Verdura, Belperron Chair Ward Landrigan Dies

By Rob Bates | November 13, 2025

Ward Landrigan, who helped transform Verdura and Belperron from cult favorites to renowned jewelry icons, died on Nov. 9. He was 84.

Born Edward J. Landrigan III in Newark, N.J., he first became interested in jewelry as a Boy Scout working a summer job at a local jeweler. After graduating from Drew University in Madison, N.J., he held a junior role at auction house Parke-Bernet Galleries.

When Sotheby’s acquired Parke-Bernet in 1964, it quickly “recognized Ward’s extraordinary eye for beauty and authenticity,” according to an obituary from his company. At age 24, he was named head of Sotheby’s U.S. jewelry division. There, he helped sell the legendary Krupp diamond to Elizabeth Taylor.

In 1973, after Landrigan had left the auction house to start his own estate jewelry business, he read that Fulco di Verdura—a Sicilian duke whose jewelry designs were coveted by everyone from Coco Chanel to Cole Porter—was planning to retire.

“I thought, ‘Ooh. This could be interesting,’” he told podcaster Carol Woolton in 2023. “Because nobody knew the name [Verdura]. I figured, it wasn’t like buying a big name.

“And I got in touch with [Joseph] Alfano, who was his partner, and he said, ‘No, no, no. I don’t want to sell it. I’d like to run it for a few years myself.’ And he did. But I kept at him. I never let the poor guy sleep.”

Landrigan finally purchased the Verdura brand in 1985. Back then, its fan base wasn’t large, though it was discerning.

“The most interesting women, the most impressive women had that jewelry,” he said on the Woolton podcast. “It was almost like a club.”

In 1999, Landrigan acquired a second jeweler, Belperron—again because he admired the work created by its namesake, Suzanne Belperron.

“Most people didn’t know she existed,” Landrigan told Barron’s in 2016. “I’ve had this personal Belperron obsession, and I just didn’t want someone else to take [the company].”

Landrigan’s son, Nico, joined the business in 2004 and today runs both brands as president, while Ward served as chair.

“My father, by his own account, was the most unlikely man to end up leading two legendary jewelry houses,” Nico told WWD yesterday. “Remarkable in more ways than I can count, anyone who had the pleasure of meeting him would say it was his warmth, humor, and humility that truly set him apart.”

Stellene Volandes, editor-in-chief of Town & Country, wrote in an obit: “I have, over the course of two decades writing about jewelry, had wonderful teachers. Ward Landrigan was one of the best and most generous. I will miss him.”

In addition to Nico, Landrigan is survived by Judith, his wife of 56 years; his daughter, India Bayley; and five grandchildren.

(Photo courtesy of Verdura)