or "a diamond necklace," but because they want the ring, the necklace, the bracelet that nobody else on the Monterey Peninsula, or arguably anywhere, will be wearing at the same dinner table.

The Woman Behind the Name

Sylva & Cie was founded by Sylva Yepremian, a Los Angeles-based designer who has spent more than two decades immersed in fine jewelry, first learning the trade from the inside of the industry before ever putting her own name on a piece. That apprenticeship shows in the work. Rather than chasing seasonal trends, Yepremian builds collections around techniques and eras she genuinely loves, most notably the geometry, symmetry, and glamour of the Art Deco period, filtered through a distinctly modern, wearable sensibility.

The result is jewelry that feels collected rather than manufactured. A Sylva & Cie piece rarely looks like it was designed to fill out a catalog page; it looks like something a woman with decades of taste already owns, which is part of why the brand has built such a loyal following among clients who already have jewelry boxes full of "nice" pieces and are shopping for something with actual character.

What "Handcrafted" Actually Means Here

The word handcrafted gets used loosely across the jewelry industry, so it is worth being specific about what it means for this brand. Sylva & Cie pieces are hand-wrought, meaning metal is worked, shaped, and finished by hand rather than dropped whole from a mold, and hand-faceted, meaning many of the stones are cut and set individually by artisans rather than by machine. That process is slower and less forgiving than mass production, but it is also the reason the pieces have a texture and depth that catches light differently than a comparable machine-finished piece.

This hands-on approach also explains the brand's signature "bold arrangement" style, in which historical Art Deco motifs, sharp lines, sunburst patterns, and stepped geometry, are recombined into settings that feel contemporary rather than costume-like. It is a difficult balance to strike, and it is the main reason the brand is frequently described as bridging vintage inspiration with modern design rather than simply copying either.

Materials and Gemstones

Sylva & Cie works primarily in 18-karat yellow gold and 18-karat white gold, along with oxidized sterling silver for pieces that call for a darker, more graphic contrast. Gemstone work spans white diamonds, sapphires in a range of saturations, South Sea pearls prized for their size and luster, and jade, which appears in several of the brand's more sculptural designs. Stones are frequently pavé-set in dense, glittering fields or used as sharp architectural accents rather than as a single, isolated centerpiece.

Because sourcing shifts from collection to collection, availability of any specific stone combination is limited, which reinforces the one-of-a-kind promise. A ring you see photographed today may already be one of only a handful ever produced in that exact configuration.

Signature Pieces to Know

A handful of design families recur throughout the Sylva & Cie catalog and are worth knowing before you shop. The Ten Table rings and earrings are built around a distinctive stepped, table-cut stone arrangement that reads as unmistakably Art Deco. The Bolt collection, including bolt bracelets and bolt rings, translates industrial hardware shapes into polished gold sculpture, and has become popular with clients, including men, who want a fine jewelry piece with more edge than a traditional band.

Riviera necklaces offer a continuous, graduated line of stones for a look that reads as effortlessly formal, while the brand's diamond pavé barrel necklaces bring a sculptural, three-dimensional quality that photographs beautifully. For clients who want a more classic silhouette with a twist, the Felix ring sets diamonds into a distinctive architectural mount rather than a standard prong setting, and the label's tennis bracelets update a timeless format with the same hand-faceted stonework found throughout the rest of the line.

Why Shop Sylva & Cie at Augustina Leathers

Augustina Leathers has been a fixture on Ocean Avenue in Carmel-by-the-Sea since 1987, and while the store built its reputation on exceptional leather outerwear, it has grown into one of the Central Coast's most trusted destinations for genuinely luxury designer jewelry. We are proud to be one of the few boutiques on the Monterey Peninsula where you can see, try on, and buy Sylva & Cie fine jewelry in person rather than guessing at scale, weight, and color from a photograph.

Our team gets to know clients over years, not single transactions, which matters enormously with one-of-a-kind pieces. When something arrives that fits a client's taste, a distinctive sapphire ring, a particular Bolt bracelet, we are often able to reach out before it is even listed for sale. That relationship-driven approach, paired with honest guidance on fit, scale, and pairing with pieces you already own, is something a purely online jewelry retailer simply cannot replicate.

We also treat every visit as an opportunity to educate rather than simply sell. If you are new to the brand, our team is happy to walk you through the difference between the various collections, explain what makes a particular stone cut or setting technique special, and help you understand roughly where a piece falls within the brand's price range before you commit to anything. That kind of transparency tends to matter a great deal to clients making a meaningful jewelry purchase for the first time.

