Please enjoy close-up shots of the most antique historic and iconic jewelry artworks as seen at the amazing Tokyo Exhibition! The jewellery brand Tiffany & Co. dates back to 1837, when young entrepreneur Charles Lewis Tiffany set up a small shop in New York City with his friend and business partner, John Young. Almost two centuries later, Tiffany & Co. is one of the world's top luxury jewellery brands, with an estimated net worth of £4.25 billion.
With its headquarters located on prestigious Fifth Avenue, in New York City, Tiffany & Co's flagship store sells luxury jewellery, crystal, china, fragrances, watches, leather goods, accessories and more.
Since its founding, Tiffany & Co. has been at the forefront of the world's greatest design movements, epitomising style and elegance. The key to its continued success is the brand's choice of designers, including Paloma Picasso, Elsa Peretti, Frank Gehry and Jean Schlumberger.
Born in Killingly, Connecticut, in 1812, Charles Tiffany worked at his father's small general store from the age of 15. His father also owned a cotton mill, where Charles worked in the office to hone his business skills.
Borrowing £760 from his father, Charles and his school friend, John Young, set up their own gift and stationery retail store on Broadway in New York City in 1837. They didn't get off to a great start, making only £3.35 in their first three days' trading.
Undeterred, they worked hard to keep the business afloat, expanding into porcelain, glassware, jewellery, clocks and cutlery by 1839. The business's growth continued throughout the 1840s, investing heavily in diamonds and later selling them at a huge profit.
It wasn't long before Tiffany's became popular among the fashionable 19th-century elite. Elegant ladies searching for opulent jewels frequented the store. Tiffany & Co. expanded into Europe, opening stores in Paris in 1850 and London in 1868. They also relocated to prestigious Fifth Avenue.
Breakfast at Tiffany's
The flagship store, located in a ten-storey retail building, is pivotal to the plot of the iconic 1961 romantic comedy, Breakfast at Tiffany's, starring Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard. The film starts with Hepburn's character, whimsical Holly Golightly, gazing at the beautiful jewellery in Tiffany's window.
The publicity photographs for the movie featured a unique diamond necklace, created by Tiffany's with the amazing Tiffany Diamond. It dated from 1878 and came from South Africa's Kimberley diamond mines.
The 287.42-carat rough yellow diamond was cut into a 128.54-carat polished gem, with 82 facets, maximising its sparkle. It was set into a necklace worn by Hepburn to publicise Breakfast at Tiffany's, a huge box office hit globally.
