Tiffany & Co. Soars with New Bird on a Rock Collections

Jean Schlumberger never intended to crown the cockatoo as an international symbol of love and luxury. But then again, the most enduring icons are rarely born of grand design.

While there are many legends regarding the inspiration behind the silhouette, a leading theory states that the Tiffany & Co. jewellery designer first fell for the famously monogamous bird after spotting one at his beloved home on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. Though we’ll likely never know his specific influences, we do know that in 1965, Schlumberger perched a yellow-and-white-diamond bird atop a cabochon lapis lazuli and the Bird on a Rock brooch was born.

Sixty years later, Tiffany & Co. has reimagined the emblem into two distinctive high- and fine-jewellery collections with the help of Nathalie Verdeille, chief artistic officer of jewellery and high jewellery. The sparkling suite pays tribute to the whimsy of the original while also soaring to new heights with its craftsmanship and design. Think rings that stack together like a bedazzled puzzle, both subtle and not-so-subtle pendants that evoke abstract feathers and convertible earrings that can be changed as easily as a bird alters its flight pattern. “Revisiting [the] motif today feels especially timely as it speaks to a collective desire for freedom, transformation and elevation, which we translated into sculptural forms that invite the imagination to take flight,” explains Verdeille.

To begin the reimagining, Verdeille took a page from Schlumberger’s very own blue book and studied birds, paying particular attention to their stances and feathers and the structure of their wings. “The designs were crafted to feel as though they are in mid-flight, light and expressive,” she shares. “Each piece is like a miniature sculpture, alive with motion and meaning, and intended not just to be worn but felt.”

For the high-jewellery offering, this translated into two unique aesthetics: one punctuated with tanzanites (a jewel described as a “legacy gemstone” for the house) and the other with turquoise, as a cheeky homage to the Tiffany blue. The deeper-blue gemstones are interspersed across a necklace, a bracelet and earrings. But the true feather in the collection’s cap is the turquoise drop necklace, which features more than 600 diamonds and a dramatic cabochon-turquoise pendant.

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Photography by Fujio Emura, courtesy of Tiffany & Co.

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Both collections are united by the same technical wizardry synonymous with the luxury jeweller. In fact, every element—from the metal to the gemstones—was refined over two years to achieve the high level of craftsmanship, with one piece alone employing three different diamond-setting techniques to capture the textures and iridescence of plumage.

Not to be overlooked, though, is the Bird on a Rock fine-jewellery assortment. Although it doesn’t have the same high-wattage shine factor as the more couture-like pieces, what it lacks in gemstones it more than makes up for in metalwork. Inspired by wings and more literal interpretations of the bird motif, the collection uses radiant 18-karat gold, platinum and diamonds to play with texture and movement.

The rings are an exquisite example of this. The more overt pieces depict diamond-studded birds flying solo or in pairs, and when stacked, they resemble a fluid flock flying into the proverbial sunset. Alternatively, the bands take the organic shape of feathers and turn it into a hypnotic pattern encrusted with hidden settings that make the gemstones look as if they are suspended in air.

“Bird on a Rock has endured because it captures something universal—joy, whimsy and the desire to soar beyond the ordinary,” reflects Verdeille. A special flock indeed.