The most iconic shade of blue had to be Tiffany blue. While researching the history of the company, I found out the expansiveness of items Tiffany & Co. has helped with. 

The company was founded in 1837 by Charles Lewis Tiffany, alone with the help of his partner J.B. Young. Originally, the brand was called Tiffany & Young and was located on Broadway in New York. The “Blue Book Collection” was the first ever direct mail catalog, sent out by Tiffany in 1845. Tiffany was a leader in piloting .925 sterling silver to the standard in America. 

In 1853, Charles Lewis Tiffany took full ownership and renamed the brand Tiffany & Co. The store relocated to Union Square in 1870 and began to ramp up in sales, becoming the “it” place to purchase high quality jewelry. 

Tiffany & Co. has proven to be a pioneer in multiple affairs. They introduced the first stopwatch called the “Tiffany Timer” in 1866. The brand, in 1886, created a six-prong design for rings where the diamond seemed to be floating. Tiffany redesigned the Great Seal that appears on the dollar bill today. In 1967, they made the Vince Lombardi Trophy for the first Super Bowl. While on the topic of trophies, Tiffany created the NBA Championship Trophy in 1977 and began crafting the US OPEN trophies in 1987. 

There are multiple figures who shaped the iconicness of the company. Jean Schlumberger joined Tiffany in 1956 as Vice President and created many nature-inspired pieces including the “Bird on a Rock” brooch. In 1974, Elsa Peretti joined the team and assisted in elevating the status of sterling silver. On top of this, Peretti designed the “Bone cuff” which when purchased is designed specifically for your right or left wrist. Paloma Picasso joined Tiffany in 1979 and in 1980 created the iconic launch titled “Paloma’s Graffiti collection.” In 1902, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Charle’s son, became the first official Design Director. 

Nowadays, one of the most iconic pieces of jewelry is the simple heart necklaces. The second heart that appears on the necklace makes it part of the “Return to Tiffany” collection which was founded in 1969. The premise of the collection is that each piece is assigned a serial number with instructions to return the item to the flagship store, where the product will then be returned to the owner. The current flagship store is located at the corner of 57th Street and Fifth Avenue and was relocated to this location in 1940. 

Don’t think that Tiffany slowed down over the years; the company is still booming. In 2000, the Tiffany & Co. Foundation was established to help support the world’s seascapes and landscapes. In 2014, they launched the Tiffany T collection. In the following year ,they pledged, along with many other companies, to net-zero greenhouse emissions by 2050. In 2017, Tiffany HardWear, which was inspired by archival Tiffany designs, was launched. They have also launched the Diamond Craft Journey, men’s engagement rings, and the Tiffany Lock collection in recent years.

While I tried to cram as much information as possible, this feels like only the start to the history of this brand. I will end this by mentioning one of the brand’s highlights, their first screening in the iconic movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s. This movie was released in 1961 starring Audrey Hepburn and is still a major part of what makes Tiffany, Tiffany’s. 

Till next Sunday,

Daisy