Editors

The Jewelry Insider’s Guide to ‘The Sopranos’

EditorsJan 31, 2024

The Jewelry Insider’s Guide to ‘The Sopranos’

A well-known woman in the jewelry world helped shape the stylistic narrative of one of the most iconic television series of all time.

20200513_Sopranos-header.jpg
Lauren Kulchinsky Levison inadvertently became the mastermind behind the fine jewelry worn on “The Sopranos.” (Image courtesy of Warner Media/HBO)
Editor’s note: This story was originally published in May 2020. 

You might know Lauren Kulchinsky Levison as the uber-fashionable proprietor of family-owned and -operated Mayfair Rocks, snapped by street-style photographers in an array of to-die-for designer gowns heading into fashion shows in New York, London, Milan and Paris. 

Or maybe you recall Levison as only the second woman to be inducted into National Jeweler’s Retailer Hall of Fame in 2002, when she was 31 years old (at the time, the youngest inductee).  

Before dedicating herself to the fourth-generation family business Levison was an actress, perhaps explaining her ease with having all eyes on her.  

But her most surprising role was totally behind-the-scenes, for no pay and little credit, when she styled the jewelry for “The Sopranos,” arguably one of the most iconic television shows of our era and one I began watching for the first time while quarantined at home.   

Lauren Kulchinsky Levinson pictured in Giambattista Valli at the Autumn/Winter 2018 Haute Couture shows in Paris (image courtesy of TheStreetVibe)
Lauren Kulchinsky Levinson pictured in Giambattista Valli at the Autumn/Winter 2018 Haute Couture shows in Paris (image courtesy of TheStreetVibe)

The HBO show ran from 1999 to 2007, heralding the current Golden Age of television, bringing the kind of character-driven, meaty roles typically reserved for film to the small screen. (In fact, creator David Chase originally conceptualized “The Sopranos” as a feature film.) 

Levison found her way to “The Sopranos” by way of the show’s lead, the late James Gandolfini. The two got to know each other through New York’s close-knit acting community, meeting on set of the 1996 film “The Juror.” 

Levison had already inadvertently been dabbling in blending her worlds —acting and jewelry/watches—on the set of the 1990s TV series “New York Undercover.”
She said after seeing the elaborate sets and props used for the Dick Wolf-powered police drama, she was amazed that the actors wore fake timepieces. 

“The guys were wearing fake TAG Heuers,” she noted. “They were empty. There was no movement.” 

A crew member knew Levison’s family was in the jewelry business and asked her to help him buy a watch he wanted. Soon, she was helping the busy cast and crew pick out gifts for their significant others, bringing items from jewelry store to set. 

Actors also wanted to wear watches—the real deal—on camera. Levison supplied pieces on loan and was charged with handling them. 

“I was just happy I was still working,” she said. “It was really hard to be a New York actor at that time, let alone part of a weekly episodic show. I got a job on a movie set for the summer and word got out that I was ‘the jewelry girl.’”
That movie was “The Juror,” where she met Gandolfini, and again, Levison was sourcing birthday gifts and push presents. 

A few years later, Gandolfini gave Levison a call. He had just booked the pilot for a new HBO show—“The Sopranos.” 

“He said, ‘You should see if you can get on it,’” Levison recalled. “I said, ‘What, am I going to just call and see if I can get on it?’” 

The pilot was already cast, but Gandolfini suggested she act as a stand-in to be part of the production. 

“I get there and I was literally standing in for Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Lorraine Bracco and Michael Imperioli, and they were all different heights,” she laughed.
 
“How are you supposed to be the best Carmela you can be if you’re in fake jewelry? Tony would never have his wife in fake jewelry. She’d be in the best he could bring home.” – Lauren Kulchinsky Levison 

She couldn’t help her jewelry and watch expertise from creeping into her job description, again. 

“I started to notice that Edie Falco was in this mesh necklace, tons of chains, a big cross, and it was all fake.” 

