Tiffany & Co. Bird on a Flying Tourbillon – Azure Blossom: Where High Jewellery Meets Haute Horology

 

When evaluating contenders for the high jewellery watch category, brilliance alone is never enough. True excellence lies in the seamless fusion of exceptional gem-setting and serious watchmaking, where artistry and mechanical innovation speak with one voice. As a watch-focused publication, the benchmark is uncompromising — and this year, Tiffany & Co. has met it with remarkable confidence.

The Tiffany & Co. Bird on a Flying Tourbillon – Azure Blossom stands as a masterclass in this rare union. At first glance, the eye is drawn to the diamond-set bird, poised delicately on the edge of a flying tourbillon and surrounded by a vivid garden of appliqué lacquered blossoms. While the watch builds upon Tiffany’s inaugural flying tourbillon introduced last year, this Azure Blossom interpretation elevates the concept into the realm of true high jewellery horology.

The timepiece is a showcase of the maison’s virtuosity across multiple crafts: champlevé enamelling, lacquer work, miniature gold sculpture and, most notably, diamond setting — an area in which Tiffany & Co. has long reigned supreme. In total, the watch is set with 771 diamonds in a variety of cuts and sizes, a process that demanded over 100 hours of meticulous hand-setting. Snow setting dominates the dial and case decoration, a technically exacting method that renders the metal nearly invisible, allowing the diamonds to appear as if floating on the surface.

What truly distinguishes the Bird on a Flying Tourbillon – Azure Blossom is its unwavering connection to Tiffany & Co.’s design heritage. The sculpted bird is a direct reference to the legendary Bird on a Rock brooch, created in 1965 by Jean Schlumberger. Handcrafted from 18K white and yellow gold, the bird is set with 70 diamonds, contributing to a total diamond weight of 3.8 carats across the piece.

While Schlumberger’s bird remains eternally poised, the mechanical theatre beneath it is anything but static. The flying tourbillon completes a full rotation every 60 seconds, capped by a wafer-thin sapphire dome that is faceted like a diamond and rotates in perfect synchrony. The result is a hypnotic display of motion, light and depth.

Powering the watch is the Artime Calibre AFT24T01, a movement finished entirely by hand to the highest standards of haute horology. Bevelled edges, satin-brushed surfaces and mirror-polished components are complemented by diamond-set decorative plates. Two high-polished star-shaped bridges — a subtle nod to Tiffany’s iconic six-prong diamond setting — anchor both the tourbillon and the hours-and-minutes display, reinforcing the maison’s visual identity at every level.

Ultimately, the Bird on a Flying Tourbillon – Azure Blossom triumphs not through spectacle alone, but through coherence. Every element — from gem-setting to movement architecture — speaks the same refined language, one deeply rooted in Tiffany & Co.’s heritage. In a category that demands both poetry and precision, this extraordinary timepiece delivers both with rare elegance.

Source: DCLA

Tiffany & Co. Brings Diamonds to Centre Court at the U.S. Open

The U.S. Open may be best known for its high-intensity rallies and dramatic tiebreaks, but this year, Tiffany & Co. has ensured the spotlight also falls on sparkle. At the 2025 tournament, the jeweller unveiled an exclusive pop-up installation at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, highlighted by a diamond-encrusted tennis racket.

Positioned at Fountain Plaza, the immersive Tiffany space is unmistakable, marked by a striking oversized Tiffany Blue tennis ball. Inside, visitors are met with the U.S. Open Championship Trophies—the Men’s and Women’s Singles Cups—each meticulously handcrafted in Tiffany’s Rhode Island workshop. These sterling silver pieces, produced by master silversmiths since 1987, require approximately six months of labour, with more than 60 hours dedicated to precision engraving and finishing.

