About Tiffany

Tiffany is a world-famous jewelry brand that is known as one of the world's top five jewelers, along with Cartier, Bvlgari, Harry Winston, and Van Cleef & Arbel.
Currently, it has become a global brand with over 200 stores in 20 countries around the world, not just in the United States.

Founded in 1837, it is one of the oldest brands in the United States, and has been loved by important people and celebrities such as presidents, and has had a major influence on American history.

In addition to jewelry, the store carries a wide range of products such as silver cutlery, watches, leather products, and miscellaneous goods, and its price range ranges from relatively affordable silver necklaces to high-end jewelry individually handmade by top craftsmen.

The Beginning

Tiffany was founded in 1837 as Tiffany & Young by Charles Lewis Tiffany and John Burnett Young, who were both 25 years old at the time.
The first store was located at 259 Broadway in New York, and initially sold stationery and decorative items rather than jewelry.
Instead of selling at market price, which was common at the time, he stuck to the revolutionary style of attaching price tags to his items and not accepting any price negotiations.

In 1843, the company began selling jewelry imported from Europe, and in 1845 it published the first mail-order catalog in the United States, the Blue Book.
This later became the famous "Tiffany Blue" as the Tiffany brand color.
Following the February Revolution that occurred in France in 1848, the company succeeded in purchasing precious gems from the French royal family and aristocrats who were in exile, and began to fully engage in the sale of diamond jewelry.
This business was so successful that Charles Tiffany became known as the "King of Diamonds" and established himself as America's leading luxury jeweler.

Around 1847, the company began selling watches, and signed a contract with Patek Philippe, the world's leading luxury watch manufacturer, becoming its first retailer in the United States.
The company later opened a watch factory in Geneva, Switzerland and began manufacturing its own watches.
In 1878, Tiffany sold its watch movement factory to Patek Philippe, but Patek Philippe movements continue to be used in many of its watches.
The ties between Tiffany and Patek Philippe go back a long way, and Patek Philippe is still the only brand that allows the two brands to share the same name.

In 1851, the company acquired the business of New York silversmith John C. Moore and began manufacturing and selling silver products.
They were the first American company to use the same sterling silver (925/1000) as the British, which would later be adopted as the official US standard.
In 1867, Tiffany's silverware became the first American company to win an award at the Universal Exhibition in Paris.
Furthermore, in 1878, he won the Grand Prix in the silverware category at the Paris World's Fair, and also won a gold medal in the jewelry category, dramatically improving the quality of American silverware and jewelry, which was lagging behind Europe, and making it known to the world.

Thanks to the skills of Charles Lewis Tiffany, the company quickly achieved success in the jewelry, watch, and silverware businesses and became one of America's top brands.

Towards a global brand

In 1885, Tiffany designed the new coat of arms of the United States, which still appears on the American one dollar bill today.
He has also played an important role in the American sports world, designing the trophies for famous American sporting competitions such as the NFL Super Bowl, WBC, and US Open.
Many past presidents and John F. Kennedy's First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy, were fans of Tiffany jewelry, and the brand went beyond being just a jewelry brand to become a company brand rooted in American history.

In 1886, Charles Lewis Tiffany introduced the "Tiffany Setting," a design in which a diamond is held in place by six prongs, which has come to represent the modern engagement ring.
Even after Charles Lewis Tiffany passed away in 1902, jewelry designed by top jewelry designers of each era, such as his son Louis Comfort Tiffany, Jean-June Jurnberger, Elsa Beretti, and Paloma Picasso, has continued to fascinate celebrities around the world.

In 1940, the company moved its flagship store to its current location on Fifth Avenue in New York.
Through the popularity of the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's" starring Audrey Hepburn, released in 1961, the name Tiffany became known around the world.
The flagship store on 5th Avenue in New York has appeared in movies and has become a tourist attraction in New York.

the current

Tiffany has reigned as an independent brand as one of America's leading luxury brands for over 180 years, but at the end of 2019, LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy), the world's largest brand conglomerate that also owns Louis Vuitton, announced a major acquisition of the company for $14.5 billion.
The amount eventually rose to $16.2 billion and the contract was signed.

It is unclear at this point what position Tiffany will have within LVMH in the future, but the acquisition has not reduced Tiffany's brand value.
As global brand conglomerates such as LVMH, Kering, and Richemont are being restructured, it is expected that Asics will play a major role within LVMH as a leading American luxury brand.

summary

Tiffany is sometimes viewed as inferior to other high-end brands in Japan, due in part to the fact that its affordable open heart necklaces were all the rage during the bubble period.
This is the result of a strategy to offer a wide range of products to suit each stage of life, such as spoons for babies, first jewellery for teenagers, engagement rings and eternity rings.
It is a national brand that is deeply rooted in American history, and has had a major influence on American history not only through its jewelry but also through its silverware, watches, and more.