Tiffany tells its story in the Vision & Virtuosity exhibition in Shanghai ♦
Telling to Chinese people, and not only, what the Tiffany brand means. The medium for this strategic operation is Vision & Virtuosity, an exhibition organized in Shanghai by the largest jewelry company in the world. The exhibition, which celebrates the greatest creative masterpieces of legendary American jewelry, is not organized in China by accident.
Right at the beginning of June, Tiffany reduced its earnings forecasts for 2019 after recording a sharp drop in purchases by tourists, particularly Chinese ones, which caused a decline in quarterly sales on a comparable basis. On that occasion, Tiffany also specified that the forecasts depend on a number of factors, including the increasing duties on jewelry that the company exports from the United States to China.
The Vision & Virtuosity exhibition seems to be an answer to relaunch the brand: it was conceived as a journey through history, an exploration of the codes of the brand and a look at the future, a tribute to the past of New York society. Shanghai, a global capital that boasts a rich cultural heritage and international influence, is the ideal location for an exhibition of this caliber aimed at the Cina.
Vision & Virtuosity is a tribute to Tiffany & Co., synonymous with great craftsmanship and innovative design since Charles Lewis Tiffany founded the company in New York in 1837. These two values, vision and virtuosity, are the essence from Tiffany & Co. and this exhibition represents the best of our brand.
Alessandro Bogliolo, Chief Executive Officer of Tiffany & Co
Vision & Virtuosity transports visitors to a world full of imagination and presents the most important creations of the Tiffany Archives. The installations of the exhibition contextualize the moments of great innovation of the brand, documenting the countless first times of Tiffany, such as the introduction of the modern engagement ring, the Tiffany Setting.
“In the Tiffany Archives there are many incredible objects from which we draw inspiration and we continually find new ways to reinvent them and reinterpret them for our models of today. With this exhibition we honor the past and show how beauty and craftsmanship are timeless and always very important, “adds Reed Krakoff, Chief Artistic Officer of Tiffany.
The exhibition path is divided into six chapters.
Blue Is the Color of Dreams
Tiffany Blue, the blue of robin’s eggs, is the protagonist of a room, which highlights the iconic color used in jewelry and in the Tiffany brand and its important presence as a cultural icon. In the room, which pays tribute to the discovery and use of colored gemstones in the Tiffany tradition, you can admire gems such as Montana sapphires and tanzanites — blue-purple stones that Tiffany presented to the world in 1968.
The World of Tiffany
A visual testimony of how broad Tiffany’s representation in popular culture is, The World of Tiffany shows Tiffany’s iconic influence in film, television, music and literature. This space tells the evolution of the Tiffany Blue Box, the construction of the flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York, the influential characters who wore Tiffany jewels and other important moments that made Tiffany a place that gives joy through her creations spectacular.
The Tiffany Blue Book
Visitors will discover the innovation and skill that characterize the high jewelry pieces of the Blue Book collections. In this room you can admire the original Blue Book of 1845, the first mail-order catalog in the United States, the exceptional creations of Jean Schlumberger and Elsa Peretti. A room that tells the story of the evolution of design and craftsmanship that have characterized Tiffany’s creativity for almost two centuries, reaching the jewels of the Blue Book collections designed by the current Chief Artistic Officer of Tiffany & Co. Reed Krakoff .
Tiffany Love
Tiffany has always created jewels that celebrate relationships and the way people express their feelings through love symbols. The jewels in this room offer a glimpse of Tiffany’s important role in the greatest love stories in the world, through creations such as the first modern engagement ring, the Tiffany Setting, and the recently presented Tiffany True.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
No other film has played an equally important role in consolidating Tiffany’s appeal in popular culture as much as Breakfast at Tiffany’s. This chapter of the show takes visitors behind the scenes of the film with exclusive items such as the original script with Audrey Hepburn’s personal annotations and photos of the set in the Fifth Avenue flagship store.
Audrey Hepburn® – Trademark and Likeness property of Sean Hepburn Ferrer and Luca Dotti – All Rights Reserved. Photo credit: The Tiffany Archives
Diamonds: Miracles of Nature
In this room visitors are invited to discover the most precious and important diamonds of Tiffany. Diamonds: Miracles of Nature pays tribute to Tiffany’s authority in the field of diamonds in different eras, from the Gilded Age to the Art Deco period to contemporary models. The show culminates with the most precious jewel of the brand, the Tiffany Diamond. This fancy yellow 128.54 carat diamond, which has long been a source of inspiration and starting point for the Tiffany jewelry collections, is undoubtedly one of the most important gemstones in the world.
Vision & Virtuosity will open to the public from September 23 to November 10, 2019 in Shanghai, China, at the Fosun Foundation Shanghai. Tickets will go on sale from the beginning of September, and the proceeds from the sale of all tickets will go to the Fosun Foundation and its philanthropic programs.