Levison thought the look was right for a mob wife, but not the quality. She had her own ideas of how to amplify characters’ stories through jewelry, plus an all-hands-on-deck helpful attitude that had been honed through years of theater. 

“Growing up in show business, [a production] is a group effort. You want to make the best show possible. You want the group to succeed. In New York, it’s a tight-knit community. You’re one big family. There was no separation between the cast and crew.”
Levison offered her jewelry and watch styling services to “Sopranos” creator and head writer Chase. Gandolfini vouched for her talents. 

With that, an accidental jewelry stylist was born. 

Levison received copies of the closely guarded script, typically only given out in bits and pieces on an as-needed basis, to fulfill her costume design needs. 

“It was never, well I’m going to make this about me and my jewelry,” Levison explained. “It was about making [the look] authentic and real, and developing how and why pieces would be worn. It was about getting into character and making sure an actor’s character is dressed. That was the main hole. 

“How are you supposed to be the best Carmela you can be if you’re in fake jewelry? Tony would never have his wife in fake jewelry. She’d be in the best he could bring home. How can Lorraine Bracco’s character, Dr. Melfi, be in something fake when she’s trying to teach someone to be their authentic self?” 

Levison supplied Breitling watches for the show’s male Mafia characters, like Gandolfini, Imperioli and Steven Van Zandt (better known to some as Little Steven from Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band). Gandolfini wore a medallion on a curb-link chain that was his own.
Levison got to flex her styling muscles with the female characters, collaborating with the actresses on looks that would best bring their personas to life. 

“There’s a mesh necklace that you’ll see [worn by Edie Falco’s character, Carmela Soprano] and it looks like it’s fabric and that’s Christian Tse,” Levison recalled. “He was just starting out. Everyone wanted that necklace. I must have sold 20 a week of that necklace.”

It was an “elevated” take on a similar item Falco sported in the pilot episode, Levison noted, and Carmela wore some version of it as her layering “base” piece every season. 

The necklace, worn among Carmela’s gold layers, carried a special symbolism Levison associated with the character, the matriarchal cornerstone of an Italian-American family. 

“I wanted something that looked almost like fabric because it was reminiscent of a family quilt. She was in charge of the family; she makes the sauce, she makes the food.” 
Stefan Hafner, Christian Tse, Antonini, Garavelli and Orlando Orlandini were designers Levison turned to regularly throughout the series. 

Lorraine Bracco expressed a preference for Ten Thousand Things, so Levison sourced pieces from the New York-based brand for Bracco’s character, psychiatrist Dr. Melfi. 

Drea de Matteo brought lots of visual notes for her character Adriana La Cerva (seen below), down to her long fingernails. 

“She was really in charge of her wardrobe and jewelry,” said Levison.
“I wanted it to be like ‘Peter and the Wolf;’ you hear an oboe and you know it’s that character. You see Drea’s nameplate necklace and Playboy bunny necklace and it’s so Drea, it couldn’t be anybody else. That was really her choice.”

One of her favorite characters to style was Gloria Trillo, played by Annabella Sciorra in season three.

“I’m really proud of that part. She was an elevated woman coming into Tony’s world. I was able to play more with pieces and style them as individual pieces instead of piled one on top of another.”

“The Sopranos” aligned with what Levison feels was the beginning of women purchasing jewelry for themselves.

“Women were watching jewelry they could emulate, beyond the basic pieces like the diamond studs. They saw a housewife wearing her jewelry and a professional woman wearing different jewelry every time you see her, in pieces that correlate with who she is.”

Sciorra’s character, Tony Soprano’s girlfriend, was a prototype of the self-purchasing woman.

Antonini's
Antonini's "sleek, modern" aesthetic perfectly fit character Gloria Trillo, a modern, self-purchasing woman (seen center and right). On the left, actress Annabella Sciorrais is pictured in the reversible pendant Levison personally owned and lent for the show.

