Do you know that Tiffany & Co is not new to the coloured gemstones game? It has been searching for the likes of tanzanite, morganite, kunzite and tsavorite for nearly 180 years. Before the mid-19th century, coloured gemstones were not common in American jewellery designs until 1876. Then, a George Kunz sold an exceptional tourmaline to Tiffany founder Charles Tiffany before joining the company as a gemstone expert, sourcing for extraordinary stones his entire life. Mixing the stones' incandescent colours with the jeweller's exceptional savoir faire, beautiful, top-notch creations are consistently handcrafted, delighting art lovers and jewellery enthusiasts alike.  

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With Kunz in the company, he helped Tiffany become a stronger player in the use of coloured gems for its jewellery designs. “In those first days very naturally a large part of my interest was engaged in this problem of discovering and introducing these lovely unknown stones in which no jeweler of the time was even slightly interested,” he said in 1927. “Of course, with the backing of such a firm I was in a commanding position to do so.” The push for new coloured stones continued well into the 20th century with Tiffany & Co unveiling tanzanite and tsavorite pieces—unearthed in Africa in 1967—to the public in 1974. This led to Tiffany using its superlative craftsmanship to combine with quality coloured gems to create magnifcient designs. Among the gems used are kunzite, morganite, tanzanite and tsavorite, joining other gems such as Montana sapphires and turquoise, with these widely known as Tiffany Legacy Gemstones. Ensuing generations of Tiffany designers consistently utilise these stones in the jewellery—take Jean Schlumberger for his “Bird on a Rock” clips (main picture) and Paloma Picasso with her diamond X necklace (see below). 

Also on display are 35 pieces from Tiffany's archival range, which feature creations by ex- and current designers the likes of Jean Schlumberger, Paloma Picasso, Meta Overbeck, Donald Claflin and Paulding Farnham. Of particular mention is the 35th Anniversary necklace designed by Picasso for the 1985 Blue Book. The 15 different stones used range from a nine carat tanzanite to a rare rubelite that weighs over 67 carats and each gem is framed by Picasso’s signature diamond-encrusted “X’s”. It took 900 man hours of crafting and 416 carats of coloured gemstones to create the necklace, which was acquired by Tiffany in honour of Picasso's 35 years of collaborating with the brand. 

Fun fact: The 35th Anniversary necklace made two public appearances at two Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art gala dinners—first in 1985 by Paloma Picasso and the second time in 1987 by Mai Hallingby, wife of American banker Paul Hallingby, Jr. It was also featured on the cover of Town & Country's December 1985 issue and author Shelley Nohowel’s Gemstones Legends in Their Own Time.

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