Tiffany Time: A Look at the Storied New York Maison’s Horological History
It’s been a big year for the jeweler’s timepiece division, which we thought warranted a look back at its historic watches.
By Rhonda Riche
Editor-At-Large
Founded in Manhattan in 1837 as a “stationery and fancy goods emporium,” Tiffany & Co. sold its first watch in 1847. And in 1853, the retailer installed a nine-foot bronzed statue of Atlas holding a clock above its 550 Broadway headquarters, becoming both a landmark for New Yorkers to check their watches against and a Tiffany trademark.
Time has always been on Tiffany & Co.’s side, but 2025 has been an especially accomplished year for the brand’s watches.
In general, enthusiasts have been rediscovering the horological contributions of high jewelry designers, such as Andrew Grima for Omega, so it makes sense that there is an audience for Tiffany’s recent reinterpretations of archival works for the wrist.
Just last month, Tiffany & Co. introduced the Jean Schlumberger by Tiffany Bird on a Rock Legacy – a collection of contemporary timepieces inspired by in-house designer Jean Schlumberger’s iconic Bird on a Rock brooch. To better understand Tiffany’s timekeeping future, one must examine its past.
Here are five pieces from the current collections and the heritage that informed them.
The Atlas
The Atlas clock eventually gave its name to the Atlas, a wristwatch designed in 1983 by Tiffany’s Design Director, John Loring. The defining feature of this elegant time-only piece was its hour track of polished Roman-numeral markers in high relief. The watch would go on to inspire the Atlas collection of watches and jewelry, introduced in 1995.
Thirty years later, Tiffany has just refreshed the Atlas with upgraded movements and more upscale finishes. The new Atlas collection comes in three sizes – 29mm, 34mm, and 38mm – with a Tiffany Blue dial on the smallest size and a choice of white or Tiffany Blue on the larger sizes.
The 34mm and 38mm models are powered by self-winding mechanical calibres that provide a power reserve of 50 hours. The 29mm model is kitted out with a solar movement designed in collaboration with and produced by the renowned Swiss movement manufacturer, La Joux-Perret.
It takes approximately two minutes outdoors to charge the watch sufficiently for 24 hours, or four hours under standard indoor lighting conditions
The Legacy of a Bird on a Rock
During his tenure at Tiffany & Co., Jean Schlumberger was best known for his whimsical depictions of the natural world. The most important piece in this menagerie was the Bird on a Rock brooch, introduced in 1965.
This emblematic pin originally took the form of a little bird perched atop an enormous topaz. Since then, this design has been reinterpreted with a variety of colored gemstones and is now on the dial of the Jean Schlumberger by Tiffany Bird on a Rock watch.
Invisibly attached to the outer ring of the dial, the signature avian floats freely with every gesture of the wrist. For Tiffany’s gemsetters, this ingenious display allows for endless combinations of colorful stones.
At LVMH Watch Week 2025 in January, Tiffany introduced a new interpretation of the Bird on a Rock – a 36mm full pavé diamond watch with an outer ring composed of 30 baguette-cut aquamarines.
Then, in June, the retailer unveiled a version with a white mother-of-pearl dial and a bird standing atop either an oval morganite, a cushion-cut tanzanite, or an emerald-cut aquamarine.
The Jean Schlumberger Twenty Four Stone Watch
Another exploration of Jean Schlumberger’s legacy is the Twenty Four Stone watch.
The reference to the hours in the name is a cheeky nod to the Maison’s celebrated Sixteen Stone collection from 1959 and its iconic cross-stitch motif. Limited in production, the Twenty-Four Stone watch, released in January, is presented in an 18k white gold case and set with a total of 707 diamonds, weighing over 6.5 carats in total.
Fun Fact: Schlumberger, it should be noted, was a self-taught jeweler. His family was in the textile business, so details such as tassels, ribbons, ropes, and stitches often found their way into his work.
The diamond-set watch dial is composed of two sections: a fixed central disc and an outer ring that features the Sixteen Stone collection’s signature cross-stitch motif in 18k yellow gold, set with 24 round brilliant diamonds totaling 1 carat. However, since a sense of movement is also paramount in Schlumberger’s creations, the second section of the dial is composed of an outer ring that spins as freely as a fully cut skirt. Meanwhile, its 39mm case glimmers with snow-set diamonds.
