The new partner's capital enabled Young to go to Paris as a buyer, and he later established a branch store there. When the French monarchy was overthrown in , Young purchased some of the crown jewels and also a bejeweled corset reputed to belong to Marie Antoinette.
A shrewd publicist, Tiffany was quick to exploit this coup. He teamed up with P. Barnum, to their mutual profit, on a number of ventures and presented a gem-studded miniature silver-filigree horse and carriage as a wedding present to Tom Thumb and his bride.
He introduced sterling silver to the United States in , a year after contracting John C. Moore to produce silverware exclusively for the company. During the Civil War, the company was an emporium for military supplies, producing swords and importing rifles and ammunition.
During the Gilded Age that followed, its main problem was finding enough jewelry to satisfy overwhelming customer demand. By then it also had established dominance in the American silverware market. Also in that year, Moore's workshop became part of the firm. The store, which had been inching uptown with the city itself, moved into a newly constructed, company-owned building adjoining Union Square in Tiffany's prestige reached a new level when the company won the gold medal for jewelry and grand prize for silverware at the Paris Exposition in Soon it was serving as a jeweler, goldsmith, and silversmith to most of the crowned heads of Europe.
Its real clientele, however, came from the burgeoning ranks of America's wealthy, many with far more cash than taste. Tiffany accommodated them all, no matter how ostentatious or whimsical their desires. The height or depth of vulgarity was reached when Diamond Jim Brady ordered, and Tiffany duly produced, a solid gold chamber pot for Lillian Russell, with an eye peering up in the center of the bottom.
Among these was the largest flawless and perfectly colored canary diamond ever mined. This In a factory was established in New Jersey in Forest Hill, which was later annexed by Newark, for the manufacture of silverware, stationery, and leather goods. He was the only Tiffany to run the company.
Louis Comfort Tiffany, his eldest son to survive childhood, was an accomplished artist who sometimes made jewelry for Tiffany but was best known for his Art Nouveau stained glass windows and lamps.
In the store had moved into quarters at Fifth Avenue and 37th Street designed by Stanford White in the form of a Venetian palazzo, and two years later John C. Moore, great-grandson of the silversmith, became president. This figure was seldom if ever matched during the s, but profits remained high and dividends rose steadily. Even the rich cut back on luxury goods after the stock market crash.
There were staff layoffs in , , , , and It was the first completely air-conditioned building in New York. Louis de B. Moore succeeded his father as president in that year.
It made precision parts for anti-aircraft guns which it made again during the Korean War and fitting blocks for airplanes. Conservative management and outdated styles were blamed by restive shareholders. One of these was Harry Maidman, a realtor attracted mainly by Tiffany's long-term lease to the land under its prime-location building. He quietly bought up at least 30 percent of the stock. Denied a seat on the board of directors, Maidman sold his shares in to the Bulova Watch Co.
To prevent Bulova from taking control, Tiffany heirs and close associates sold Hoving Corp. Walter Hoving, who soon became chairman and chief executive officer of Tiffany, had to report to the General Shoe Corp. He did not win firm control of the store until , when he assembled a group of investors that bought out Genesco and Bulova.
Nevertheless, Hoving immediately put his stamp on Tiffany by conducting the first bargain sale in the firm's history to clear out merchandise he considered gaudy or vulgar. He dropped diamond rings for men for that reason and discontinued leather goods, antiques, silver plate, brass, and pewter as not worthy of Tiffany's attention.
Hoving recruited a galaxy of stars to create a new standard of quality for Tiffany's products. Jean Schlumberger was hired to design its finest and most expensive jewelry.
Henry Platt expanded the jewelry workshop's staff from eight to sixty, and later enlisted Elsa Peretti, Angela Cummings, and Paloma Picasso to create jewelry exclusively for Tiffany. Van Day Treux, the new design director, revived vermeil gold-plated sterling silver and old patterns of silver flatware and commissioned new china. Gene Moore, put to work dressing the store's windows, spent nearly 40 years creating striking and often provocative displays. By the early s a third of the store's patrons were living miles or more away.
One of the firm's many longtime sales clerks said, "It's gotten so there are customers here whose names I don't even know. The balance sheet reflected Tiffany's turnaround. That year about 65 percent of Tiffany's volume came from jewelry, 18 percent from silver, 14 percent from china and glassware, and the remaining 3 percent from stationery engraved, not printed and specialty items.
The company made all its diamond jewelry and a small part of its gold jewelry in the Fifth Avenue store itself. Virtually all of it was designed by the staff. Nearly all of its sterling silver carried by franchised dealers as well as Tiffany stores also was staff-designed, and 85 percent was being manufactured in the Newark plant. China and glassware were being made to company specifications.
Tiffany's catalog free until was the first major catalog entirely in color. Business continued to grow in the s.
Hoving remained chairman and chief executive officer until the end of , when he retired. But its ratio of operating profits to revenue fell from A Newsweek article noted that the Fifth Avenue store had stocked so many inexpensive items that it began looking like Macy's during a white sale, and that customers had complained about declining quality and service.
It sought to reassure the affluent but socially insecure patron that Tiffany's taste remained "safe. Wool and silk scarves were introduced the same year, shortly after neckties had been added, and the company's line of handbags, evening purses, wallets, and briefcases expanded. A London store was reintroduced in and stores in Munich and Zurich opened in and , respectively. All but one piece sold. Paradoxically, perhaps, but profitably, Tiffany's emphasis on luxury drew in the masses; as many as 25, people visited the store on a Saturday during the holiday season.
Tiffany's catalog mailings reached 15 million in These publications were seen as a powerful sales and image tools for the stores as well as a source of profit in themselves.
The company's direct-marketing effort also included business-to-business sales, which included a corporate gift catalog each year. In , Tiffany began publishing the Blue Book, a catalog of the company's most ornate gems and silver. The Blue Book was the first catalog to be distributed across the country and is the origin of Tiffany's signature blue branding.
In , Tiffany introduced the concept of the modern diamond engagement ring. Another Vogue model shows off the Tiffany engagement ring. By the early s, Tiffany was already beloved among politicians and celebrities alike. Over the next few decades, Tiffany established itself as the "world's diamond authority," thanks to its introducing shoppers to precious gems from around the world. The Fifth Avenue store became a go-to destination in Manhattan.
Tiffany soon became synonymous with the nation's most fashionable women, including famed magazine columnist and editor Diana Vreeland. Before long, you couldn't even crack open a magazine without seeing models draped in Tiffany jewelry.
Tiffany was everywhere, from the pages of Glamour magazine Kennedy following the birth of their son. To commemorate the start of filming, Henry B. True to its title, "Breakfast at Tiffany's" features several scenes both inside and outside of the store. It has created the trophy every year since. The next two decades ushered in a wave of fresh designers who each brought their unique flare to jewelry design, including Jean Schlumberger.
Elsa Peretti joined in the s, bringing "design with an elegant simplicity based on natural forms. Paloma Picasso, the youngest daughter of Pablo Picasso, came to Tiffany in the s and was best known for bold, flashy pieces. In the s, Tiffany began to expand into new product areas, including fragrances. During the s and leading into the new millennium, Tiffany continued to hold a prominent role in popular culture and American history. In the s, Tiffany continued to be a staple among fashion's elite, including Vogue editor Anna Wintour.
It also retained its prominence in Hollywood. In the modern era, Tiffany has also experimented with new forms of retail, including adding cafes to select stores. Additionally, Tiffany has brought on fresh Hollywood faces to rep the brand, including Elle Fanning.
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