VBL : Lawrence "Larry" Vrba

Lawrence Larry Vrba is a gifted jewelry maker who has been making fine collectible jewelry for over four decades.

He was head designer at Miriam Haskell in the 1970's, making jewelry for Broadway shows and the Metropolitan Opera, as well as for boutiques, vintage jewelry shops, banquets and balls.

His pieces are almost always quite large, grand, and over the top - spectacular and stunning.

Vrba works from a huge collection of vintage beads and rhinestones out of which he creates his treasures.

His focus today lies in utilizing the materials hidden within the confines of this work space - taking tidbits and treasures collected throughout his jewelry crafting career and working them into wearable wonders.

Each and every Vrba piece is handmade, so it is not always easy to get his jewelry. Vrba jewelry has never been mass produced or made outside the US.

His astounding parures, poured glass petal bouquets, vase and basket brooches and Christmas tree brooches are all time favorites, collected through the decades.

As with his non-Christmas jewelry, Vrba’s tree pins were wonderfully outrageous - resembling medals honoring yuletide achievements more than jeweled depictions of actual trees.

Vrba Holiday Brooch at 188 Galerie

Vrba’s pins were often studded with fat, teardrop cabochons or large aurora borealis stones, with rhinestones stars crowning their tops.

Vrba Holiday Brooch at 188 Galerie

In 1981 Vrba left Miriam Haskell Jewelry, going to work for Les Bernard Jewelry. Vrba also had his pieces in Dillard's for three seasons in the 1980's.

Around 1983 he began his own jewelry line, creating strong three-dimensional colorfully large pieces.

Among the customers for his own "Lawrence Vrba" jewelry are the Broadway theater, the Metropolitan Opera, shops like Bergdorf's and Saks', vintage boutiques and private collectors.

The most recent Broadway shows for which Vrba has made jewelry are "Hairspray", "Exit the King", "Blythe Spirit" with Angela Lansbury, and the revival of "Lend Me a Tenor".  

As one of the most respected contemporary jewelry makers around, his line has remained successful and in demand for over 50 years.

Larry Vrba is that unusual combination of the creative talent with a great mind for business.