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Tiffany & Co. is celebrating its 175th anniversary. At left is the Tiffany Setting Engagement Ring, a design classic. The diamond is held away from the band by six prongs, which allows more light through the stone.
Diamonds represent about a quarter of Tiffany & Co.'s $3.6 billion in annual sales.
Credit: Carlton Davis, courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Using a $1,000 loan, Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young opened a stationery and dry goods store on Broadway in Lower Manhattan in 1837. Young soon bowed out, but Tiffany proved to be a marketing genius. He hired some of the best American silversmiths, whose sumptuous pieces started winning international prizes and can now be found in the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.
By the mid-1800s, Tiffany jewelry was all the rage.
(Left: Jean Schlumberger's finished Plumes necklace of diamonds and colored gemstones.)
Credit: Carlton Davis, courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Company founder Charles Lewis Tiffany is seen at his Union Square store c. 1899, at the age of 87. He is with Charles T. Cook, who took over the company's leadership after Tiffany died in 1902.
Credit: The Jewelers' Circular
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The original cash book records show Tiffany & Co.'s first-day sales of $4.98.
Credit: Kenro Izu; courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Charles Lewis Tiffany (1812-1902), the co-founder of Tiffany & Co.
Credit: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Paulding Farnham's original drawing of the Aztec collar, designed for the 1900 Paris Exposition.
Credit: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co. Archives
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Paloma Picasso's drawing of her Octagon pendant with notes, as sketched on hotel stationery.
Credit: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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A seed pearl necklace and brooch purchased by President Abraham Lincoln for his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, for the Inaugural Ball of 1861.
Even Abraham Lincoln knew just where to buy seed pearls for his wife to wear at his inauguration. According to legend, Lincoln asked Charles Tiffany if the President of the United States got a discount. The reply: "I'm terribly sorry, but no one gets a discount at Tiffany and Co."
Credit: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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A diamond and emerald brooch from Tiffany's, a purchase of the French Crown Jewels, dated 1878.
Credit: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Tiffany engagement rings, in platinum and 18 karat yellow gold. Clockwise from top: Tiffany Setting, the Jean Schlumberger Rope ring, the Tiffany Novo, the Tiffany Bezet, the Tiffany Legacy, the Lucida, a cushion-cut yellow diamond ring, the Jean Schlumberger engagement ring, and the Tiffany Embrace.
Credit: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Lady Bird Johnson worked closely with Tiffany's in the design of White House china, which incorporated hand-painted wildflowers.
Credit: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Earrings of fancy intense yellow diamonds framed by brilliant-cut diamonds in platinum, inspired by a 1925 design.
Credit: Carlton Davis, courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Designer Jean Schlumberger's sketch for his Lotus bracelet of paillonne enamel, diamonds, sapphires, lapis lazuli and 18 karat gold.
Credit: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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The Lotus bracelet with paillonne enamel, 18k gold vines and leaves, platinum-set diamond and lapis lazuli seedpods and cabochon sapphires, by Jean Schlumberger for Tiffany & Co.
Credit: Carlton Davis, courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Tiffany enameled orchid brooches with diamonds in 18 karat gold.
Credit: Carlton Davis, courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Paloma Picasso's Graffiti pin in diamonds and 18 karat gold, and Love & Kisses bracelet in sterling silver.
Credit: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Tiffany locks pictured on an oval link bracelet, from left: Vintage lock in sterling silver and 18 karat rose gold; heart lock in 18 karat rose gold; arc lock in sterling silver; emblem lock in 18 karat yellow gold; and round lock in sterling silver.
Credit: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Paloma's Zellige diamond and caenelian ring in 18 karat yellow gold by Paloma Picasso for Tiffany & Co.
Credit: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Atlas Diamond Ring in 18k white gold; the Atlas Diamond Open Circle Pendant in 18k white gold; and the Atlas Diamond Bar Pendant in 18k white gold.
Credit: Carlton Davis. courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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The Loving Heart pendant in 18k white gold with diamonds by Paloma Picasso for Tiffany & Co.
Credit: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Tiffany morganite and diamond pendants in 18 karat rose gold and platinum, from left: Briolette drop pendant, and oval pendant.
Credit: Carlton Davis, courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Oiseau de Paradis clip with aquamarine, emerald, amethyst, diamond, and sapphires set in platinum and 18 karat yellow gold by Jean Schlumberger for Tiffany & Co.
Credit: Carlton Davis, courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Elsa Peretti Doughnut bangles in lacquer, sterling silver and 18 karat gold.
Credit: Josh Haskin, courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Elsa Peretti Bone cuff in sterling silver and 18 karat gold.
Credit: Josh Haskin, courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Jean Schlumberger's colorful enamel bracelets.
Credit: Carlton Davis, courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Diamonds by the Yard bracelets, earrings, necklace and pendants in sterling silver by Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co.
Credit: Josh Haskin, courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Paloma Picasso Sugar Stacks rings, featuring (from top) rubellite, peridot, orange chalcedony, amethyst and citrine in 18 karat yellow gold.
Credit: Carlton Davis, courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Kate Winslet wore a Tiffany Art Deco-inspired yellow diamond necklace, 10-carat yellow diamond earrings and yellow diamond bracelets, to the Academy Awards on March 7, 2010.
Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images
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Actress Natalie Portman wore a Tiffany diamond necklace, oval diamond stud earrings and Metro diamond ring to the 68th annual Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles, January 16, 2011.
Credit: Steve Granitz/WireImage, courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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Emma Stone is bedecked in stones - Luce diamond drop earrings in 18k gold by Paloma Picasso for Tiffany & Co., and diamond rings by Jean Schlumberger for Tiffany & Co. - at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles, Jan. 29, 2012.
Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images
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Cameron Diaz wears an emerald-cut diamond necklace, Lucida diamond stud earrings, a dome-shaped round diamond ring, a diamond band ring and a cushion-cut yellow sapphire ring with diamonds by Tiffany & Co., at the 84th
Academy Awards, February 26, 2012, in Los Angeles.
Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Inc., courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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The famous Tiffany's blue used in all the packaging? It was chosen because it was the favorite color of Empress Eugenie, wife of Napoleon III.
For more on Tiffany's:
Tiffany & Co. (Official website)
Credit: Courtesy of Tiffany & Co.