It’s an iconic gem that has only been worn by four women, inspired a host of fabulous stories (including a modern murder mystery) and come to represent the jewellery house after which it is named. The famed Tiffany Diamond has been part of the heritage of Tiffany & Co since 1878, when the Maison’s founder, Charles Lewis Tiffany, bought the incredible yellow diamond just a year after it was first unearthed in South Africa.
Originally a 287.42-carat rough (the largest yellow diamond ever found at the time), the stone was cut down to its current 128.54-carat size in Paris, supervised by Tiffany’s gemologist, George Kunz. At just over an inch wide, its cushion-cut shape was designed with 90 facets, to enhance its natural hue and brilliance from every angle. Later, in 1956, the diamond was set into the Ribbon Rosette necklace by Tiffany’s legendary designer, Jean Schlumberger, in one of his first moves as the house’s newly-appointed artistic director.
In 1957, the diamond was worn for the first time by Mary Whitehouse, the wife of an American diplomat, at a ball. Then, in 1961, the Ribbon Necklace was worn by Audrey Hepburn for publicity photographs for her film, Breakfast At Tiffany’s. 34 years later, the diamond was re-mounted into one of Schlumberger’s most famous designs, the Bird on a Rock, at the Musée des Arts Decoratifs in Paris.
For decades, the Tiffany Diamond spent its days on display at the jeweller’s Fifth Avenue flagship, but it was thrust into the limelight once more, and in a different setting, when Lady Gaga wore it to the 2019 Academy Awards – the same year she won Best Original Song for ‘Shallow’, from her film A Star Is Born. Beyoncé, another friend of the house, was the last woman to wear the diamond to date, for a brand campaign in 2021 in which she sang Moon River, the iconic theme sung by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast At Tiffany’s.
Shortly after that, in 2020, the Tiffany diamond – or, a facsimile of the diamond, mounted on a white diamond necklace – dazzled at the heart of the murder mystery film, Death on the Nile, which was based on the 1937 Poirot novel by Agatha Christie, and starred Gal Gadot. Last year, to celebrate the re-opening of its Landmark Fifth Avenue store after a huge refurbishment, Tiffany re-set the gem once more, in a fabulous brooch (which can also be worn as a necklace) surrounded by five birds inspired by Schlumberger’s own playful design.
Now, the Tiffany Diamond is preparing to take flight for Japan, where it will appear as part of a new retrospective, the Tiffany Wonder Exhibition. Installed within the TOKYO NODE gallery, located inside one of Tokyo’s tallest buildings, the Toranomon Hills Station Tower, the ‘immersive show’ will allow visitors to explore hundreds of Tiffany’s jewels created by the house over the last 187 years, including one-off showstoppers, Jean Schlumberger’s historic Bird on a Rock designs and other heritage pieces.
“Tiffany & Co. has been inspired by Japan for decades and the House’s authentic connection and extensive history in the region has only continued to grow,” said Anthony Ledru, Tiffany & Co’s President & Chief Executive Officer. “….Uplifting the exceptional craftsmanship, unparalleled diamond authority and inventiveness of Tiffany, the exhibition will bring the joy of the House to every visitor.”
Ten rooms inside the TOKYO NODE gallery, which will house the exhibition, have been themed around central tenets of Tiffany’s design legacy, from its first Blue Book mail order catalogue from 1845 (which has now lent its name to the brand’s annual high jewellery collections) and its first Blue Boxes, to its iconic Tiffany Setting engagement ring, introduced back in 1886. Almost 300 never-seen-before objects and jewels will be on display, including the Jean Schlumberger for Tiffany & Co Plumes necklace, set with diamonds, rubies and sapphires. The Tiffany Diamond will go on display at the end of the exhibit – a final flourish, and a mark of the house’s enduring regard for one of its most famous diamonds.
Tiffany Wonder will open at the TOKYO NODE gallery on April 12 2024, and run until June 23, 2024.
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