Tiffany & Co. (colloquially known as Tiffany's)[1] is an American luxury jewelry and specialty design house owned by the French conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, and headquartered on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.[2][3] Tiffany is known for its luxury goods, particularly its sterling silver and diamond jewelry.[4] These goods are sold at Tiffany stores, online, and through corporate merchandising. Its name and branding are licensed to Coty for fragrances[5] and to the Franco-Italian company EssilorLuxottica for eyewear.[6]
Tiffany & Co. was founded in 1837 by the jeweler Charles Lewis Tiffany and became famous in the early 20th century under the artistic direction of his son Louis Comfort Tiffany. In 2018, net sales totaled US$4.44 billion.[7][8] As of 2023, Tiffany operated over 300 stores globally, in many countries including the United States, Japan, and Canada, as well as Europe, Latin America, and the collective Asia-Pacific region, and is exploring opportunities in Africa.[1] The company's product line features fine jewelry, sterling silver, watches, porcelain, crystal, stationery, haute couture fragrance and personal accessories, and leather goods.[9]
On January 7, 2021, French conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton acquired a majority stake in Tiffany & Co. for US$15.8 billion[10] and delisted Tiffany's stock from the New York Stock Exchange. It remains headquartered in New York City.
History
Establishment
Tiffany & Co. was founded in 1837 by Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young,[11] in New York City, as a "stationery and fancy goods emporium", with the help of Charles Tiffany's father, who financed the store for only $1,000 with profits from a cotton mill.[12] The store initially sold a wide variety of stationery items and, as of 1837, operated as "Tiffany, Young and Ellis" at 259 Broadway in Lower Manhattan.[13] The name was shortened to Tiffany & Company in 1853, when Charles Tiffany took control and established the firm's emphasis on jewelry.[14] The company has since opened stores in major cities worldwide. Unlike other stores at the time in the 1830s, Tiffany marked the prices on its goods to prevent any haggling over prices.
Stores
Since 1940, Tiffany's flagship store has operated at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City. The polished granite exterior is well known for its window displays, and 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. Beginning in 2019, the store underwent an extensive renovation, concluding in 2023 and reopening to the public on April 27. The project was designed by American architect Peter Marino.[74]
The former Tiffany and Company Building on 37th Street is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.[75]
When it opened in 1990, the Tiffany & Co. store at Fairfax Square in Tysons Corner, Virginia, became the largest store outside of New York City, with 14500 sqft of retail space.[76]
Advertising
After the initial publication of the "Blue Book" Tiffany catalog in 1845, Tiffany continued to use its catalog as part of its advertisement strategy. The Tiffany catalog, one of the first catalogs printed in full color, remained free until 1972. Tiffany's mail-order catalogs reached 15 million people in 1994. Tiffany also produces a corporate-gift catalog each year. As of 2013 Tiffany still produces a catalog for subscribers, but its advertisement strategy no longer focuses primarily on its catalog.[4]
In addition to the mail-order catalog, Tiffany displays its advertisements in many locations, including at bus stops, in magazines and newspapers, and online.[87] In January 2015, Tiffany launched its first ever same-sex couple campaign.
In 2017, Tiffany partnered with American pop star Lady Gaga for an ad campaign promoting the company's HardWear collection.[88] The announcement came as a Super Bowl ad prior to Lady Gaga's Super Bowl LI halftime show performance.[89]
Products
Diamonds
Tiffany is known for its luxury goods, particularly its diamond and sterling silver jewelry.[97][98][99][100]
George Frederick Kunz (1856–1932), a Tiffany gemologist, became instrumental in the international adoption of the metric carat as a weight standard for gems. The Tiffany Yellow Diamond (128.54 carat) is usually on display in the New York City flagship store.[101]
In 1886, founder Charles Tiffany conceived of the Tiffany Setting ring design, in which six prongs hold the diamond off of the band, in order to better accentuate the diamond.
Sports awards
Tiffany & Co is the maker of the Vince Lombardi Trophy, made for the winner of the NFL team that wins the Super Bowl that year.[111]
Since 1977, Tiffany & Co. has manufactured Larry O' Brien Trophy, the trophy that is given to the winner of the NBA Finals.
Tiffany makes and designed the World Baseball Classic Trophy, and Commissioner's Trophy trophy each year, given to the winner of the World Series. Tiffany & Co made the 2010 and 2012 World Series rings for the San Francisco Giants.[112]
Since 1987, Tiffany silversmiths have crafted the US Open trophies for the United States Tennis Association.[113]
Tiffany & Co. makes the PGA Tour FedEx Cup
In popular culture
The retailer has been mentioned in various works, most notably in the title of the 1958 Truman Capote novella Breakfast at Tiffany's, adapted as the 1961 film starring Audrey Hepburn.[119]
Gallery
See also
- Art Nouveau glass art
- Yeojin Bae
- Clara Driscoll (Tiffany glass designer)
- Walter Hoving
- John Loring (designer)
- Camille Le Tallec
- Tiffany glass
- Tiffany lamp
External links
References
- US SEC: Form 10-K Tiffany & Co. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, March 20, 2020, retrieved December 5, 2024^
- Dana Rubinstein. Tiffany & Co. To Relocate Headquarters to Flatiron District The New York Observer, April 29, 2010, retrieved February 8, 2021^
- Tiffany & Co.