A (Holiday) Window on David Webb’s New Era

By Amy Elliott | December 29, 2025

When I was a young editor at Bridal Guide, the office was steps from Cartier, Takashimaya, Bendel’s, and Bergdorf’s, a location that always made for prime holiday window-viewing. The week after Christmas was always one of my favorite times to be in New York. You’d cut out of work a little early (because everyone else took vacation) to meet up with friends from out of town and take in the magic of the season—without being jostled by tourists—before heading down to Rolf’s for glasses of eggnog. The Gramercy spot was (and still is) famous for its Victorian-themed holiday decorations, its walls and ceilings a forest swarming with ornaments, twinkling evergreen boughs, and ringlet-haired porcelain dolls.

If your week involves similar opportunities to make merry, a stroll along Fifth Avenue will reveal the usual spectacles of glitz and glamour, complete with light-up snowflakes, panthères pawing packages, and chandelier-inspired hats.

But can a heritage brand’s holiday window display do more than inspire wonder and delight in passersby?

Head to David Webb on Madison Avenue near 74th Street and you may have your answer.

David Webb Deep Freeze window concept — *Snow-dusted evergreens, glistening barware, and crystalline ice shards add context to the window’s evocative tagline: “Precious Jewels—On the Rocks.”*

This holiday season, the American luxury jewelry house mounted an installation produced in collaboration with celebrated—and highly conceptual—designer and creative director Ken Fulk. The high-profile luminary is well-known for applying his flair for theatricality, luxury, and storytelling to projects for innumerable restaurants, hotels, and social clubs as well as interior design commissions and special-events projects for high-profile private clients.

A “Deep Freeze” theme guided Fulk’s creative choices, informed by a keen awareness that his sensibility that was simpatico with David Webb’s; both parties are driven by a fiercely creative, fearless vision of opulence, style, and craft.

Centering a retro “icebox” (as my grandmother called her refrigerator), the “Deep Freeze” story transforms David Webb’s lone window into a larder of “frozen” jewels that represent the iconic American jeweler’s most storied creations: an elaborate gemstone and diamond Totem necklace, exuberant cocktail rings, sculptural rock crystal statement bracelets, and more important works.

Shrouded in frosty mist, as though preserved in an arctic vault, a festive, whimsical composition of rubies, emeralds, and gleaming hammered gold highlight the colors of the season.

David Webb in 2025 holiday window — Fulk saw the connection between the historic context of David Webb’s most iconic pieces and where they fit into the current mood: Implicit in the window display is the idea that the holidays are always a good reason to wear your most extravagant jewels.

“Ken Fulk possesses an extraordinary and unrivaled capacity to construct immersive worlds, each conjured through meticulous detail and imagination,” Tara Rowghani, board director at David Webb, said in a statement. “With ‘Deep Freeze,’ he has conceived a holiday universe where imagination reigns and our jewelry radiates in a new, otherworldly light.”

Tara Rowghani Board Director of David Webb and Ken Fulk — *Tara Rowghani and design luminary Ken Fulk*

Added Fulk: “I feel a deep connection to the brand and the founder of David Webb. His legacy for being a bon vivant among the starlets and swans of his time led to this extraordinary collection. This icebox was intended to hold that spirit and remind us of the wonder of a season when we can all don our most exuberant jewels. ‘Deep Freeze’ was intended to portray a glamorous era frozen in time while celebrating the timeless traditions of style and craftsmanship.”

To celebrate the reveal of the David Webb “Deep Freeze” holiday window, the jeweler hosted a celebration by the same name at Wollman Rink in New York’s Central Park. The event design, also helmed by Fulk, featured many of the designer’s signature more-is-more flourishes: Pedicabs ferried guests to the festivities, where they could drink Champagne or spiked hot chocolate, watch a bench jeweler at work in a cozy glass-enclosed chamber, or marvel at extravagant jewels in “The Vault,” an igloo-like space bathed in blue-tinted light and fitted with shimmering ice sculptures.

A dashing Santa Claus, clad in an ice-blue velvet dinner suit accessorized with a David Webb brooch, was among the fur hat–wearing VIPs. And, best of all, the Skyliners Synchronized Skating Team delivered a beautiful performance dressed in sequins and tulle while a glamorous pianiste—wielding rock crystal David Webb cocktail rings—provided live music.

David Webb Deep Freeze party — *Photos: Madison Voelkel/BFA.com*

Between the icebox window concept and the whimsy of the “Deep Freeze” party, does anyone else get the sense that David Webb, now under new ownership, might be embarking on a new era? Color me intrigued. Because I love when heritage brands shake off the pretensions of our industry and get a little frisky with their visual storytelling. It’s only a matter of time before the “Deep Freeze” thaws out—so go see the window while you can—while I watch for more signs of things to come.

Top: Take the long way home this week and have a look at David Webb’s holiday window display, a retro “icebox” stocked with “frozen” jewels that represent the iconic American jeweler’s most storied creations.

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