Working as a Mercedes Benz salesperson, she proudly showed Tony the watch she bought herself after a good commission.

Levison dressed the character in lots of Antonini because, “it was sleek and modern and cool like she was.”

One particular piece that stood out was a personal pendant Levison loaned for the Gloria Trillo character.

“It was all hand-enameled on one side and had all rose-cut diamonds on the other side. I felt because she was such a dual personality, it was fitting for her. Sometimes we’d put it on one side or the other.”

“It was this perfect storm,” said Levison of women beginning to buy themselves the pieces they wanted, knocking down the old wait-to-be-gifted paradigm.

“It was a huge disruption in the jewelry industry when we went from giving jewelry as gifts to collections that work with fashion, to jewelry being considered an accessory instead of an inaccessible item.

“‘Sopranos’ was a really big part of that and I’m proud to have been involved in a small way.”

Known as "the jewelry girl" on sets, Levison began supplying jewelry for the cast and their signifcant others on the red carpet. Pictured at left is Gandolfini with first wife Marcy at the Emmys in a Stefan Hafner spring wire collar "to be more sleek and minimalist with the red dress," Levison said. At right, at another Emmys appearance, Marcy wears a platinum and gold Christian Tse necklace to complement the "more Renaissance" look. (Images courtesy of Lauren Kulchinsky Levison)
Known as "the jewelry girl" on sets, Levison began supplying jewelry for the cast and their signifcant others on the red carpet. Pictured at left is Gandolfini with first wife Marcy at the Emmys in a Stefan Hafner spring wire collar "to be more sleek and minimalist with the red dress," Levison said. At right, at another Emmys appearance, Marcy wears a platinum and gold Christian Tse necklace to complement the "more Renaissance" look. (Images courtesy of Lauren Kulchinsky Levison)

Just as Levison’s role as the set’s resident jewelry and timepiece whisperer came about organically, so did her transition from on-set jewelry costume design to red carpet styling.

As “The Sopranos” quickly rose to acclaim, she found herself styling many of the cast members’ red carpet jewelry looks, outfitting the actresses in incredible jewelry suites to go to the Emmys or Golden Globes.

At the end of each season, there was a special credit to Mayfair Jewelers for Levison’s assistance.

When Levison and her family opened their Hamptons outpost in 2000, “The Sopranos” cast was there to fete the occasion.

The Sopranos cast is pictured at the Mayfair Rocks East Hampton opening, which happened right as the show was making an impression in its first seaon. At left, Levison is pictured with back to camera chatting with Jamie-Lynn Sigler and James Gandolfini's wife Marcy Wudarski (center). Gandolfini is seen at right. Pictured at right are Gandolfini and Wudarski in conversation with Levison's father, Mayfair Rocks CEO Dan Kulchinsky. (Images courtesy of Lauren Kulchinsky Levison)
The Sopranos cast is pictured at the Mayfair Rocks East Hampton opening, which happened right as the show was making an impression in its first seaon. At left, Levison is pictured with back to camera chatting with Jamie-Lynn Sigler and James Gandolfini's wife Marcy Wudarski (center). Gandolfini is seen at right. Pictured at right are Gandolfini and Wudarski in conversation with Levison's father, Mayfair Rocks CEO Dan Kulchinsky. (Images courtesy of Lauren Kulchinsky Levison)

“It wasn’t even the strongest moment of “The Sopranos” heyday yet, only maybe the first 10 episodes maybe had aired,” Levison recalled, “and the whole town of East Hampton was shut down because nobody could get down Main Street; that’s how many people showed up.” 

The legacy of the show is one Levison couldn’t have imagined as she shaped its jewelry narrative, script in hand. 

The best part was, “just being in the presence of these actors, how David Chase put them all together,” she said. 

“I had never read anything like that for TV. I stood in for a boy, that’s how much I wanted to be a part of that show. I would have held a light to be there every day.”
Just as Gandolfini brought Levison to the show, he was also the impetus for her switching gears to the family business full-time. 

