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Tiffany & Co.
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Tiffany & Co. is a U.S. jewelry and silverware company founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany and Teddy Young in New York City in 1837 as a "stationery and fancy goods emporium."
The store initially sold a wide variety of stationery items, and operated as Tiffany, Young and Ellis in lower Manhattan. The name was shortened to Tiffany & Co in 1853 when Charles Tiffany took control, and the firm's emphasis on jewelry was established.
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Tiffany & Co. is a U.S. jewelry and silverware company founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany and Teddy Young in New York City in 1837 as a "stationery and fancy goods emporium."
The store initially sold a wide variety of stationery items, and operated as Tiffany, Young and Ellis in lower Manhattan. The name was shortened to Tiffany & Co in 1853 when Charles Tiffany took control, and the firm's emphasis on jewelry was established. Tiffany & Co. has since opened stores in major cities all over the world. At some point, it was acquired by Philadelphia-based investment company Bankers Securities Corporation.
As part of its branding, the company is strongly associated with its Tiffany Blue color, which is a registered trademark.
Flagship store
Tiffany's flagship store (since 1940) is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City. It is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The polished granite exterior is well known for its tiny window displays. The store has been the location for a number of films including Breakfast at Tiffany's, starring Audrey Hepburn, and Sweet Home Alabama, starring Reese Witherspoon.
Diamonds
Tiffany designs were worn by such famous US families as the Astors, the Vanderbilts, Posts, Huttons and the Morgans. Athletes, Hollywood stars, and even European royalty adored these diamonds. Museums valued the Tiffany designs, which ranged from the Art Nouveau period to Art Deco to today's modern styles.
A Tiffany’s gemologist was instrumental in the international adoption of the metric carat as a weight standard for gems, and the Tiffany standard for sterling and platinum have been adopted as United States Standards.
The Fancy Yellow Tiffany Diamond is usually on display in the New York City flagship store.
Other locations
As of January 31, 2007, the Company operated 64 Tiffany & Co. stores in the U.S., which totaled approximately 486,000 gross square feet, and 103 Tiffany & Co. international stores, which totaled approximately 306,000 gross square feet.
When it opened in 1990, the Tiffany & Co. store at Fairfax Square in Tysons Corner, VA became the largest outside of New York with of retail space.
Tiffany & Co. reported in 2006 that its location at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA was its most profitable location followed by its New York City flagship, Boston Copley Place, and Ala Moana Shopping Center in Honolulu.
Tiffany & Co. has announced its second store opening in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur on September 2007, coinciding with the shopping mall opening. The store has . retail space and features the same decor elements as its New York flagship. Recently opened stores in the United States include one at The Natick Collection in Natick, MA which opened in September 2007, Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut, and at the Providence Place mall in Providence, R.I., both opened in November 2007. There is a Tiffany store in Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow airport which opened at the end of March 2008. A store was opened at 37 King Street, Perth, Western Australia, on July 24, 2008.
Tiffany & Co. are set to open their flagship Irish store on Dublin's Grafton Street in October 2008. It will be the biggest of the group's European outlets. In October 2008, Tiffany's opened a store in Madrid, Spain, and brought the Tiffany Diamond to the opening.
In popular culture
- In the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's, the title of which is a reference to the shop, by journalist and writer Truman Capote, one of the protagonists, Holly Golightly, constantly refers to the jewelry shop as "the best place in the world, where nothing bad can take place." The iconic 1961 film of the same name was based on Capote's novella.
- Summer at Tiffany, a 2007 memoir by Marjorie Hart, details her experiences as one of the first two female floor employees at Tiffany during the summer of 1945. The book is full of Hart's brushes with celebrities of the era, and other late WWII events in New York City.
- In the 1948 movie Ladies of the Chorus, Tiffany's is mentioned in the song "Every Baby Needs a Da-Da-Daddy", which is sung by Marilyn Monroe.
