If you ever wanted to paint a room with that delicate shade of robin egg blue – you are fresh out of luck! Pantone color No. 1837, called Tiffany Blue, is trademarked by Tiffany and Co and not commercially available. Also trademarked is a little blue box with the white satin ribbon tied around it: the Tiffany Blue Box is possibly one the most recognizable and probably one of the most desired retail containers in history. Oh, how many women, including yours truly, have dreamed of receiving a little blue box within a little blue bag and unwrapping some tiny elegant treasure!

The Tiffany Blue was chosen by the company founder Charles Lewis Tiffany for the cover of the annual “Catalogue of Useful and Fancy Articles” known as the Blue Book. The custom blue color was called “1837 Blue” since 1837 was the year when Tiffany was founded. The Tiffany Blue over time became a recognizable symbol of elegance, sophistication, and luxury.

The world’s most iconic jewelry store was opened as a small stationery and fancy goods store by Charles Lewis Tiffany and his friend John B. Young in 1837. The store acquired its reputation by setting standard prices and adopting the highest standards of quality and craftsmanship, using silver that was 92% pure. In 1878 Tiffany’s made the leap from a fine emporium of luxury goods to a name synonymous with diamonds. That year the company acquired one of the world’s largest and finest diamonds – a 287.42ct yellow diamond known now as the Tiffany Diamond. 10 years later Charles Lewis Tiffany rose in the ranks of the world of fine jewelry by purchasing one-third of the French Crown Jewels. From then on he acquired the reputation of “The King of Diamonds.”

However, the store was made world-famous by Charles’ son, Louis Comfort Tiffany. One of the most renown artists of the day, best known for his unique stain glass work, he became the company’s first official design director in 1902. He raised the bar by turning jewelry into Art Nouveau art objects.

The name Tiffany represents glamour, luxury, and, of course, proposals. In 1886 Tiffany’s created a lifted setting for a diamond which became the staple of an engagement ring.

“Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” a 1961 movie based on a novella by Truman Capote, added a soft glow of romance to the store’s dazzling reputation. The delicate figure of Audrey Hepburn in a little black dress peering through Tiffany’s window while eating a croissant to the sounds of Henry Mancini’s “Moon River” forever linked the name Tiffany with the beauty and longing for love.

Incidentally, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” is no longer a figure of speech – it can actually be bought for $29 at The Blue Box Cafe located on the 4th floor. It comes with coffee or tea, a croissant, a seasonal fruit, and your choice of a buttermilk waffle, smoked salmon, truffle eggs, or avocado toast. Alternatively, one can enjoy THE 10-CARAT BREAKFAST which features 30g of Siberian Ossetra Caviar over a buttermilk waffle with lemon crème fraîche at a (not quite so) modest cost of $100.

References:

• Laurie Pressman “CRAZY ABOUT TIFFANY’S The story behind an iconic brand color” , VP Pantone Color Institute™ February 19, 2016 
• Robert Klara “How Tiffany’s Iconic Box Became the World’s Most Popular Package“, September 22, 2014 
• Alina Cohen “How Tiffany & Co. Monopolized a Shade of Blue“, Apr 16, 2019 
• Ase Anderson “The history of Tiffany“, The Jewelry Editor, 2016

• The Tiffany Diamond, Tiffany & Co.