“Jim had come to my family’s business [at the old store location in Commack, New York]. It was out of the blue, he just showed up. He bought his engagement ring for [first wife] Marcy from me. He saw the business and saw how I worked with my family. 

“He said to me, ‘I don’t know why you even come to set, you should be a jeweler full time you’re so good at it and your family is so wonderful.’ 

“I started to not do anything but drop the jewelry off, pretty much, and go in for certain, really strong acting scenes, and I started to do jewelry full time. I have Jim to thank, I think.” 

Gandolfini, who died unexpectedly in 2013, was a major influence on Levison. 

“I stopped walking both lines after that [conversation]. I was still dressing the actors for awards and bringing jewelry over but I wasn’t pursuing acting anymore. Jim Gandolfini was one of the greatest people in the entire world and he set the tone for an incredible work environment. He was an amazing guy. 

“I miss Jim a lot.”

Ashley Davisis the senior editor, fashion at National Jeweler, covering all things related to design, style and trends.

The Latest

gia-edu main image.png
Supplier BulletinSep 04, 2025
A Brilliant Future Is Here

Sponsored by GIA

Lucara pink diamond
SourcingSep 04, 2025
Lucara Unveils Unusual 37-Carat Pink Diamond

The Type IIa stone, recovered from Botswana’s Karowe diamond mine last month, features unique coloration.

A street in Carlsbad California
Events & AwardsSep 04, 2025
27 Can’t-Miss Converge Sessions, Events

From sunrise yoga to tariffs talks, these are some events to check out at the upcoming inaugural event.

japac-btyb.png
Brought to you by
Rallying Call for the Jewelry Industry on Tariffs and Other Key Issues

Jewelers of America is leading the charge to protect the industry amidst rising economic threats.

Shot from Breitling new NFL campaign
WatchesSep 04, 2025
Breitling Takes Its NFL Game to the Next Level

Breitling is now the NFL’s official timepiece partner, a move that puts the brand in front of the millions of Americans who watch football.

Weekly QuizSep 04, 2025
This Week’s Quiz
Test your jewelry news knowledge by answering these questions.
Take the Quiz
NYC Jewelry, Antique, & Object Show Autumn 2025
Events & AwardsSep 04, 2025
The NYC Jewelry, Antique, & Object Show Returns in November

NYCJAOS is set for Nov. 21-23 in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood.

Fabergé x Gemfields Malaika Egg
SourcingSep 03, 2025
Gemfields Confirms Completion of Fabergé Sale

U.S.-based investment company SMG Capital LLC is the new owner of the luxury brand.

rio-article photo-diamond.jpg
Brought to you by
Taking the Moment Head On: How Rio Grande Champions the Present & Future of Fine Jewelry

As a leading global jewelry supplier, Rio Grande is rapidly expanding and developing new solutions to meet the needs of jewelers worldwide.

Claire’s storefront
MajorsSep 03, 2025
These Are the Nearly 300 Claire’s Stores Set to Close

A new court filing details the locations of the stores that will close, as well as the 830 that will remain open.

Stuller’s Tools, Equipment, & Metals and Findings & Metals Catalogs
MajorsSep 03, 2025
Stuller Releases 2 New Catalogs

The new catalogs are “Tools, Equipment, & Metals” and “Findings & Metals.”

Effy Jewelry Multicolor Sapphire Bangle
TrendsSep 03, 2025
Amanda’s Style File: A Perfect Birthstone

Sapphire’s variety of colors make it the perfect birthstone for September.

Woman with hands crossed wearing jewelry
FinancialsSep 02, 2025
Lab-Grown Diamonds, Lower-Priced Fashion Jewelry Drive Signet Jewelers’ Q2 Sales

The retailer has raised its guidance after seeing total sales increase 3 percent in the second quarter, beating expectations.

