Tiffany’s dazzling “Vision & Virtuosity” exhibition at London’s Saatchi Gallery June 10 - August 19 2022

Entrance to Tiffany's exhibition at Saatchi Gallery.

Luxury jewellery brand Tiffany’s “Vision & Virtuosity” exhibition at London’s Saatchi Gallery, which opened on June 10th, celebrates the luxury house's 150th anniversary in London. 

The exhibition chronicles the brand's 185-years history through seven chapters, each explores a separate theme that is central to the brand's identity, heritage, and remarkable creativity that it has set the trends for many.

The Tiffany ® Engagement Ring in Platinum and diamond,
introduced in 1886,  and Tiffany Blue Box 

Showcasing some 400 objects,  the show takes visitors on a journey to discover its amazing vast array of designs and desirable objects, from dazzling high jewellery pieces set in diamonds and precious stones, to intricate and delicate designs, from sports trophies to the celebrated Tiffany lamps and ornate decorative items and beauty compacts, and from memorable pieces designed by the likes of Elsa Peretti, Jean Schlumberger and Paloma Picasso by iconic pieces worn or owned by screen legends and stars. 

Thorns Clip designed by Jean Schlumberger (1947)

"Love in Flight": butterfly necklace in gold, black opals by Angela Cummings ,  featured in Tiffany's
celebrated Blue Book collections 1983.

Nature-themed designs are among the most sought-after for over a century at Tiffany & Co.  Among the many amazing designs at this “Vision & Virtuosity” exhibition is the extraordinary butterfly necklace by Angela Cummings (1983) in gold and black opal, presented in a window display named "Love in Flight".

Also remarkable are the life-like Orchid brooches by George Paulding Farnham for Tiffany.  Such superb quality, artistry  and craftsmanship.  

They are part of a series of brooches by Farnham, each depicting a different variety of Orchid, made in enamel, with diamonds, rubies, opals and other coloured stones, designed and created for the Paris Expo in 1889.  Farnham, who started designing for Tiffany in his early 20s, was the lead jewellery designer for Tiffany & Co in the late 1880s. 

"Hedges & Row" necklace by Jean Schlumberger (1978 - 1989) in diamonds,
rubellites and turquoise. 

Necklace with more than 15 types of precious stones designed by Paloma Picasso in 1985
that she later wore to the Met Gala.

"Fleur de Mer" brooch designed by Jean Schlumberger (1956 ) and given by
Richard Burton to Elizabeth Taylor a decade later.

The mesmerizing first room pays homage to the brand’s famously fabulous window displays.   

Feast your eyes on Jean Schlumberger’s 1965 Bird on a Rock brooch, featuring a vast 59-carat blue stone twinkling above a silhouetted London Big Ben skyline.  Reportedly this is one of two pieces in the exhibition that are available to purchase, should any visitors be so interested. 

The other is a reimagined version of the necklace that Tiffany debuted at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, featuring the 80-carat Empire Diamond it responsibly sourced in Botswana, cut and polished in Israel and set in New York, and is said to be the largest diamond ever offered by Tiffany & Co.  Both pieces are priced on request.

A 2012 window called Vanderbilt Gate pays homage to New York's Central Park Conservancy with a Dragonfly brooch and a House of Tiffany display of 2016 depict intricate earrings, bracelets and brooch.  

Another, an Ice Palace dreamlike setting mimicking scenes taken from CS Lewis' Narnia series.

Necklace in white gold, diamonds and aquamarines (2018)

In a room devoted to the annual Blue Book high jewellery collection, a giant pink heart pendant made from Morganite shines gloriously, one of the four gemstones that Tiffany & Co. was responsible for discovering and bringing to market first alongside Kunzite, Tanzanite and Tsavorite. 

One highlight is the Love Room which celebrates the Tiffany Setting engagement ring, and where visitors bathed in dreamy Tiffany blue lights, can write messages on a screen which then dance its way about the walls and dissolve.

In the room dedicated to the award-winning Breakfast at Tiffany's, the original film script is on show with Audrey Hepburn's personal annotations as well as the original Givenchy dress  in duchess satin that  main character Holly Golightly wore in the movie, along with Academy Awards statuettes. 

The pièce de resistance is the iconic 128.54-carat yellow Tiffany Diamond, last seen on Queen Bey (Beyoncé) in Tiffany’s 2021 “About Love” campaign and previously worn by Lady Gaga at the 2019 Oscars.  

And finally one enters the AR room, where you can take a selfie "wearing" the brand’s iconic 128.54-carat yellow Tiffany Diamond albeit a digital version, by scanning a QR code.

The house that was founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany in 1837 is now entering a future under the LVMH umbrella, and judging by the continued love affair consumers have with luxury jewellery and collectables, the dazzling wonder world of Tiffany is deemed to continue.

The Tiffany Vision & Virtuosity Exhibitions opens at the Saatchi Gallery runs from June 10 to August  19 August. Tickets are from the Tiffany & Co. app available on IOS and Google.

Photos taken at Tiffany’s “Vision & Virtuosity” exhibition - London’s Saatchi Gallery © Lucia Carpio 2022