TIFFANY

Born in 1812, Charles Lewis Tiffany was only 25 when he and John Young opened the doors to their store Tiffany and Young on Broadway in New York in 1837. Within a few years they were selling jewellery imported from Europe but also occasionally, diamonds, which were still relatively rare at the time. As various partners came and went the business expanded rapidly including the opening of an office in Paris, the acquisition of a silversmith’s firm which led to the manufacturing of their own jewellery designs. In 1853 Charles Tiffany assumed full control of the company and renamed it Tiffany & Co.

Exhibiting and winning awards at the World Fairs, exposed Tiffany & Co. to an ever-increasing audience and with success came a larger spending power which allowed Charles Tiffany to acquire more important diamonds. One of his most splendid purchases came in 1878 when he bought the 287.42ct canary yellow diamond discovered in South Africa. It was recut in Paris to a 128.54ct cushion shaped gem and named the Tiffany Diamond, which the company still owns today.

In 1886 he introduced a new style of setting for solitaire diamond rings called the ‘Tiffany Setting’ where the diamond is lifted up and slightly away from the setting allowing more light into the stone.

Several years later, Charles Tiffany cemented his reputation as ‘The Diamond King’ when he outbid his competitors and took home a total of 24 lots from the auction of the French Crown Jewels for a sum that was unheard of at the time.

The 1900 Paris Exhibition was another great success for the company and Paul Farnham, who was by this time the chief designer, when they received two gold medals in acknowledgement of his creations.

When Charles Tiffany died, his son Louis Comfort Tiffany became Vice President and Art Director. His designs in glass and enamel were kaleidoscopic and combined a variety of gemstones and yellow gold. He was quickly acknowledged as a world leader of the Art Nouveau movement and in 1907 Tiffany & Co. opened a dedicated ‘Art Jewellery’ department for the manufacture of his work including lamps, pottery, jewellery and glassware.

In 1939 Tiffany was one of the few jewellers to exhibit at the New Yorl World Fair in the specially built House of Jewels.

In 1956 the Parisian jewellery designer Jean Schlumberger joined the company, creating bold, three-dimensional pieces which were quickly favoured by stylish women such as Elizabeth Taylor and Jackie Kennedy.

Since then, the company has welcomed many more designers with two of the most significant being Elsa Peretti in 1974 and Paloma Picasso in 1980.

Over the last thirty years, the company has opened hundreds of branches across America and throughout the world as they continue to create pieces that epitomise an American aesthetic.