Illustrious jewellery house Tiffany & Co. has recently revealed one of its largest ever diamonds up for sale. Named after the company’s founding city, the internally flawless Empire Diamond weighs more than 80 carats, making it the second-largest Tiffany diamond to date.
Keeping in line with Tiffany’s strong approach to traceability, the diamond was responsibly sourced in Botswana, Africa and will be set in a necklace inspired by an archival high jewellery necklace that premiered at the 1939 World’s Fair. The finished piece will be showcased in 2022 in celebration of the opening of the fully renovated Fifth Avenue Flagship in New York City. While the specific design will not been unveiled till next year, the brand estimates that the necklace has a price tag in the ‘tens of millions’.
“What better way to mark the opening of our transformed Tiffany flagship store in 2022 than to reimagine this incredible necklace from the 1939 World’s Fair, one of our most celebrated pieces when we opened our doors on 57th Street and Fifth Avenue for the first time,” said Victoria Reynolds, Tiffany & Co. Chief Gemologist in a press release. “The new necklace perfectly reflects our brand heritage as a New York luxury jeweller, whose founder was known as the ‘King of Diamonds.’”
While the original Tiffany’s masterpiece may have been conceptualised over eighty years ago to dazzle the 44 million viewers of the 1939 World’s Fair and its “World of Tomorrow,” the thought process behind the new design has a similar motive: to dream of a better and more effervescent future while celebrating what will be a monumental moment for Tiffany’s brand.
The Empire Diamond will first be on display by itself in Shanghai, along with more than 35 different species of gemstones including Tiffany’s legacy gemstones tanzanite, morganite and tsavorite. The diamond will be unset, meaning it will be seen in all its original glory before being added to the new necklace.
The unveiling of their original 1939 World’s Fair necklace and the opening of their Fifth Avenue store in 1940 was a monumental moment in the company’s history- foreshadowing what will likely be another historic moment for the brand in 2022.