The Diamond Showpiece

The centrepiece of this year’s display is the Tiffany HardWear tennis racket, adorned with nearly five carats of diamonds across its face. It is accompanied by a 24-karat gold vermeil tennis ball, embellished with a further seven carats of diamonds. While hardly designed for a match on Arthur Ashe Stadium, the pairing reflects Tiffany’s blend of craftsmanship, innovation, and luxury—an exercise in artistry rather than athletics.

Heritage Meets Modern Spectacle

Tiffany & Co.’s long-standing association with sporting excellence is well established. Beyond its near four-decade legacy of producing the U.S. Open trophies, the house also crafts other icons of American sport, including the NFL’s Vince Lombardi Trophy and the NBA Finals’ Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy.

Yet this year’s U.S. Open activation goes beyond tradition. In collaboration with Meta, Tiffany has introduced an AI-powered digital experience, allowing fans to virtually place themselves at centre court, holding a championship trophy for a keepsake “trophy selfie.”

Diamonds in the Spotlight

The Tiffany pop-up runs throughout the tournament until 7 September, giving both tennis enthusiasts and jewellery aficionados an opportunity to step into Tiffany’s world of diamonds and silverware. The installation serves as a reminder that while the U.S. Open celebrates grit and athletic achievement, glamour and craftsmanship continue to share the stage.

Source: DCLA

Diana’s Twin Nieces Stun in Over 150 Carats of Diamonds at Tiffany & Co. London Gala

Twin models and aristocrats Lady Amelia and Lady Eliza Spencer, nieces of the late Princess Diana, brought dazzling sophistication to Tiffany & Co.’s exclusive Blue Book High Jewellery Collection showcase, held atop The Harrods Helideck. The glamorous event marked one of London’s most prestigious evenings on the fine jewellery calendar, attended by fashion royalty and social elites alike.

The Spencer sisters, daughters of Earl Spencer, embodied modern British elegance as they arrived in bespoke Jenny Packham gowns paired with more than 150 carats of Tiffany & Co.’s finest high jewellery pieces—masterworks of exceptional diamond craftsmanship.

High Jewellery Spotlight:
Eliza Spencer captivated in a silver mirror-embellished gown, perfectly complemented by the Ocean Flora necklace—an intricate platinum masterpiece featuring five unenhanced emeralds totalling over 10 carats, and a staggering 1,351 round brilliant diamonds totalling more than 44 carats. According to Tiffany & Co., this single piece took over 1,500 hours of artisan craftsmanship to complete, a testament to the meticulous design and precision that defines high jewellery.

Amelia Spencer wore a striking strapless black and gold sequinned gown and adorned herself with the same Tiffany necklace that supermodel Miranda Kerr wore to the 2025 Met Gala. The piece—a platinum and 18k gold choker set with Akoya pearls and diamonds—features more than 50 carats of gemstones, reflecting Tiffany’s modern reinterpretation of timeless elegance. Her ensemble was completed with diamond cluster earrings and a compact Aspinal of London Micro Hat Box bag.

Red Carpet Elegance Continues:
Just one day earlier, the Spencer twins turned heads at the Serpentine Gallery Summer Party, wearing custom crimson gowns by Anamika Khanna Couture and showcasing statement diamond pieces by legendary Swiss house, Chatila. The event came just days ahead of the 31st anniversary of Princess Diana’s iconic appearance at the same venue—an enduring moment in royal fashion history.

A Legacy of Diamonds and Royal Style:
The Spencer twins continue to honour their family’s legacy with graceful nods to their late aunt’s legendary style, but they are carving their own path in the fashion and jewellery world. Their presence at Tiffany’s high jewellery presentation not only highlighted the next generation of aristocratic style icons, but also reaffirmed the role of exceptional diamonds in telling modern luxury stories.

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At DCLA, we celebrate the enduring art of fine diamond craftsmanship. For more on gemological excellence and rare diamond showcases, stay connected to DCLA News.

