Tiffany & Co. Unveils Some Of Its Most Opulent Bird On A Rock Creations Yet
Jean Schlumberger left an indelible mark on creative codes of Tiffany & Co, marrying fantasy with the finest diamonds and gems. Here, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia heroes some of the maison’s most recent high jewellery creations inspired by Schlumberger’s legacy
Nature, in its endless variety of colours and forms, and in its charming, perfect imperfections, has always captivated the human imagination. Shells, flowers, coral, pearls – pebbles scattered along the shore – were the first treasures, tokens of beauty our ancestors gathered to adorn their bodies, to feel a part of Mother Earth’s enchanted embrace. No wonder, then, that the natural world has long been an inexhaustible muse for jewellery designers – none more so than Jean Schlumberger, the visionary maverick who joined Tiffany & Co. in 1956.
“I try to make everything look as if it were growing, uneven, at random, organic, in motion. I want to capture the irregularity of the universe,” Jean once said. And capture it, he did.
The French-born designer was not merely inspired by nature but utterly obsessed with it – its shapes, hues, and verve became the fil rouge of all his creations. It couldn’t be otherwise. Jean was nature’s most devoted student. He explored its wonders with insatiable curiosity, travelling to Bali, India, and Thailand, sketching his impressions with an artist’s precision. Eventually, he found his refuge on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, basking in its untamed beauty.
Training in Paris under the couturier Lucien Lelong, he honed his eye for bold, dynamic design – able to capture the volatility of movement – and caught the attention of Elsa Schiaparelli, the doyenne of 1930s style. Recognising his talent, Schiaparelli gave him carte blanche to design collections of costume jewellery and buttons. Small objects became Jean’s favourite playground. When he moved to New York in 1947, he partnered with childhood friend Nicolas Bongard, crafting exquisitely hand-made buttons that became the ultimate mark of chic, coveted by socialites and style arbiters – including the legendary Diana Vreeland, who never failed to recognise genius when she saw it. In Jean’s vivid imagination, flora and fauna collided and coalesced, birthing fantastical creatures. From deep-sea shells to exotic flora and fantastical birds, animals, vegetables, and minerals spliced into mesmerising hybrid creatures as nature’s boundaries blurred in a kaleidoscope of whimsy. A starfish reimagined as a celestial body, a flower burning bright as the sun, a bird’s plumage reshaped into the ethereal sweep of an angel’s wing.
Realism was merely a starting point, metamorphosis was the destination. Each piece was a reinvention. Each detail was unmistakably Schlumberger’s magic touch.
Jean’s creatures were born to materialise in jewellery. Take Bird on a Rock. It defies zoological classification. Vaguely inspired by the Oiseau de Paradis yet enriched with endearing details and a riot of colours. The bird’s feathers sparkle like the trail of a comet blazing through the sky in varying shades of amethysts, diamonds, emeralds, and tanzanites. And the rock, of course, the resting place for such a fantastical creature, could only be a precious gem – a diamond as large as the legendary 128.54-carat Tiffany Yellow Diamond, or, more recently, delicate pearls.
Over the years, Bird on a Rock has become an icon – a must-have for any serious jewellery collector. More than just an object of beauty, it is a talisman that connects us to Mother Earth, while also serving as an invitation to look up and dream, reaching for the limitless possibilities carried on the bejewelled wings of this bird of fantasy.
Lead image credits: Bird on a Rock Brooch in Yellow Gold with an Aquamarine, Amethysts, Pink and Blue Sapphires and a Pearl, POA, Jean Schlumberger by Tiffany & Co. High Jewellery
Photographer: Vladimir Martì Creative Director: Marne Schwartz
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s March 2025 issue.