Tiffany & Co is a world renowned luxury brand in jewelrywith a rich history of over 150 years. Besides its various outlets, the storealso has an online presence, and customers can purchase diamonds online too, byutilizing the local websites and the online catalogs. Known for its wellestablished brand name, high end quality and novel designs, this brand offersthe dream diamonds for many women. The Tiffany Blue Box with a silver ribbon isthe standard packaging offered by the company and is looked forth to by manybuyers for its simple elegance and style. 

About the store

Respected as one of the best high end jewelry stores of the US, today Tiffany's has outlets in variouscountries like the Americas,UK, Europe, Latin America, Japan, Middle East and China. TheTiffany & Co Foundation is an important aspect of this retail chain thatlooks into sustainability and environment. The Foundation's Environment Programworks to support organizations that conserve natural resources throughresponsible mining, coral reef conservation and protection. It supportsorganizations that work to preserve the historic and cultural legacy of arts.It also furthers grants to institutions for supporting talented artisans andsupporting academic scholarships relevant to jewelry at graduate and postgraduate levels.

History

The store's history dates to 1837, when Tiffany & Youngwas established by Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young. It was in the sameyear that the store also introduced its famous blue box, the packaging thatmakes many hearts flutter even today. This color was also translated to otherpromotional material of the store. In 1853 Charles Lewis took complete controlof the company and renamed it as Tiffany & Co. The store went on to acquirethe Tiffany diamond in 1878 and established the ‘Tiffany setting', a six prongdiamond solitaire ring in 1886. Soon in 1887, the brand became known as ‘theking of diamonds' when it acquired some French crown jewels. The brand nameachieved fame in 1961 with the film ‘Breakfast at Tiffany's' where AudreyHepburn played the role of a woman who loved the store. With fame in itspocket, the store went on to offer various wonderful designs like the Lucida in1999 and the Tiffany Legacy collection in 2003. It also opened stores acrossthe world. In 2007, the store introduced Tiffany Novo, a cushion cut diamondring design inspired by the famous Tiffany diamond.

Products

Tiffany offers a wide range of diamond jewelry like diamondbracelets, brooches, charms, ear rings, necklaces and pendants. Besidesdiamonds, the store also offers sterling silver, watches, men's accessories(including cuff links, writing instruments etc.) and tableware. Eye catchingpatterns of diamond jewelry by renowned names like Elsa Peretti, Frank Gehry,Paloma Picasso and Jean Schlumberger are also offered.

Special diamondcollection

For those shopping specially for diamonds, the collectionsare a must see. Its special diamond collection includes the Tiffany lace,Tiffany Bubbles, Tiffany celebration rings, Tiffany jazz and Tiffany Legacy. Asthe names imply, Tiffany lace collection offers diamonds in delicate filigreepatterns while the Jazz collection offers jewels in lyrical artistry. Thebubbles collection captures the charm of bubbles in simple and elegant designs.The Legacy collection features diamond jewelry that is inspired by Edwardiandesigns from the Tiffany archives. The designs usually feature a cushion cutcenter stone surrounded by bead set diamonds. The legacy collection began withoffering wedding and engagement rings, and today offers earrings, pendants andbracelets also. The store also offers Statement jewelry, where rare stones areused to create timeless jewelry. Diamonds by the Yard is another exciting collectionoffered by Elsa Peretti.

Certificates andwarranties

Every item of jewelry purchased at the store comes with adiamond certificate from Tiffany and a lifetime warranty. The diamondcertificate awarded by the company, certifies the authenticity and integrity ofthe diamond. The store also offers a full lifetime warranty as per which, thediamond is certified to be natural with each characteristic stated on thecertificate to be correct at the time of sale. Grading certificates fromrenowned laboratories are not provided however and the store provides thewarranty that whatever is mentioned in their certificates is true. The storealso offers a Tiffany Gift card that can be redeemed for its prepaid value withthe store.

Services and tools

Customer service at Tiffany is reputed to be excellent andpeople are known to have good understanding about the various aspects ofdiamonds. For online shoppers, customer assistance can be availed through emailand also by phone through a toll free number. Tools offered by the storeinclude online catalogs that can easily be downloaded in PDF formats. Catalogsare classified under diverse titles to help customers easily select the stylesthey want. Both hand engraving and machine engraving services are offered forprecious jewelry. The store also offers personal assistance through itspersonal shopper feature. Customers can open their personal accounts with thestore whereby they can easily shop online, track orders after purchase, saveitems to buy later and even receive product updates from the store. Businessaccounts can be opened for purchasing business gifts. The site also offers thefeature of a wedding and gift registry.

Pricing

The most important issue with the site as per many customersis the price. Jewelry at Tiffany's is noted to cost higher than compared atother online stores. Also as Tiffany is an established brand, customers areunable to bargain for lowering the prices. Many also state that as there is nothird party appraising involved.

Tiffany's offers a high romantic appeal as many women fallfor the light blue box with the silver ribbon. The quality of products andservices at the store is reputably high. However, on the flipside prices arehigh too and those who have compared costs of diamonds online, will find pricedifferences. But Tiffany enthusiasts state that one pays for the brand name,the design, the experience of shopping here and the smile on the face of yourloved one.