Source: DCLA

Job Losses at Tiffany Subsidiary in Antwerp

A subsidiary of Tiffany & Co plans to lay off 26 of its 42 staff in Antwerp amid the ongoing slump in demand.

Laurelton Diamonds, a De Beers sightholder, was established in 2002 to procure rough diamonds, and to cut, polish and supply polished stones to its own jewelry manufacturers. It has operations in Belgium, Vietnam, Canada, Botswana, South Africa and beyond.

The company, wholly owned by Tiffany, blames the possible job losses on weak demand from China and the US, together with competition from lab growns.

“For the workforce the news came as a bolt out of the blue,’ said Yves Toutenel of the Christian ACV union ((Algemeen Christelijk Vakverbond), according to VRT, the Flemish public broadcaster.

“In 2018, the company closed its cutting plant in Antwerp. At that time, 20 staff were laid off. Laurelton now intends to make 18 blue-collar staff and eight white-collar workers redundant by the autumn.”

He said he feared Laurelton was making redundancies too quickly and said there were early signs that the diamond industry could be recovering.

Source: DCLA

Swallowing Tiffany & Co Diamonds Earrings

It’s hard to swallow. In fact most of us would probably choke trying to down over 13 carats of Tiffany’s finest diamonds.

But that, allegedly, is how Jaythan Lawrence Gilder, aged 32, responded when cops in the US finally caught up with him last week.

He swallowed two pairs of earrings that had been stolen a couple of days earlier from the Tiffany & Co store at the Mall of Millenia, in Orlando, Florida, according to an arrest affidavit.

The Orlando Police Department say X-rays taken in custody appear to confirm their suspicions, though at the time of writing they were waiting for nature to take its course.

Gilder allegedly posed as the representative of an Orlando Magic basketball player so that he’d be taken to a private room to view high-value items.

Police said he grabbed a pair of 8.19-carat diamond earrings (valued at $609,500), and a 4.86-carat diamond pair (valued at $160,000) together with a ring valued at $587,000 (no description given).

He then pushed past an employee, according to the arrest affidavit, and escaped in a blue 2024 Mitsubishi Outlander.

Two days later he was apprehended by Florida Highway Patrol troopers who spotted his vehicle. He was arrested on 48 outstanding warrants for other offences, but the officers couldn’t immediately locate the stolen Tiffany jewelry.

While in custody, however, Gilder reportedly asked jail staff whether he was going to be charged with “what’s in my stomach”. A scan revealed “foreign objects” that appeared to be the stolen earrings.

“These foreign objects are suspected to be the Tiffany & Co earrings taken in the robbery but will need to be collected by WCSO (Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Florida) after they are passed through Gilder’s system prior to confirming,” the arrest report states.

It is indeed a bizarre crime, but it is not unique. In fact Joan Hannington, aka The Godmother, perfected the technique of diamond swallowing over a long and notorious criminal career.

It started when she was working in a high-end jewelry store in London in the 1970s. Realizing that the surveillance cameras weren’t working, she took a handful of loose diamonds from the safe on impulse and swallowed them. It later turned out they were worth £800,000.

“Swallowing diamonds was my life, my buzz, my drug,” she later wrote in her memoir I Am What I Am.

For the next 20 years she used the same technique – as described in her second memoir, Joan: The True Story of Britain’s Most Notorious Diamond Thief, and as depicted in the fictionalized 2024 TV series Joan.

She’d visit a jewelry store, posing as a wealthy US tourist, often in a fur coat. She’d flirt outrageously with the salesman, while carefully memorizing her target piece.

She’d later return with a cheap but convincing replica, fake a sneeze as she was viewing the piece for a second time, and swallow the genuine item. She’d then sterilize the stolen gems in a bowl of gin and sell them on to a fence.

Hannington, now aged 68, was sentenced to 30 months for possession of a stolen check book when she was 24,but she says she was never jailed for her diamond swallowing escapades. She does however suffer painful ulcers as a long-term consequence.

Source: DCLA