A Visit to Tiffany Jewelry Store
in New York City
One can see Tiffany jewelry store after stepping out of
Mikimoto's
pearl jewelry store in New York City.
One has a good view of the Tiffany jewelry store
across the street on the corner and is reminded of
Audrey Hepburn
and can almost see her eating her "Breakfast at Tiffanys"
from the paper bag as she gazes into the windows at the beautiful diamonds on display.
But no, Audrey isn't at here today, so we venture across the street and take a peek inside this famous store.
It's basically one huge spacious room with enormously high and open ceilings. Around the edges and in the middle are natural wood display cases...I think the natural wood is what contributes most to the feeling of tradition.
We found our way over to the Tiffany jewelry store pearl display which consisted of several units placed in sort of a square so the clerk could move freely inside, helping customers on any side.
The Tiffany jewelry store wasn't crowded with people which we were glad for allowing us more time to speak with the clerk.
All of the pearls, as I recall, in this section were sea pearls and gem quality and made up into interesting and lovely jewelry...the prices were also "pretty."
I enjoyed chatting with the middle-aged gentlemen behind the counters at Tiffany jewelry store and he was helpful in answering my questions, as there were not many other people at the moment needing his attention.
The first impression I had was that of tradition...like this store has been this same way for many years...and not bent it's knee to the often disastrous trend to "modernize."
Whether that's true or not, I don't know...but Tiffany jewelry store has certainly retained the sense of honor associated with this lovely old building.
I was curious if the information I had learned about pearls was the same as his understanding...names of different shapes...how they were formed...different things to look for when judging a pearl and so on. This clerk obviously wasn't a pearl expert, but was knowledgeable about them. Eventually, my questions appeared to annoy him somewhat...maybe I'm just to inquisitive, or maybe he didn't want to say, "I don't know."
When I asked about freshwater pearls...yes, they had them, but at another counter, because they weren't gem quality.
Then, since my daughter's favorite stone is opal...we looked them up and decided to move on from Tiffany jewelry store.
Tiffany & Co.
Tiffany & Co., often considered to be the best jewelry company in the world was founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young in New York City in 1837.
Check out my own "Breakfast at the Ginza Tokyo Tiffany".
Here are photos of the Beverly Hills, California Tiffany store.
Tiffany stores now dot the world. See the photos I took of window displays in a Tiffany & Co store in Nagoya, Japan. You'll love the closeups of this amazing clock.
You'll also enjoy this page about my visit to the main Tiffany store in London, England. View an amazing Tiffany jewelry piece with a huge diamond.
Here are photos of the Tiffany Jewelry store at Sloane Square London.
Read about the Tiffany Queen Pearl that was found in New Jersey.
The first Tiffany jewelry store was located on 259 Broadway, New York City and had a revolutionary policy where each item's price was non-negotiable.
In 1853, Charles assumed control of the entire Tiffany jewelry store company. He also created the first retail catalog and was known for his jewelry expertise.
The outside of a Tiffany & Co. store in Nagoya, Japan.
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Charles' son, Louis Comfort Tiffany, (February 18, 1848 - January 17, 1933)was a famous decorative glass and lamp designer most famous for his Art Nouveau pieces in stained glass. He also painted and designed jewelry and furniture.
Louis' first artistic training was as a painter, studying under George Inness. At the age of 24 he became interested in glass making and in 1885 he founded his own glass making firm.
He invented a process for making opalescent glass, which he promoted while most other artists believed clear stained glass to be superior. Both points of view were motivated by the ideals of the Arts and Crafts movement that had been founded by William Morris in England. One of Comfort's opponents in this argument was the rival glass maker John La Farge (1835-1910).
In 1893 his company introduced a new technique, "Favrile", for making hand-blown vases and bowls.
Much of his other work was in making glass picture windows, but his company designed a complete range of interior decorations. He used all his skill in the design of his own house, Laurelton Hall, in Oyster Bay, Long Island, completed in 1904.
Among the companies that he founded were L.C. Tiffany & Associated Artists, the Tiffany Glass Company, Tiffany Studios, Tiffany Furnaces, and the L.C. Tiffany Furnaces.
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis died on January 17, 1933, and is buried in Green-Wood Cemetery Brooklyn, New York, USA.
Many examples of his work are held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This display shows stained glass, glass mosaic murals, desk lights and glass vases. Perhaps his most beautiful work and even perhaps the most beautiful in the museum is a stained glass frieze of wisteria flowers over a backdrop of hills.
Another interesting collection of "Favrile" is held in a museum in the small Northern English town of Accrington.
This collection was donated by a locally born man, Joseph Briggs, who left England in 1891, and who worked with L.C. Tiffany on many projects over many years, being Tiffany's works manager amongst other jobs. Briggs' personal collection was donated to the town in 1933.
Info and photo-Wiki
Even if you can't visit the Big Apple for shopping...here's a website sure to please...
Blue Bird Gardens
where you'll find personalized, custom and finished handmade quilts, throws, Raggedy Ann dolls and gifts, antiques, collectibles, furniture care and refinishing products. Also, free how-to guides and gift recipes.
However, if you do make it to the Big Apple for some shopping...after Tiffany's you can do what we did and stroll on over to Central Park
where we were asked by several portrait painters if we wanted our pictures drawn and watched an elderly couple feeding the squirrels. Since our time was limited, we enjoyed walking outside the zoo, but didn't go inside, although it would have been my 12-year-old's choice of how to spend an afternoon.
A few days later my daughter confided that...she really "sort of" did want her picture drawn...but was too shy to admit it at the time...oh, well...maybe next time we're window shopping in New York City.
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