Tiffany Unveils A Glittering High Jewellery And Watches Exhibition In Dubai
Featuring rare marvels that speak to the maison’s remarkable history, alongside contemporary wonders, the latest Tiffany High Jewellery and Watches Exhibition proves the all-American brand’s prowess through the ages
When you hear the word ‘Tiffany’, you likely immediately think ‘Blue Box’, probably swiftly followed by ‘engagement ring’. Or, if you’re a little more up to speed on red carpet arrivals and celebrity endorsements, Lady Gaga might swing into view wearing the brand’s Hardwear collection, perhaps followed by a fleet of A-listers preening on the red carpet bedecked in Bird On A Rock brooches.
What you almost certainly won’t think – true watchmaking connoisseurs aside – is that the maison has been making fine timepieces for over 150 years. In fact, after founding the brand in 1837, it was just ten short years before Charles Lewis Tiffany began crafting watches, and in 1874 he established the largest manufacture in Switzerland of the era: a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of Geneva that was eventually purchased by Patek Philippe in 1878. By which time, Charles had well and truly brought an American vision and avant-garde technology to the heart of Swiss savoir faire.
It is this legacy that the maison presents in a scintillating exhibition that coincides with Dubai Watch Week this week, showcasing an extraordinary array of archival timepieces and high jewels that trace its rich history at Marsa Al Arab. Themed around rare colour, bold craft, and watchmaking excellence, the exhibition begins with pieces from the turn of the 20th century, including an array of gemstone-set pendant pin watches. Ornate and elegant, even these initial pieces serve to illustrate not just the brand’s artisanal skill, but its wider historic significance and cultural relevance. At the time of their making, it was deemed uncouth for women to be caught checking the time – watches were instruments of enlightenment and power, and, thus, largely the preserve of men. By concealing tiny dials among delicate jewels to empower their female clientele, Tiffany was already displaying a little rebellion.
Elsewhere in the exhibition, a gold chain cascades to a gleaming crystal orb, one side bearing a grand monogram surrounded by speckled inclusions, and the other side displaying an elegant dial. These specks are, in fact, from the first shovel dug in the construction of the New York Subway, on March 27, 1900 – as per the inscription that runs around its gilt edge. Nicholas Beau, Vice President of Tiffany Horlogerie, was quick to quip that while dirt is generally considered the arch-nemesis of watchmakers; here, the maison had provocatively used dirt as a decorative poet, while simultaneously indicating its inextricable link to iconic moments in American history.
This daring agenda is actually pretty synonymous with the house. Another timepiece – this time crafted in yellow gold and sapphires in 1939 – bears a crystal that appears delicately blue in hue, encasing the dial. This is, in fact, a blue sapphire that has been portrait cut to be fully transparent; a decadent and challenging task even today. To be able to achieve this feat in the era is – as one of the maison’s gem and archive experts explains – almost absurd.
The crazy and the ambitious is a theme that continues throughout the exhibition’s curation, with more contemporary pieces proving that unbridled creativity is still a calling card of the house today, most notably illustrated by its Bird On A Rock timepieces. Nicholas is quick to point out that the very spirit of the Bird On A Rock motif is grounded in playfulness, ever since it was first conceived by designer Jean Schlumberger in the mid-1960s. Thus, its translation into the word of fine timepieces had to be similarly whimsical. The result? An array of watches that feature rotator systems its allow its birds to glide around the dial, a flying tourbillon innovation to enable their flight, and captivating, chunky pierre de centre gems that are deftly perched upon watch faces and encased under their crystal like precious secrets.
These timepieces are limited editions, but are joined by an even more exclusive presentation of the maison’s one-of-a-kind high jewellery creations. A Pegasus brought to life in seamlessly-set diamonds? A cinch. A rarefied selection of natural pearls? Of course. And these aren’t just any old pearls – the exhibition features a flurry of Bird On A Pearl designs with lustrous orbs hand-selected from the private collection of Hussein Al Fardan; a connoisseur on Gulf natural pearls who has spent decades collecting the most exquisite examples on earth.
Whether it’s timepieces or extraordinary gems that make you tick, this is a moment for incurable magpies not to miss, conveniently presented on the eve of Dubai Watch Week, ready for the industry’s influx of experts. Gemstone geek or simply a Blue Box addict; those lucky enough to receive an invitation certainly won’t be disappointed.
Imagery Supplied
