In London, precious jewels from the Tiffany archives

More than 400 pieces from the jeweler, including the precious Tiffany diamond, are presented in a free exhibition.

LONDON — As Tiffany & Company's New York flagship store underwent a major (and delayed) renovation, Christopher Young, the person responsible for overseeing the company's archives, saw opportunity in all the disruption . It was a chance, he said, to share more than 400 pieces from his collection with the public - not in Manhattan but in a London gallery better known for contemporary art than iconic jewelry.

>

The result is "Vision & Virtuosity", an exhibition running until August 19 at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea, curated by Mr Young, whose official title is vice -President/Creative Director of Creative Visual Merchandising and the Tiffany Archives. Admission to the show is free, but you must download the Tiffany app for iOS or Android to reserve a time slot.

A highlight, plus feature-length articles company date. established archive, is the 128.54-carat Tiffany Diamond, a cushion-cut yellow gem. It was seen mounted in a white diamond necklace on Beyoncé in a Tiffany ad campaign last year and on Lady Gaga at the Oscars in 2019, but the gem is normally displayed in the Fifth Avenue boutique.

ImageL he exhibition, 'Vision & Virtuosity,' runs until August 19 at the Saatchi Gallery in London. 1,800 Jewels, documenting the legacy of Tiffany founder Charles Lewis Tiffany and the works of his son Louis Comfort Tiffany, as well as creations by renowned designers such as Jean Schlumberger, Elsa Peretti and Paloma Picasso.

But why Tiffany, acquired for 15.8 billion dollars last year by French luxury conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, would she store so many valuable pieces in an archive? Mr Young explained the reasoning during a recent gallery video interview, just after escorting Ms Picasso around the exhibition. (The conversation has been edited and condensed.)

Tiffany is in the sales business. So why hang on to such a huge archive?

Since the company was founded, we have always kept archives, certainly designs. The oldest item in the records is a day 1 cash book in 1837. A record of what was invested in the business and what assets were sold would be kept in this ledger. But the most important goal is for us to know ourselves and to preserve our history for the future: to store our architecture, our product design, our packaging design, our logo design. And, of course, the archives are a rich source for our designers as they evolve. We often look back, not to argue back but to know where we came from and why certain choices were made. Since the beginning of this brand, there have been quite a few innovations in the world of jewelry, especially when we produced the six-claw setting in 1886.

What is the oldest...