When thinking of Tiffany & Co.‘s legacy, watches are probably not the first item to come to mind. But throughout its history, the brand has made its mark on the world of timepieces.
The brand began retailing watches in 1847, with its own manufacturing space in Geneva, Switzerland.
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The Tiffany Timer put the brand on the timepiece map—160 years ago, Tiffany & Co. released one of the first American stopwatches, intended for use in science and sports. However, its refined style made it a coveted pocket watch outside of these mediums.
Now, Tiffany & Co. is reigniting its timepiece offerings with four styles inspired by the brand’s own legacy.
As the company nears its 200-year anniversary, Tiffany & Co. designers have plenty of incredible pieces in the brand’s archives to pull inspiration from. An era most revisited is that of Jean Schlumberger—a Tiffany designer who transformed high-jewellery aesthetics in the mid-20th century.
Tiffany & Co.’s new timepieces pay homage to Schlumberger’s innovative style, playing with some of his most iconic designs.
The new Tiffany Timer, powered by the world-renowned Zenith El Primero movement, features one of Schlumberger’s most well-known creations. If you turn the watch over, you’ll find a small recreation of the bird motif from the Bird on a Rock brooch.
This whimsical addition, along with a trademark Tiffany Blue® lacquer dial, solidify the identity of this timepiece—it could only be Tiffany.
“This dialogue between jewellery creativity and watchmaking precision is demanding, but it is also what makes these timepieces meaningful and distinct,” said Nicolas Beau, vice president of Tiffany Horlogerie.
The Sixteen Stone Mother-of-pearl Watch draws from the design elements of The Sixteen Stone jewellery collection, with its yellow gold cross-stitches between rows of diamonds, first designed by Schlumberger and released by Tiffany & Co. in 1959.
The watch features a dial made from Mother-of-pearl, surrounded by an outer dial that rotates as the wearer moves. The gold cross-stitches on the outer dial represent each hour of the day. The watch’s face is encased in 413 round brilliant diamonds, with a total weight of 3.8 carats, and features a Tiffany Blue® alligator strap.
Schlumberger’s affinity for cross-stitch emblems, born out of his familial heritage in textiles, also appears in his 1962 creation of the enamel Croisillon bangles.
Tiffany’s history with enamel dates back to the 19th century, but by the mid-20th century, the style had fallen out of popularity—to this day, few jewellers work with enamel. Schlumberger brought back the labour-intensive paillonné enamel process and Tiffany & Co. continues to lead in this practice.
These remarkable bracelets inform the design of three new Enamel watches.
Each watch features a diamond-set dial, surrounded by a rotating ring of Tiffany Blue® paillonné enamel or white enamel. Painted and set by hand, each watch takes 65 hours to create (55 for the enameling alone).
“Adapting the paillonné enamel technique to watchmaking required a complete rethinking of the usual process,” said Beau. “Working at such a small scale while preserving depth, texture and vibrancy of colour through multiple firings proved far more complex than anticipated.”
The Eternity Baguette watch—available in two styles—features a bezel of set baguette-cut stones, alluding to the classic eternity ring design. On the dial of the watches, each hour is marked by a different cut and surrounded by a snow-set case.
These watches are a testament to Tiffany & Co.’s storied history and its ability to reimagine its legacy for a new era.
Photos courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
