Moss, Seymour (1919-2011)

Dates

• Existence: 1919-2011

Biography

Seymour Moss was born in Brooklyn on January 7, 1919. He was introduced to the jewelry industry by working for his father’s business, American Charm Corporation. After serving in the army in WWII, Seymour opened MOBA Jewelry Company in New York City, where he manufactured gold and “high fashion” jewelry. By the mid-1950s, Moss had added precious gemstones and diamonds to his line, and his jewelry sold in retail jewelry stores and companies across America. He traveled extensively as a salesman for MOBA.

Between the 1960s and the 1980s, Moss traveled internationally expanding his company. In Italy, he manufactured Italian enamel to sell in the United States. He is acknowledged in Italy for his role in establishing this export. His Italian enamel jewelry was featured and sold in stores like Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Van Cleef and Arpels where his watches were also represented.

Moss’s creative effort to establish a line of objets d’art was successful in the Middle East. At major jewelry shows like Baselworld and the RJA New York, he won awards for MOBA International displays. These displays were so grand that they caught the eye of the royal families of the United Arab Emirates and Brunei who were so impressed with the work that Moss’s objets d’art toured palaces throughout these countries.

As owner, designer, and salesman, Moss supervised every part of the manufacturing process, from stone selection, to casting and setting. Though he did not render his own designs, his vision was maintained through care and attention to detail. His high standards, quality, and workmanship were famous and respected in the jewelry world. Though Moss considered himself an “anti-creative” invested in the business of the jewelry industry, he was in fact the visionary force behind MOBA and MOBA International. He was inspired by nature, architecture, sculpture, and paintings.

Moss left the profession in the early 1990’s but did not withdraw from the field altogether. He kept a small studio in his home in Florida where he could continue to create at the jeweler’s bench. Moss worked until his death at the age of 92 on February 25, 2011.

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