How to Shop, Buy, and Order

You are welcome to visit our Carmel-by-the-Sea location in person to shop the current Sylva & Cie selection, try pieces on, and see how the stonework catches natural coastal light, which is genuinely one of the best ways to appreciate hand-faceted gems. If you cannot make it into the store, call us at 831-624-2403 and our team can walk you through current inventory, place a piece on hold, or help you order online for shipment.

Because Sylva & Cie releases are limited, it is worth asking us directly about upcoming trunk shows, seasonal promotions, and any current jewelry discount events, availability changes quickly, and clients who let us know what they are looking for, a specific metal tone, a stone color, a piece for a milestone birthday, tend to have first access when the right piece comes in.

The Art Deco Influence, Explained

It helps to understand why Art Deco keeps resurfacing as a reference point in fine jewelry design nearly a century after it first appeared. The style emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, an era defined by industrial optimism, and its jewelry reflected that mood: symmetrical, geometric, confident, and unafraid of scale. Stepped forms, sunburst patterns, and sharp linear arrangements replaced the softer, more naturalistic motifs that had come before.

Sylva Yepremian did not simply borrow those shapes; she studied them closely enough to understand why they worked, then rebuilt them using contemporary proportions and modern gem-cutting standards. That is a meaningfully different exercise than reissuing a vintage design, and it is why Sylva & Cie pieces tend to sit comfortably next to both a grandmother's estate jewelry and a client's newest designer handbag without looking out of place next to either.

Sylva & Cie Compared to Mass-Produced Designer Jewelry

It is worth being direct about what separates a house like Sylva & Cie from the designer jewelry sold at typical mall retailers or even many well-known online jewelry brands. Mass-produced fine jewelry is engineered for consistency, every unit needs to match the last one exactly, which naturally pushes production toward simpler settings, machine faceting, and safer, more conservative design choices that will not confuse a factory line.

Sylva & Cie's small-batch, hand-finished approach removes that constraint entirely. Settings can be more intricate, stone placement can be adjusted piece by piece to account for a particular gem's natural characteristics, and the designer is free to experiment with arrangements that would be impractical to reproduce at scale. Clients paying a premium for this kind of jewelry are, in a very real sense, paying for that design freedom.

Styling and Caring for Your Piece

Because no two Sylva & Cie pieces are truly alike, styling advice tends to be personal rather than formulaic. Many clients layer a Bolt bracelet with simpler gold bangles to let the sculptural piece stand out, or wear a single Ten Table ring alone on a bare hand so its geometry has room to breathe. Mixing white and yellow gold within the brand's own collections is common and intentional, since the Art Deco design language was never built around metal-matching rules in the first place.

As with any fine jewelry, we recommend removing pieces before swimming, exercising, or applying lotion and perfume, and having prong settings checked periodically, something our team is always happy to help arrange, even well after your original purchase.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Where can I buy Sylva & Cie jewelry near Monterey and Carmel?
   Augustina Leathers, located on Ocean Avenue in Carmel-by-the-Sea, is one of the few boutiques on the Monterey Peninsula that carries an in-person, curated selection of Sylva & Cie fine jewelry. You can shop the collection in our store or call 831-624-2403 to ask about current inventory and order online.
2. Is Sylva & Cie jewelry actually handmade?
   Yes. Pieces are hand-wrought and many stones are hand-faceted by artisans rather than produced through fully automated casting and cutting, which is a significant part of why the brand's pieces have such distinct texture and character.
3. What is the typical price range for Sylva & Cie pieces?
   Pricing varies by piece, metal weight, and gemstone content, but Sylva & Cie generally sits in the higher tier of designer fine jewelry. Our team can give you accurate, current pricing on any specific piece you are interested in, simply call or visit us.
4. Can I order Sylva & Cie jewelry online instead of visiting the store?
   Yes. While we encourage an in-person visit whenever possible so you can see how the stones catch light, our team can help you order online and arrange secure shipping if you are not able to make it into our Carmel location.
5. Do you ever offer discounts or sales on designer jewelry?
   We periodically run seasonal promotions and trunk show events. The best way to stay informed about any current jewelry discount or sale is to call us directly or ask to be added to our client notification list.
6. Since every piece is one-of-a-kind, can I have something similar made if my size or a specific piece sells first?
   Because of Sylva & Cie's limited-production philosophy, we cannot guarantee an exact replica of a sold piece. However, our team can flag your preferences, metal, stone color, style family, so we can reach out the moment something similar arrives.