Tiffany & Co is an American luxury jewellery and specialty retailer, headquartered in New York City. The business was founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young in Brooklyn, Connecticut in 1837 as a “stationery and fancy goods emporium” and soon expanded to offer upscale jewellery and silverware. In 1848 the firm began to manufacture jewellery and in 1850 they opened a branch in Paris. In 1853 Charles Tiffany took control and established the firm as Tiffany & Company.
The name Tiffany was more than just the most well known jewellery store in the country; it became an enduring American symbol for luxury and elegance. Tiffany & Co. was the pre–eminent jeweller in the United States for over fifty years and won numerous prizes for his silver and jewels from international exhibitions, Tiffany proved to Europeans and others that his American artisans were among the best in the world. His famous acquisitions of some of the world’s most desirable gems, included the Tiffany Yellow Diamond and the French Crown Jewels, building up his worldwide reputation and attracting many of the country’s most prominent citizens to seek out his treasures.
After his death in 1902 his son Louis Comfort Tiffany succeeded him and acquired fame for designing his legendary LCT art glass.