Tiffany & Co. is one of the most prominent purveyors of luxury goods in the United States, and has long been an important arbiter of style in the design of diamond engagement rings. A young Franklin Delano Roosevelt proposed to his future wife, Eleanor, with a Tiffany ring in 1904. Vanderbilts, Whitneys, Astors and members of the Russian imperial family all wore Tiffany & Co. jewelry. And Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis preferred Tiffany china for state dinners at the White House.
Although synonymous with luxury today, the firm started out rather modestly. Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young founded it in Connecticut as a “stationery and fancy goods emporium” in 1837, at a time when European imports still dominated the nascent American luxury market. In 1853, Charles Tiffany — who in 1845 had launched the company’s famed catalog, the Blue Book, and with it, the firm’s signature robin’s-egg blue, which he chose for the cover — shifted the focus to fine jewelry.
In 1868, Tiffany & Co. gained international recognition when it became the first U.S. firm to win an award for excellence in silverware at the Exposition Universelle in Paris. From then on, it belonged to the pantheon of American luxury brands.
At the start of the Gilded Age, in 1870, Tiffany & Co. opened its flagship store, described as a "palace of jewels" by the New York Times, at 15 Union Square West in Manhattan. Throughout this period, its designs for silver tableware, ceremonial silver, flatware and jewelry were highly sought-after indicators of status and taste. They also won the firm numerous accolades, including the grand prize for silverware at the Paris Exposition of 1878. Among the firm’s glittering creations from this time are masterworks of Art Nouveau jewelry, such as this delicate aquamarine necklace and this lavish plique-à-jour peridot and gold necklace, both circa 1900.
When Charles Lewis Tiffany died, in 1902, his son Louis Comfort Tiffany became the firm’s design director. Under his leadership, the Tiffany silver studio was a de facto design school for apprentice silversmiths, who worked alongside head artisan Edward C. Moore. The firm produced distinctive objects inspired by Japanese art and design, North American plants and flowers, and Native American patterns and crafts, adding aesthetic diversity to Tiffany & Co.’s distinguished repertoire.
Tiffany is also closely associated with diamonds, even lending its name to one particularly rare and exceptional yellow stone. The firm bought the Tiffany diamond in its raw state from the Kimberley mines of South Africa in 1878. Cut to create a 128.54-carat gem with an unprecedented 82 facets, it is one of the most spectacular examples of a yellow diamond in the world.
In a broader sense, Tiffany & Co. helped put diamonds on the map in 1886 by introducing the American marketplace to the solitaire diamond design, which is still among the most popular engagement-ring styles. The trademark Tiffany® Setting raises the stone above the band on six prongs, allowing its facets to catch the light. A lovely recent example is this circa-2000 platinum engagement ring. Displaying a different design and aesthetic (but equally chic) is this exquisite diamond and ruby ring from the 1930s.
Find Tiffany & Co. jewelry, serveware and decorative objects for sale on 1stDibs.
Olympian, Tiffany & Co. Sterling Silver Flatware Set 12 Service 53 Pieces Dinner
By Tiffany & Co.
Located in Big Bend, WI
Superb Olympian by Tiffany & Co. sterling silver flatware set, 53 pieces. This set includes: 12 large dinner size knives with stainless blunt blades, 10 1/4" 12 dinner size forks, 7...
Sterling Silver
Olympian by Tiffany and Co Sterling Silver Flatware Set 12 Service 252 Pc Dinner
By Tiffany & Co.
Located in Big Bend, WI
The incredible multi-motif Olympian pattern, which was introduced by Tiffany & Co. in 1878, is the most elaborate and complex of all Tiffany flatware designs. Each piece of Olympian ...
Sterling Silver
Olympian by Tiffany and Co Sterling Silver Flatware Set 12 Service, 74 pieces
By Tiffany & Co.
Located in Big Bend, WI
The incredible multi-motif Olympian pattern, which was introduced by Tiffany & Co. in 1878, is the most elaborate and complex of all Tiffany flatware designs. Each piece of Olympian ...
Sterling Silver
Olympian by Tiffany and Co Sterling Silver Flatware Set 12 Service 139 pc Dinner
By Tiffany & Co.
Located in Big Bend, WI
The incredible multi-motif Olympian pattern, which was introduced by Tiffany & Co. in 1878, is the most elaborate and complex of all Tiffany flatware designs. Each piece of Olympian ...
Sterling Silver
Castilian by Tiffany and Co. Sterling Silver Flatware Service 8 Set 59 pc Dinner
By Tiffany & Co.
Located in Big Bend, WI
Designed with an eye for balance and proportion, each piece of Tiffany & Co. flatware is a masterpiece of form and function. It is heavy, well balanced, and has wonderful, Colonial s...
