America's Jeweler

We recently took advantage of the never-ending variety of great exhibits in London museums to view the "Bejewelled by Tiffany" display at Somerset House -- one of London's great art museums (pictured at left).

The exhibition guide informs us that "Tiffany & Co. since its foundation has been a quintessentially American brand, famous for its glamour, design and craftsmanship." ("Glamour", of course is the British spelling.)

The guide goes on "At the forefront of America's emerging luxury trades, its designers .... created an aesthetic clearly distinct from contemporary European jewellery (Brit spelling) houses. They set vividly coloured stones, often from North America, in combinations rarely found in the largely monochrome European pieces of the period."

The company was also noted for the policy of including stock aimed at "all purses" -- from 50-cent items to fabulous diamonds. And, of course, Charles Lewis Tiffany (3rd generation in the family) was world famous for his lamp shades. The exhibit, though, concentrated on the company's jewelry.

There were approximately 200 items, varying from incredible diamond and emerald necklaces to enamel brooches modeled on flowers to exquisite jewels modelled on members of the insect world. The exhibit interspersed, among the beautiful jewelry, photographic exhibits illustrating the history of the company and its various New York stores.

Unfortunately, as in so many exhibits of highly valuable items, photos were not permitted. (Kathi was disappointed to find that souvenirs were also strongly discouraged.) We've scanned in images from some of the brochures and the exhibit guide and have included them with this article.