Martin Katz (American jewelry designer)
Encyclopedia
Martin Katz is an American jewelry designer
and collector whose pieces have been popular with celebrities for nearly two decades. His work has been featured in fashion spreads and celebrity photo shoots for magazines such as Vogue
, W
, and InStyle. Katz is known for infusing vintage and classic styles with a modern edge.
, Katz is the fourth of five children. He began his career as an undergraduate student at Indiana University
selling silver jewelry to his classmates. After graduating with a psychology degree in 1978, his first significant position in the jewelry industry was with Laykin et Cie in Los Angeles, a jeweler inside the then prominent I. Magnin
specialty stores.
Katz has been most lauded (and copied) for his work with micro-pave settings. The most famous of these are his microbands.
Katz has dabbled in fashion. In 2007, he collaborated with Renee Strauss to create the world's most expensive wedding dress. With 150 carats (30 g) of diamonds and a $12 million price tag, the dress was first shown at the Luxury Brands Lifestyle Bridal Show in February 2006.
In 2008 Katz designed the Victoria's Secret
Fantasy Bra. Worn by model Adriana Lima
, the bra was set with 3,575 black diamonds, 117 certified 1 carats (200 mg) white round diamonds, 34 rubies, and 2 black diamond drops totaling 100 carats (20 g). Valued at over $5 million, the bra carried more than 1500 carats (300 g).
Katz was one of four jewelers chosen to design wedding bands for NBC
’s 2009 edition of Today Throws a Wedding. He also provided the engagement ring used on the famous Will & Grace
episode, "Marry Me a Little, Marry Me a Little More
", in which Leo (Harry Connick, Jr.
) proposes to Grace
(Debra Messing
), in New York City's Central Park
.
Celebrity fans of Katz include Salma Hayek
, Jennifer Aniston
, Nicole Kidman
, Angelina Jolie
, Cate Blanchett
, Freida Pinto
, Kate Winslet
, Anne Heche
, Debra Messing
, and Heidi Klum
.
Katz has recently launched his line at Bergdorf Goodman
in New York City and also just created a boutique line available at his Beverly Hills store.
Jewelry designer
A jewellery designer or jewelry designer is a person who renders original jewellery creations and usually constructs them as well...
and collector whose pieces have been popular with celebrities for nearly two decades. His work has been featured in fashion spreads and celebrity photo shoots for magazines such as Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, W
W (magazine)
W is a monthly American fashion magazine published by Condé Nast Publications, who purchased original owner Fairchild Publications in 1999. It was created in 1971 by the publisher of sister magazine Woman's Wear Daily, James Brady. The magazine is an oversize format – ten inches wide and...
, and InStyle. Katz is known for infusing vintage and classic styles with a modern edge.
Early life and education
Born in South Bend, IndianaSouth Bend, Indiana
The city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...
, Katz is the fourth of five children. He began his career as an undergraduate student at Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
selling silver jewelry to his classmates. After graduating with a psychology degree in 1978, his first significant position in the jewelry industry was with Laykin et Cie in Los Angeles, a jeweler inside the then prominent I. Magnin
I. Magnin
I. Magnin & Company was a San Francisco, California-based high fashion and specialty goods luxury department store. Over the course of its existence, it expanded across the West into Southern California and the adjoining states of Arizona, Oregon, and Washington...
specialty stores.
Founding MK Ltd to present
Katz started Martin Katz, Ltd. in 1988. He began by making house calls to his few clients or inviting them into in his home. The panoramic view from his Beverly Hills penthouse apartment was the ideal complement to what Vogue dubbed the “Jewel Bar”. He opened his first retail store in Beverly Hills in 1998. Shortly thereafter he created a private New York City showroom on Madison Avenue.Katz has been most lauded (and copied) for his work with micro-pave settings. The most famous of these are his microbands.
Katz has dabbled in fashion. In 2007, he collaborated with Renee Strauss to create the world's most expensive wedding dress. With 150 carats (30 g) of diamonds and a $12 million price tag, the dress was first shown at the Luxury Brands Lifestyle Bridal Show in February 2006.
