Tiffany & Co. (1837-present)
Tiffany & Co. was founded in New York City, USA by Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young in 1837. Initially they set up as a stationery and fancy goods emporium and with the help of Charles Father they secured $1000 for start up from profits Chales Father made from a cotton mill. By 1837 the company operated as Tiffany, Young and Ellis from 259 Broadway in Lower Manhattan, New York. 16 years later the company changed name again shortening it to the name we all know today Tiffany & Company, it was at this time that Charles Tiffany took control and established the firms emphasis on jewellery. The first Tiffany mail order catalog which became known as the “Blue Book” was published in 1845 in the USA and is in continued production today. In 1867, Tiffany was the first U.S. firm to win an award for excellence in Silverware at the Exposition Universelle in Paris and one year later in 1868, Tiffany became an incorporated company.
Tiffany & Co Fifth Avenue in Manhattan Credit ajay_suresh
In 1870, the company built a new store building at 15 Union Square West, Manhattan, New York which was designed by John Kellum at a cost of half a million US dollars (approximately twelve million dollars today). It was described by The New York Times as a “palace of jewels” and Tiffany stayed at this site until 1906. In 1877, an insignia that would become the New York Yankees “NY” logo was struck on a police medal of honor by Tiffany. In 1909 it is believe that the New York Yankees took inspiration and created their logo from the medal. In 1878, Tiffany won the gold medal for jewellery and a grand prize for silverware at the Paris Exposition. In 1879, Tiffany purchased one of the world’s largest yellow diamonds which became known as the Tiffany Diamond, The diamond has only been worn by four people Audrey Hepburn for the promotion of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, American socialite Mrs. E. Sheldon Whitehouse and singers Lady Gaga, and Beyoncé Knowles. In 1887, Tiffany bought a number of pieces at the auction of part of the French Crown Jewels, which attracted publicity and further solidified the Tiffany brand’s association with high-quality diamonds. The company revised the Great Seal of the United States in 1885.
After the death of Tiffany pioneer Charles Lewis Tiffany in 1902 his son, Louis Comfort Tiffany became the company’s first official design director. In 1905, the Manhattan flagship store was relocated to the corner of 37th Street and Fifth Avenue, where it would remain for 35 years until 1940. In 1919, the company made a revision to the Medal of Honour on behalf of the United States Department of the Navy. It became known as the “Tiffany Cross” and the version was rare because it was awarded only for combat while the previous design was used for non-combat awards. In 1942, the Navy established the Tiffany version for non-combat heroism as well however, in August 1942 the Navy chose to stop awarding the Tiffany Cross and the two-medal system. The company went onto move its flagship store in 1940 to 727 Fifth Avenue building of which they are still located today. In 1956, legendary French designer Jean Schlumberger joined Tiffany and American visual artist Andy Warhol collaborated with the company to create Tiffany holiday cards circa 1956–1962. In 1968, Lady Bird Johnson, First Lady of the U.S. commissioned Tiffany to design a White House china-service that featured 90 flowers.
Tiffany & Co. was sold to Avon Products, Inc in November 1978 for approximately $104 million in stock. However, in a 1984 Newsweek article, the Fifth Avenue Tiffany store was likened to the Macy’s department store during a white sale, due to the high number of inexpensive items on sale. Customers began to complain about the companies declining quality and service. In August 1984, Avon sold Tiffany to an investor group led by William R. Chaney for $135.5 million in cash and in 1987 Tiffany went public again raising approximately $103.5 million from the sale of 4.5 million shares of common stock.
During the 1990-1991 recession in the United States Tiffany focused on mass merchandising and a new campaign was launched that emphasised how Tiffany could be affordable for all. The company went onto advertise that their diamond engagement rings started at a lower price of $850 and they sent advertisement fliers to 40’000 clients on “how to buy a diamond”. The advert specified that the customers could call a toll-free number specifically set up to target a wider audience. Interestingly to maintain its image as a luxury goods company, Tiffany still produced high-style images that remained on display in Tiffany stores.
