Origins: Tiffany & Co

Who started it?

Tiffany & Co was started in 1837 by Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young as a stationery and fancy goods store in Lower Manhattan. Originally called Tiffany, Young and Ellis, the company branched into precious stone jewellery when Tiffany purchased an extensive selection of jewels from French aristocrats and set them in a way that would later become the jewellers' signature style.

By 1850, Tiffany was already established as one of leading fine jewellers in the US, and opened its first overseas boutique in Paris.

The following year, the company purchased New York silversmith John C. Moore's operations, beginning its association with silver jewellery. At this time, Tiffany also established the 925/1000 sterling standard that has now been adopted by the US government.

In 1853, Tiffany took complete control of the company and renamed the brand Tiffany & Co. In 1861, it was commissioned to design a special pitcher for President Abraham Lincoln's inauguration. Two years later, the firm supplied swords, flags and surgical equipment to Union Army regiments in the American civil war.

At the Paris World's Fair in 1867, Tiffany & Co became the first American firm to win an award of excellence for its silverware. In 1871, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts acquired a Tiffany pitcher - the first American silver object to be included in the collection of a major museum.