In 2008 Katz designed the Victoria's Secret
Victoria's Secret
Victoria's Secret is an American retailer of women's wear, lingerie and beauty products. It is the largest segment of publicly-traded Limited Brands with sales of over US$5 billion and an operating income of $1 billion in 2006...
Fantasy Bra. Worn by model Adriana Lima
Adriana Lima
Adriana Lima is a Brazilian model, best known as a Victoria's Secret Angel since 2000, and as a spokesmodel for Maybelline cosmetics from 2003 to 2009...
, the bra was set with 3,575 black diamonds, 117 certified 1 carats (200 mg) white round diamonds, 34 rubies, and 2 black diamond drops totaling 100 carats (20 g). Valued at over $5 million, the bra carried more than 1500 carats (300 g).
Katz was one of four jewelers chosen to design wedding bands for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
’s 2009 edition of Today Throws a Wedding. He also provided the engagement ring used on the famous Will & Grace
Will & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
episode, "Marry Me a Little, Marry Me a Little More
Marry Me a Little, Marry Me a Little More
"Marry Me a Little, Marry Me a Little More" is a double-length episode of the American television series Will & Graces fifth season. It was written by Jeff Greenstein and Bill Wrubel and directed by series producer James Burrows. The episode originally aired on the National Broadcasting Company in...
", in which Leo (Harry Connick, Jr.
Harry Connick, Jr.
Joseph Harry Fowler Connick, Jr. is an American singer, big-band leader/conductor, pianist, actor, and composer. He has sold over 25 million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with...
) proposes to Grace
Grace Adler
Grace Elizabeth Adler-Markus is a fictional character on the American sitcom Will & Grace, portrayed by Debra Messing. She is a Jewish interior designer , living in New York City with her gay best friend Will Truman...
(Debra Messing
Debra Messing
Debra Lynn Messing is an American actress, voice artist, and comedienne. She is perhaps best known for her role as Grace Adler in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace and as Molly Kagan in the mini-series The Starter Wife....
), in New York City's Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
.
Celebrity fans of Katz include Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek
Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez de Pinault is a Mexican film actress, director and producer. She received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her role as Frida Kahlo in the film Frida.-Early life:...
, Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston is an American actress, film director, and producer, best known for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends, a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.Aniston has also enjoyed a successful film career,...
, Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
, Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
, Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
, Freida Pinto
Freida Pinto
Freida Pinto is an Indian actress and model best known for her portrayal of Latika in the 2008 Academy Award winning film Slumdog Millionaire, for which she won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture...
, Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...
, Anne Heche
Anne Heche
Anne Celeste Heche is an American actress, director, and screenwriter. She started her career on the daytime soap opera Another World, for which she won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1991. Heche gradually landed supporting roles in feature films, and in 1997 appeared in I Know What You Did Last Summer,...
, Debra Messing
Debra Messing
Debra Lynn Messing is an American actress, voice artist, and comedienne. She is perhaps best known for her role as Grace Adler in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace and as Molly Kagan in the mini-series The Starter Wife....
, and Heidi Klum
Heidi Klum
Heidi Samuel , better known by her birth name Heidi Klum, is a German model, actress, television host, businesswoman, fashion designer, television producer, and occasional singer. In 2008 she became an American citizen while maintaining her native German citizenship...
.
Katz has recently launched his line at Bergdorf Goodman
Bergdorf Goodman
Bergdorf Goodman is a luxury goods department store based on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The company was founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf and was later owned and managed by Edwin Goodman, and later his son Andrew Goodman....
in New York City and also just created a boutique line available at his Beverly Hills store.
External links
- http://www.dailyfrontrow.com/obsessions/article/rainbow-connection
- http://thebridesguide.marthastewartweddings.com/2010/05/expert-advice-martin-katz.html#comments
- http://www.losangeles.com/shop-brighton-way-for-mothers-day-e879621
- http://www.martinkatz.com
- http://www.weddingstylemagazine.com/designers/martin-katz/s6.aspx
- http://www.etonline.com/awards/emmys/2009/2009/09/78803/index.html
- http://www.departures.com/articles/katz-meow*
- http://thebridesguide.marthastewartweddings.com/2010/05/expert-advice-martin-katz-2.html