The caseback is decorated with a sunburst pattern inspired by another Jean Schlumberger signature piece, the Floral Arrows brooch, and is set with an additional 21 diamonds. The winding crown, inspired by the iconic 6-prong Tiffany Setting, is set with a solitaire diamond of 0.47 carats. The Tiffany Blue alligator strap is fastened with a white gold T-buckle set with 49 round brilliant diamonds.
The Jean Schlumberger by Tiffany Twenty Four Stone watch is powered by a Swiss-made self-winding mechanical movement, Calibre LTM 2100, which provides a 38-hour power reserve.
The Eternity by Tiffany Wisteria Watch
During LVMH Watch 2025, Tiffany paid tribute to its unforgettable Tiffany lamps of the early 20th century with the Eternity by Tiffany Wisteria watch. Tiffany & Co. was one of the first brands to combine fine jewelry with watchmaking. And now it adds the aesthetic of these Art Nouveau icons to its skill set.
The Eternity by Tiffany family itself takes its inspiration from 1960s-era Tiffany & Co. advertisements for engagement rings, so naturally, diamonds play a central role in the collection.
Set with the Eternity collection’s signature diamond hour markers, the sumptuously colored enamel dial of the Eternity by Tiffany Wisteria watch replicates the floral motif of the Wisteria lamp, one of Tiffany Studios’ most celebrated designs from the early 20th century.
To capture the cascading colors of the lamps, Tiffany’s artisans employ both glowing with gemstones but also plique-à-jour enameling. This ancient technique involves the suspension of transparent enamel within small metal openings, which, in turn, allow light to permeate through and reflect off the dial plate. The hand-crafted dials mean each watch is distinctly one of a kind.
Making the watch even more special is that each hour marker is represented by a differently cut diamond: round brilliant, baguette, cushion, Tiffany True, marquise, Asscher, heart, pear, oval, emerald, triangle, and princess. The various cuts of diamonds celebrate Tiffany’s authority and heritage as the purveyor of the world’s finest diamonds.
The limited-production watch features 709 total diamonds, totaling over 5 carats. Most of the diamonds are on the 38mm white gold case, which sparkles with 627 snow-set diamonds in eight different diameters totaling over 1 carat. Even the crown is iced out with a brilliant diamond inspired by Tiffany’s trademarked engagement ring setting.
As ethereal as it looks, the Wisteria is powered by a trusty LTM 2100 Swiss-manufactured automatic movement, with an acceptable power reserve of 38 hours and a water resistance of 3 ATM.
The Carat 128 Collection
Perhaps the most audacious of Tiffany’s High Jewelry watches, the Carat 128 is named after the legendary Tiffany Diamond, a 128.54-carat cushion-shaped fancy yellow diamond of extraordinary fire and beauty.
The Carat 128 collection is distinguished by its cushion-shaped case, which is faceted on the front, echoing the form of the diamond that inspired it and creating a distinctive geometric silhouette.
The collection is made up of three timepieces: the Carat 128 Facet, distinguished by diamond-set cases and dials presented in white or yellow gold and set on a Tiffany Blue alligator or a black brushed calfskin strap, and the Carat 128 High Jewelry, a series of unique and very limited-production pieces with fully gem-set bracelets.
A member of the final category of timepieces, we have been obsessed with the Carat 128 aquamarine high jewelry watch since we first saw it at LVMH Watch Week in January. This unique piece features a crystal comprised of a single diamond-cut aquamarine of 35.23 carats set in a 27mm, diamond-set, 18k white gold case with 897 diamonds, totaling over 29 carats, set on its case and five-row bracelet.
The dial is snow-set with 382 diamonds in five sizes, totaling 1.2 carats, and the case is snow-set with 255 diamonds, also in five different sizes, totaling 0.7 carats. Artisans set the 18k white gold crown with nine round brilliant diamonds.
The design of the diamond bracelet draws inspiration from the emblematic Tiffany engagement ring and its distinctive six-prong design. Artisans set the five-row bracelet with 251 brilliant diamonds of 28 total carats in three different diameters.
The 60 largest of these diamonds – weighing a total of 20 carats, with each stone individually registered with its own serial number – are set in the six-pronged Tiffany Setting, a design that maximizes the amount of light that can pass through the diamond, thereby enhancing its scintillation. The diamond setting of the watch and bracelet represents more than 315 hours of meticulous work.
To learn more about the jeweler’s collection of watches, check out the Tiffany & Co. website.