Sterling Silver
Castilian by Tiffany and Co. Sterling Silver Flatware Service 8 Set 69 Pc Dinner
By Tiffany & Co.
Located in Big Bend, WI
Designed with an eye for balance and proportion, each piece of Tiffany & Co. flatware is a masterpiece of form and function. It is heavy, well balanced, and has wonderful, Colonial s...
Sterling Silver
Antique Tiffany Renaissance Sterling Silver Dinner Set for 12
By Tiffany & Co., Paulding Farnham.
Located in New York, NY
Renaissance sterling silver dinner set. Made by Tiffany & Co. in New York, ca 1910. This set comprises 156 pieces (dimensions in inches): Forks: 12 dinner forks (8), 12 salad fo...
Sterling Silver
Tiffany & Co. Sterling Silver 98-Piece Flatware Set in English King Pattern
By Tiffany & Co.
Located in New York, NY
Tiffany & Co. sterling silver flatware set in the celebrated English King pattern, adorned with shells and other motifs, consisting of: 8 dinner knives with French blades measur...
Silver, Sterling Silver
Victorian Sterling Silver Flatware Set for Ten by Charles Boyton II
By Charles Boyton II
Located in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne
An execptional, fine and impressive antique Victorian English straight sterling silver King's pattern flatware service for ten persons; an addition to our canteen of cutlery collection The pieces of this fine, antique Victorian straight* sterling silver cutlery service for ten persons have been crafted in King's pattern. The anterior surface of each piece incorporates the engraved initials 'HCD'. The reverse of each spoon and fork features a union shell and diamond heel in addition to convex shell ornamentation to the terminal. This Kings pattern cutlery service consists of 40 pieces: 10 Table forks 10 Dessert forks 10 Dessert spoons 10 Teaspoons The components of this antique service have been crafted by the collectable, renowned silversmith Charles Boyton II in 1868; the components will have been crafted in the same year but due to the hallmarking system the items are struck with the date letters m and n. This flatware service can be purchased with King's pattern knives if desired; for further information please contact Andrew Campbell directly. This impressive Kings pattern cutlery is supplied in felt cutlery rolls; which not only protect the items in storage but significantly reduces tarnishing. * "Straight" means all the pieces are made by the same maker in the same year. Condition This antique cutlery...
Sterling Silver
Victorian Sterling Silver Flatware Set by Mappin Brothers
By Mappin Brothers
Located in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne
An exceptional, fine and impressive antique Victorian sterling silver flatware service for twelve persons; an addition to our diverse silver cutlery collection. The pieces of this exceptional antique Victorian sterling silver flatware service for twelve persons have been crafted in an Empire Revival style pattern. The anterior surface of each handle is embellished with a ribbon tied floral tassel terminating with a crossed torch of love and a quiver of arrows. The posterior surface is ornamented with a tied laurel wreath bordered vacant cartouche below a foliate decorated pensile drop. The surfaces of each piece further incorporate a textured finish, with scrolling leaf decorated terminals, a quatrefoil foliate rosette to the stem and a waisted bead bordered knop to the upper portion. Each spoon and fork is further embellished to the reverse with an impressive leaf decorated heel to the bowl and drop. This impressive straight* service consists of 73 pieces: Basic Service 12 Table forks 12 Table spoons 12 Dessert forks 12 Dessert spoons 12 Teaspoons 6 Coffee spoons Additional Pieces Gravy spoon Serving knife 4 Salt spoon Mustard spoon Each item of this impressive and very rare Victorian silver canteen has been crafted by the renowned silversmiths Mappin Brothers in 1899. The anterior surface of each coffee, salt and mustard spoon retains the original gilding to the bowls. This flatware service can be purchased with knives if so desired, due to the rarity of the pattern matching knives are not available but an alternative pattern can be arranged; for further information please contact Andrew Campbell directly. This antique sterling silver cutlery set...
Sterling Silver
Gorham Sterling Silver Thirty-Six Piece Part Flatware Service
By Gorham
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Gorham Sterling Silver Thirty-Six Piece Part Flatware Service Marked, in the Etruscan Pattern, most monogramed with a Y. Comprising, seven dinner forks, eight salad forks, twelve bu...
Silver
Edwardian "Regent" 16 piece Fork/Knife Silver Plate Silverware Set by Gorham
Located in Van Nuys, CA
The Regent pattern is known for its elegant and classic design, often featuring intricate detailing that reflects the refinement and sophistication characteristic of Gorham’s craftsm...
Silver Plate
The actress and Benny Blanco tied the knot with style in Santa Barbara over the weekend.
Diamonds and sapphires still played a starring role, but less popular stones popped up too.