On September 4, 1994, a jewellery heist at the flagship store in New York City occurred and six men stole a total of $1.9 million in jewellery. No casualties occurred during the robbery and there was no damage to the store, nearly two weeks after the robbery the six men were arrested and the jewellery was totally recovered. In 1998 Tiffany & Co. trademarked their signature light Blue colour and three years later they partnered with Pantone to standardise the colour as “1837 Blue”.
Tiffany & Co. established a foundation in the millennium year 2000 which was opened to provide grants to non-profit organisations working in the environment and arts sectors. In 2004 Tiffany & Co. tried to sue Ebay for allowing the sales of counterfeit products of which ebay were profiting, Tiffany & Co. lost the initial trial and also lost an appeal which they launched. Tiffany & Co. established a subsidiary business named Laurelton Diamonds in 2002 with the aim of owning and supplying Tiffany & Co. with a diamond supply chain. In 2009 Tiffany & Co. collaborated with Japanese mobile-phone operator SoftBank, the two companies designed a cellphone which was limited to only ten copies, each phone contained more than 400 diamonds with a total of 20 carats. Each cellphone cost more than 10 million yen ($93’600). Following their successful campaign with SoftBank in 2009 they also launched their Tiffany Key collection.
Sterling Silver Stag Head Stirrup Cup Retailed by Tiffany & Co Available in our Collection
In early July 2013 it was revealed that former Tiffany & Co. vice president Ingrid Lederhaas-Okun had been arrested and charged with stealing more than $1.3 million worth of Jewellery from the company. According to prosecutors from Manhattan, New York the official charges filed against Lederhaas-Okun accused her of “wire fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property.” In 2024 the company debuted its Tiffany T collection designed by Japanese born American designer Francesca Amfitheatrof.
In February 2017, the company sacked CEO Frédéric Cuménal after only 22 months in charge blaming a lack of sales and solid results. He was replaced on an interim basis by the company’s longtime former CEO, Michael Kowalski. Shortly before his sudden departure, Cuménal had appointed former Coach designer Reed Krakoff as the company’s new chief artistic officer. It was an unusual turn of events as Krakoff had actually no previous experience with jewellery design. However, his previous success with Coach and “deep understanding of iconic American design” led to his appointment. It was with his appointment that the company hoped it would be able to refresh brand image. In April 2017, the company launched their Tiffany HardWear collection and following in July it was announced that Bulgari veteran Alessandro Bogliolo would be taking over as CEO from Michael Kowalski. Following on from a fairly unstable year Tiffany & Co. opened the Blue Box Cafe in New York City in November. and also launched their Home & Accessories line. Within two years the company continued to develop and in March 2018 the company opened a Jewellery Design and Innovation Workshop within a newly developed 17,000-square-foot studio followed by launching their Paper Flowers Collection, designed by Reed Krakoff an American fashion designer. Following the Paper Flowers collection’s success in September they launched the line in Asia and in the same month the company debuted a new engagement ring design called the Tiffany True. In August 2019, Tiffany launched their first men’s jewellery collection developed by Reed Krakoff. In October 2019, Tiffany opened a new brand exhibition in Shanghai, China called “Vision & Virtuosity” and opened their first store in New Delhi, India on 3 February 2020.
After the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the brand announced that it was going to stop purchasing diamonds from Russia. However, it was later revealed that they continued to purchase diamonds through intermediaries which included the UAE and due to the weak US sanctions and the absence of EU sanctions on this export sector, the Russian company Alrosa (partially state-owned) continues to profit from sales. There are suggestions that the company directs part of the profits to finance the Russian army.
After some difficulty from 2019 to 2021 Tiffany & Co. was purchased by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton for $15.8 billion and the Tiffany company delisted from the New York stock exchange.