Tiffany & Co: incorporating principles from the 1980s to 2015

For almost a century – from its foundation in 1837 to the 1930s – Tiffany sold its own watches (movements and cases and later on only cases) as well as selected horological products by leading brands. However, when wristwatches became more popular than pocket watches – its main specialization – the company’s direction decided to focus on jewelry-making and silversmithing, two flourishing sectors at the time.

Tiffany was well aware that it would be hard to vie with leading watchmaking brands in a market that had become highly competitive.

And as its retailing agreements turned out to be profitable, the label changed its focus. It decided to produce only skillful jewel watches and to then select the best pieces of refined watchmaking amongst the collections of many active brands of the time. Tiffany offered this selection to a clientele it knew well and to which it resolved to offer only the best.

Tiffany & Co Pulsar P2, the quartz temptation

Setting the tone for the market

In the 1970s, Tiffany & Co. succumbed to the quartz temptation and showcased amazing products such as the Pulsar (even some gold versions of it) in its stores. In the early 1980s however, it realized that the then low-end products no longer satisfy the demands of its exceptional clientele that was always seeking unique pieces. Yet, maisons were becoming increasingly scarce and were unable to produce quality instruments due to both the quartz crisis and the economic crisis of 1976-1983. The situation pushed Tiffany &Co. to relaunch a collection of watches entirely developed and designed by the label.

Tiffany & Co Atlas Ad from 1983

The first pieces that appeared were purely classical. Modern models followed which, from 1981, even featured rubber straps.

In 1982, the label introduced avant-garde references equipped with black cases and straps 20 years ahead of their time. Due to the success of its collections, the brand was bolstered to create collections based on purely American specifications instead of Swiss models.

Such a global approach inspired the amazing Atlas collection. Introduced in 1983, the collection was somber, efficient and visually striking. It was appealing in every aspect since it met all key criteria of Tiffany & Co.’s privileged clientele. And as you can guess, the success of the Atlas range encouraged the company to craft new collections over the course of the years. One of the most representative was the Tesoro and later the Streamerica in the 1990s.

Tiffany & Co Tesoro

The latter was designed to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the store on 5^th Avenue in New York and the Flagship store on 57^th street, built in a1930s and 1940s’ style. The design of the pieces evoked the DC3 – the legendary plane from the 1930s and 1940s – and their very refined treatment of the cases gave stainless steel renown. The Intaglio collection was the next one to be unveiled, in 1992.

Many more models followed while the Blue Book continuously displayed the most beautiful references of leading brands. Incidentally, during the ten years the watchmaking crisis lasted (from 1980 to 1990), these brands actually benefitted from Tiffany & Co.’s commercial power. But of course the one brand that was closest to the label was no other than Patek Phillipe. In 2001, they celebrated the 150 years of their wonderful collaboration with a watch that was exclusively distributed by the American label.

Patek Philippe ref. 5396 limited edition for Tiffany & Co

In 2005, the Grand Watch collection was released. It included pieces with touches of much-appreciated modernity and volumes that were inspired by watchmaking designs from the 1940s. At the same time, some diamond-set cocktail watches were developed. In 2011, Tiffany deemed it necessary to enrich its panoply of watches by adding yet another piece to the incredible and indispensable Atlas collection. The piece in question was a chic diamond-set gold version.