5 Favorite Picks from the Tiffany Blue Book

If you are not familiar with the 'Blue Book' - imagine the most glamorous and spectacular gemstones and jewels - the kind that you can only picture in your wildest dreams, and now imagine flipping through a catalogue, looking at page after page, each page bringing those dreamy visions to life - this, is the Tiffany Blue Book. 

2020 marks the 175th anniversary of Tiffany’s first sales catalogue - The Tiffany, Young & Ellis Catalogue, later known as the Blue Book - a stunning curation of one-of-a-kind handcrafted masterpieces. A true celebration of Tiffany’s creators - their designers and craftspeople, as well as a celebration of nature’s rarest and most beautiful treasures. Melo Melo pearls, Ceylon Padparadschas, Cuprian Tourmalines, Golden South Sea Pearls, Tahitian Black Pearls, Yellow Diamonds, Red Diamonds, Black Opals – unique gems that are far from your everyday find. 

Image from the 2018 Blue Book Catalogue

The Blue Book Collection’s viewing event, like any event in High Jewelry, is exclusive and by invitation only. For many reasons, not least among them security, Fine Jewelry Houses such as Tiffany, Cartier or Harry Winston among others have to be discreet about these types of events for the benefit of themselves as well as their clientele. However with the rise of social media, everybody is now able to appreciate and enjoy these treasures.

You can view the Blue Book collection on the Tiffany & Co. website (https://www.tiffany.com/high-jewelry/blue-book/). Usually the collection is thematic, 2019's theme was 'Tiffany Jewel Box'. See video below:

While it's impossible to pick favorites from a collection of dream jewels, five creations just stood out from the rest to me. See my top five favorites from Blue Book 2019:

1. Diamond and Gold Moth Bracelet Watch - my absolute favorite from the collection. This item was part of a necklace, earrings and bracelet set. I was drawn to the simple, yet elegant classic Tiffany design of this one. I love how the Moth motif opens to reveal a watch!

2. Stunning necklace and bracelet duo of Sapphires, BlueTourmalines, Cuprian Tourmalines, Aquamarines of apporx. 81 carats and Diamonds of approx. 8 carats. Big, Beautiful, Blue stones. I love how the individual stones sit within a platinum frame (they truly deserve a frame!), and although the stones are all very different colors and shapes, they're so beautifully matched.

3. This is a 37 carat Black Opal!! Opal is one of the most enchantingly beautiful stones. Ancient greeks believed Opals were teardrops of Zeus - the god of lightning, because of its remarkable play of color phenomena. When you move a top quality opal against the light, it looks as though a tiny bolt of lightening is trapped within the stone - flashing at each turn. Large, high quality Black opals are rarer than other varieties of Opals.

I was fortunate to see this item through a glass case at the Blue Book event. Stood there for ten-fifteen minutes mesmerized by the incredible play of color being exhibited by this specimen - electrifying indeed!

4. Platinum Pin, a diamond encrusted Beetle holding a fine Blue Spinel. Beetles such as scarabs were worn as a seal or protective amulet as early as ancient Egypt. I love the modern look of this pin, and the custom cut diamonds incorporated.

This brooch was sold in a custom made vessel as shown below. Velvet lined, Sterling Silver box with 24k gold vermeil lid.

5. I wish I had a better picture of this beautiful necklace, because below image doesn't do justice to the actual piece. This is a necklace and earring set with approx. 23 carats of... wait for it.... Imperial Topaz!

Imperial Topaz is the medium orangish-red variety of Topaz - natural imperial topaz is rarer than the colorless variety. Colorless Topaz is often tinted/treated to look like Imperial Topaz, however in this instance, this is the naturally occurring color. For that reason, this necklace is very special.

As consumers, we are often blissfully unaware of the journey these jewels travel to find their way on to a page of the Blue Book. A simple idea is sketched, and perfected into a wearable design by a talented designer, then brought to life by master jewelers. These rare gems are collected from various parts of the world, fashioned, then matched and set in to these jewels. Many months of perfection, many hands perfecting - a blue book masterpiece is an ultimate treasure.

The legendary Blue Book is a true testament to Tiffany&Co’s evolution to becoming a global standard of excellence in high jewelry. Each collection pushing boundaries within the high jewelry space with collections that are improved year on year exemplifying Tiffany’s timeless designs, rare gemstones, responsible sourcing/manufacturing practices and high quality craftsmanship.

References:

Tiffany&Co. (2018). Blue Book Catalogue . New York, NY.

Tiffany&Co. (2019). Blue Book Catalogue . New York, NY.

(n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2020, from https://www.tiffany.com/high-jewelry/blue-book/