- Eartha Kitt's classic christmas song Santa Baby mentions purchasing decorations at Tiffany's.
- In the New York Times best-selling series, The Clique, the ninth novel is called Bratfest at Tiffany's, a play on the movie and novella mentioned above, as well as the company itself. The main characters wear Tiffany & Co. bracelets in the book.
- In the popular T.V. series Gossip Girl one of the main characters Blair Waldorf is a fan of Audrey Hepburn movies and Blair has a dream which is a reference to Breakfast at Tiffany's in the episode "Bad News Blair". In the episode "Seventeen Candles" Chuck gives Blair a diamond necklace for her birthday. Because of Blair's love of Audrey Hepburn, there is a misconception that the diamond necklace is from Tiffany's. However, in the show Blair mentioned that the necklace was from Erickson Beamon.
- In the 1953 movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, starring Marilyn Monroe, she sings the song "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend", which mentions Tiffany's twice.
- In the movie Legally Blonde and its sequel, the protagonist Elle Woods wears a heart necklace from Tiffany's. In The Search for Elle Woods, for Legally Blonde: The Musical, the "Elles" were each presented with a replica necklace.
- The first American Bond girl, Tiffany Case, was named after Tiffany & Co.
- In the novel Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer, Edward Cullen gets Bella Swan a ring for their wedding, and he says "Or do you want something more modern from Tiffany's"
Dates of interest
- The first Tiffany catalog, known as the "Blue Book", was published in 1845. It is still being published today.
- In 1862 Tiffany & Co. supplied the Union Army with swords, flags and surgical implements.
- In 1867 Tiffany & Co. was the first U.S. firm to win an award for the excellence in silverware at the Exposition Universelle in Paris.
- In 1877, an insignia that would become the famous New York Yankees "NY" logo was struck on a medal of honor by Tiffany & Co. and issued to the first NYC police officer shot in the line of duty. The Yankees adopted the logo in 1909.
- The company revised the Great Seal of the United States in 1885.
- In 1968, U.S. First Lady Lady Bird Johnson commissioned Tiffany to design a White House china service, which featured 90 flowers.
- In June 2004, the jeweler Tiffany & Co. sued eBay, claiming that eBay profits from the sale of counterfeit Tiffany products. As of July 2006, a trial date has not been set.
- On January 28, 2008, it was announced that the Japanese mobile phone operator SoftBank and Tiffany & Co. had collaborated in making a limited 10 model-only cellphone. This cellphone contains more than 400 diamonds, totaling more than 20 karats. The cost is said to be more than 100,000,000 yen.
Gallery
Current Designers & Collections
- Frank Gehry's collections include Axis, Equus, Fish, Flux, Orchid, Torque, and Tube.
- Elsa Peretti's collections include Bean, Diamonds by the Yard, Open Heart, Sevillana, and Teardrop.
- Paloma Picasso's collections include Loving Heart and Sugar Stacks.
- Jean Schlumberger
See also
* Camille Le Tallec
Literature
- Bezdek, Richard H. American Swords and Sword Makers. Boulder, Colorado: Paladin Press, 1999.
- Bizot, Chantal, Marie-Noël de Gary, and Évelyne Possémé. The Jewels of Jean Schlumberger. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Publisher, 2001. (English translation)
- Carpenter, Charles and Janet Zapata. The Silver of Tiffany & Co., 1850-1987. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1987.
- Dietz, Ulysses Grant, Jenna Weissman Joselit, and Kevin J. Smead. The Glitter and the Gold: Fashioning America’s Jewelry. Newark: The National Endowment for the Humanities, 1997.
- Duncan, Alastair, Martin Eidelberg, and Neil Harris. Masterworks of Louis Comfort Tiffany. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1989. Catalogue for an exhibition at the Renwick Gallery, Washington, D.C., from September 29, 1989 - March 4, 1990 and at the National Academy of Design, New York, from March 27 - July 8, 1990.
