Tiffany & Co. celebrates the sea with Blue Book jewels
The Blue Book began life as an annual publication to showcase the world’s most spectacular jewels, which has been arriving at customers’ homes since 1845, when the American founder Charles Lewis Tiffany (1812–1902) designed it as a personal communication service to his loyal customers
Earlier editions of Blue Book included French and Spanish Crown Jewels remounted in Tiffany settings, marking the first appearance of important diamonds within the United States, and a remarkable array of jewels that won gold medals at the great world fairs of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Blue Book archive forms a detailed chronology of the jeweller’s role in the evolution of American jewellery design, as well as Mr Tiffany’s personal reputation for trading in luxury items that feature the most beautiful diamonds on earth.
One of the most noteworthy editions was the publication of 2009–2010, which featured the Jean Schlumberger’s Ribbon Rosette necklace that was mounted with the 128.54 carat Tiffany Diamond to promote the 1961 famed film ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’. Schlumberger’s necklace was also worn by Gloria Vanderbilt in an iconic Richard Avedon photograph in Harper’s Bazaar. Other notable Red Carpet jewels featured in the Blue Book 2010–2011 edition, include the Tiffany Radiance necklace with rare yellow diamonds, which was worn by Academy Award® winner Kate Winslet at the 2010 Oscars®; and the lavish diamond necklace from the Blue Book 2013 edition that Anne Hathaway wore when she accepted her Oscar® that same year.
Today the Blue Book publication features glossy images of the brand’s latest creations, crafted in the vibrant robin-egg blue hue that is famed for gracing the presentation box of each jewellery piece. Tiffany & Co. masterpieces are deemed as an international symbol of style and sophistication, which can be seen decorating the majority of Hollywood celebrity’s bodies particularly when it’s time to walk the famed Red Carpet.
The latest Blue Book 2015 edition maintains the precedent of unparalleled sophistication, elegance and beauty with a collection inspired by “The Art of the Sea.” Design Director, Francesca Amfitheatrof, sets Tiffany diamonds in electrifying motion, allowing them to spin in whirlpools, cascade in waterfalls and dance like moonlight on the waves. Jewellery crafted from colourful gemstones is equally dynamic, blossoming in undersea gardens and swirling like pebbles polished by sharp wind and water. This magnificent celebration of the sea was debuted at a gala in New York in April 2015, and saw friends of the brand and members of the press come together to celebrate the new theme of the year.
Francesca Amfitheatrof voiced her enthusiasm for combining audacious styles with the sea’s boundless energy, “Our Blue Book jewellery honours the sea as the source of life and acknowledges the many ways we are inexorably linked to the natural world.” Her dazzling tribute to the sea and its beauty also reflects the mission of the Tiffany & Co. Foundation to support coral conservation and safeguard marine ecosystems, as well as the company’s commitment to responsible sourcing of diamonds and precious metals.
The jeweller’s coloured diamonds are renowned for the highest standards of clarity and saturation. The pebble ring from the Blue Book collection is striking for its blue diamonds that total over four hundred. Each stone is hand-cut and set in a curvaceous mounting that reflects the sea’s power to sculpt stones over millennia. Other rings include a 3.03 carat Fancy Intense Blue diamond that beckons like a tropical island; blue-green diamonds that blend the colours of sea and sky; and yellow diamonds that sparkle like sunlight on cool water. Amfitheatrof’s fantastic undersea world also feature a variety of pearls; South Sea white, golden and Tahitian cultured pearls serve to exemplify Tiffany’s reputation for the most exotic and beautiful gems on earth. Matched for size and colour, these shimmering spheres are assembled in luxurious strands and are suspended from 18 karat gold bracelets with diamonds undulating like the ocean’s currents.
