Silver Tiffany World: Tiffany & Co. Introduces The 2009 Blue Book Collection

In celebration of the 2009 Blue Book Collection that features the world’s most spectacular jewels, Tiffany transformed the fifth floor of its flagship store into a high-gloss environment of black and white that showcased the city of glamour and legend where Tiffany was founded and where fashion reigns.

The view outside Tiffany’s windows—Fifth Avenue, Central Park and beyond—was reflected inside the store with classic black and white images of New York’s skyline and landmarks, many of which appeared as a backdrop to fashion photographs. The images were installed on curving white walls surrounding a penthouse-plush décor with gleaming white showcases filled with Blue Book’s one-of-a-kind treasures.

Models wore a wealth of Blue Book’s gem-encrusted jewels, combined with contemporary fashion that echoed the style of legendary New York socialites, designers and fashion icons. The looks were created by high-profile stylist Jen Rade. “When I think of fashionable New York, I might think of Brooke Astor, Studio 54 and Bianca Jagger, Katherine Hepburn in a pants suit or the scene at a Long Island country club,” she said. Ms. Rade reworked “these moments in time,” giving them a contemporary spin “ to show how good jewelry can be worn with modern, everyday looks that appeal to all generations of women.”

Diamonds are a natural for scenes of New York at its black-tie best—and for Tiffany, the world’s diamond authority. Among the elite gems were a colorless and internally flawless diamond ring weighing in at 20 carats and $6,500,000; stacks of Tiffany Celebration® rings, beautifully matched for color and clarity; fancy-colored diamond rings; delicate diamond butterflies inspired by designs from the Tiffany & Co. Archives; chandelier earrings in sweeping waterfalls and elegant orbs; rose-cut diamonds in sheer, feminine designs; and sparkling pendants in the Art Deco style.

Colored gemstones played a major role in establishing Tiffany as a premier jeweler. The tradition lives on in Blue Book’s electrifying array of gems. Sapphires from violet and blue to pink and yellow, color-saturated emeralds, tourmalines, kunzite, spessartite, grossularite, rubellite and more radiate fire and light in medallion pendants, long drop earrings and lavish cocktail rings, such as Jean Schlumberger’s brilliant ‘blossoms’ emerging from diamond leaves and petals.
Tiffany’s jewelers in New York and Paris recreated a number of Schlumberger designs for Blue Book 2009, including the Fleurage bracelet of fancy-colored sapphires and diamonds, Leaves necklace with beautifully matched green tourmalines, and Dahlia bracelet bursting with yellow sapphires. This fanciful harvest is augmented by legendary designer Louis Comfort Tiffany, whose Art Nouveau-style stained glass and jewelry inspire a peacock necklace with a 15.80 carat tanzanite and brooch with plumage of sapphires, tourmalines and diamonds.

The collection invites a closer look at the precision of Tiffany’s custom-designed settings and time-honored jewelry techniques, including the enameling in Indian-inspired diamond earrings. This attention to detail unites the Blue Book Collection in a heritage of craftsmanship that goes beyond the expert setting of stones. In the magical world of Tiffany design, pink sapphires turn into cherry blossoms and diamonds are “spun” into lace; cameos are carved into flowers; and turquoise is carved into a charm depicting the famous Tiffany Blue Box®, the ultimate symbol of luxury that wraps the most extraordinary jewels of all.