- Fashion Institute of Technology. Elsa Peretti: Fifteen of My Fifty with Tiffany. New York: Fashion Institute of Technology, 1990. Exhibition catalogue, April 24 - May 10, 1990.
- Frelinghuysen, Alice Cooney. Louis Comfort Tiffany and Laurelton Hall. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2006.
- Green, Annette and Linda Dyett. Secrets of Aromatic Jewelry. Paris: Flammarion, 1998.
- Hood, William P., with Roslyn Berlin and Edward Wawrynek. Tiffany Silver Flatware 1845-1905: When Dining was an Art. Suffolk, England: Antique Collectors Club, 1999.
- Loring, John. Tiffany Colored Gems. New York: Abrams, 2007. (Available Fall 2007)
- Loring, John. Greetings from Andy Warhol: Christmas at Tiffany's. New York: Abrams, 2004.
- Loring, John. Louis Comfort Tiffany at Tiffany & Co.. New York: Abrams, 2002.
- Loring, John. Magnificent Tiffany Silver. New York: Abrams, 2001.
- Loring, John. The New Tiffany Tablesettings. New York: Doubleday, 1981.
- Loring, John. Paulding Farnham: Tiffany's Lost Genius. New York: Abrams, 2000.
- Loring, John. A Tiffany Christmas. New York: Doubleday, 1996.
- Loring, John. Tiffany Diamonds. New York: Abrams, 2005.
- Loring, John. Tiffany in Fashion. New York: Abrams, 2003.
- Loring, John. Tiffany Flora and Fauna. New York: Abrams, 2003.
- Loring, John. The Tiffany Gourmet Cookbook. New York: Doubleday, 1992.
- Loring, John. Tiffany Jewels. New York: Abrams, 1999.
- Loring, John. Tiffany's 150 Years. New York: Doubleday, 1987.
- Loring, John. Tiffany's Palm Beach. New York: Abrams, 2005.
- Loring, John. Tiffany Parties. New York: Doubleday, 1989.
- Loring, John. Tiffany Pearls. New York: Abrams, 2006.
- Loring, John. Tiffany Taste. New York: Doubleday, 1986.
- Loring, John. Tiffany Timepieces. New York: Abrams, 2004.
- Loring, John. Tiffany's 20th Century: A Portrait of American Style. New York: Abrams, 1997.
- Loring, John. The Tiffany Wedding. New York: Doubleday, 1988.
- Newman, Harold. An Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry. London: Thames and Hudson, 1981.
- Phillips, Clare. Bejewelled by Tiffany: 1837-1987. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2006.
- Proddow, Penny and Debra Healy. American Jewelry, Glamour & Tradition. New York: Rizzoli, 1987.
- Proddow, Penny and Debra Healy. Diamonds: A Century of Spectacular Jewels. New York: Abrams, 1996.
- Purtell, Joseph. The Tiffany Touch. New York: Random House, 1971.
- Ricci, Franco Maria. Jean Schlumberger. Milan: Franco Maria Ricci, 1991.
- Schnierla, Peter and Penny Proddow. Tiffany: 150 Years of Gems and Jewelry. New York: Tiffany & Co., 1987.
- Snowman, Kenneth A. The Master Jewelers. New York: Abrams, 1990.
- Stern, Jewel. Modernism in American Silver. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005.
- Tiffany Retrospective: Designs from Tiffany and Co., 1837-1999. Tokyo and New York: APT, 1999.
- Un Diamant Dans La Ville: Jean Schlumberger 1907-1987 Bijoux - Objets. Paris: Musee des Arts decoratifs: 1995.
- Venable, Charles L. Silver in America 1840-1940: A Century of Splendor. Dallas, Texas: Dallas Museum of Art, 1994.
- Warren, David B. et al. Marks of Achievement: Four Centuries of American Presentation Silver. Houston: Museum of Fine Arts, in association with Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1987.
- Zapata, Janet. The Jewelry and Enamels of Louis Comfort Tiffany. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Publishers, 1993*.
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