Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany & Co. is arguably one of the most recognizable jewelry brands in America and beyond. In 1837, Charles Louis Tiffany and Teddy Young opened a small fancy goods store in New York City called Tiffany, Young and Ellis which quickly became a meeting ground for magnates, socialites and heads of state. Charles Tiffany took control in 1853 and, in 1878, he acquired a 287-carat fancy yellow rough diamond that he cut to 128.54 carats and named the Tiffany Diamond. In 1886, Tiffany introduced the Tiffany Setting diamond ring, a brilliant solitaire on a simple platinum band. (The U.S. would later adopt Tiffanys standards for platinum purity, or 95 percent, as the national standard). By 1887, Tiffany had acquired pieces from the French Crown Jewels which solidified a prominent position for Tiffany & Co. in the jewelry market, and Charles Tiffany himself was dubbed the king of diamonds. In the 1890s, Georg Kunz traveled far and wide to acquire rare gemstones, and Tiffany was a pioneer in bringing new gemstones to market. By the 1900s, Louis Comfort Tiffany, son of Charles, becomes the first official design director, and is widely considered one of the masters of the Art Nouveau style. Jean Schlumberger joined the company as designer in 1956, paving the way for a long line of designers who would collaborate with the house, including Elsa Peretti, Angela Cummings, and Paloma Picasso.