Jean-Christophe Bédos Birks
MajorsSep 02, 2025
Birks CEO Jean-Christophe Bédos Steps Down

Niccolò Rossi di Montelera, executive chairman of the board, was appointed as interim CEO.

Harry Winston Ginza Flagship Exterior, Interior
MajorsSep 02, 2025
Harry Winston Opens Its Largest Flagship in Japan

The three-floor space also features the jeweler’s largest VIP salon in Japan and offers an exclusive diamond pendant.

All Hours: Stephanie Gottlieb Fine Jewelry x Oak and Luna Campaign Imagery
CollectionsSep 02, 2025
Stephanie Gottlieb Debuts Silver Designs in ‘All Hours’ Collab

The collection is a collaboration between Stephanie Gottlieb Fine Jewelry and Oak and Luna, focusing on understated essentials.

Sothebys The Desert Rose orangy pink diamond collectors week
AuctionsAug 29, 2025
Sotheby’s UAE Sale to Feature 32-Carat Fancy Vivid Orangy Pink Diamond

The highlight of a single-owner jewelry and watch collection, it’s estimated to fetch up to $7 million at auction this December.

Calvin Klein watch and jewelry campaign
FinancialsAug 29, 2025
Movado’s Q2 Sales Rebound Despite Tariff Impact

CEO Efraim Grinberg noted a resurgence in the fashion watch market.

Mark Davis Bullseye Necklace
CollectionsAug 29, 2025
Piece of the Week: Mark Davis’ ‘Bullseye’ Necklace

The “Bullseye” necklace, with vintage bakelite and peridot, August’s birthstone, is the perfect transitional piece as summer turns to fall.

Image #1_Resized.png
Supplier BulletinAug 28, 2025
Clientbook Is Helping Jewelers Turn Clienteling Challenges into Wins with Hands-On Training and Coaching

Sponsored by Clientbook

GIA’s new report for lab-grown diamonds
GradingAug 28, 2025
GIA’s New ‘Quality Assessment’ for Lab-Grown Diamonds Is Coming

It will classify lab-grown stones into one of two categories, “premium” or “standard,” in lieu of giving specific color and clarity grades.

Botswana President Duma Boko
SourcingAug 28, 2025
Botswana Declares Public Health Emergency Amid Diamond Sales Slump

President Duma Boko addressed the country’s medical supply chain crisis in a recent televised address.

Afton Robertson-Kanne Borsheims
MajorsAug 28, 2025
Borsheims Names New Jewelry Buyer

Former Free People buyer Afton Robertson-Kanne recently joined the retailer.

Sissy’s Log Cabin Back to School and Bling
IndependentsAug 28, 2025
Sissy’s Log Cabin Donates School Supplies to Memphis Students

The jeweler teamed up with two local organizations for its inaugural “Back to School and Bling” event.

11,685-carat Imboo emerald
SourcingAug 27, 2025
11,685-Carat Emerald Recovered From Zambia’s Kagem Mine

Dubbed the “Imboo,” or “buffalo,” emerald, the rough gemstone is part of Gemfields’ latest emerald auction, which is taking place now.

Shopping cart
SurveysAug 27, 2025
Consumer Confidence Slips in August Amid Job, Income Worries

Plans for dining out, booking vacations, and buying big-ticket items were down.

Mine + Found Play Collection Prize Bubble Locket, Whistle Pendent, Fortune Dice
CollectionsAug 27, 2025
Mined + Found’s New Collection Gets Playful

The “Play” collection centers on nostalgic toys that have kinetic elements to carry playfulness and wonder into adulthood.

CCWW lifesaver necklace
CollectionsAug 26, 2025
Does Your Jewelry Stack Need a Snack?

Designer Christina Puchi, the creative force behind CCWW Designs, has created charms and pendants based on iconic candies and crackers.

×

This site uses cookies to give you the best online experience. By continuing to use & browse this site, we assume you agree to our Privacy Policy