18 September 2026 marks 189 years since the New York store that became Tiffany & Co. first opened.

Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young launched Tiffany & Young at 259 Broadway. The initial selection included stationery and fancy goods, not jewellery alone in the modern sense.

The company distinguished itself by displaying fixed prices, unusual in an age of bargaining. The store attracted customers interested in imported goods and an urban style.

In 1853, Charles Lewis Tiffany took control and established the name Tiffany & Co. The identity gradually centred on jewellery, silverware and precious stones.

The house helped popularise the 925 sterling silver standard in the United States. The colour known as Tiffany Blue and the blue packaging became lasting visual marks.

The Tiffany Setting engagement ring was introduced in 1886, with the diamond raised above the band. The model influenced modern engagement-ring design.

The cultural image was strengthened through literature, cinema and the Fifth Avenue flagship. Tiffany & Co. became part of the French LVMH group in 2021.

At 189 years from its start, the history shows a fancy-goods shop becoming a global design and luxury house, not the instant birth of an exclusive jeweller.

Image: Ajay Suresh / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Tiffany & Co., 727 Fifth Avenue. Archive photograph of the flagship, not the 1837 store. Cropped to 16:9.

Source consulted: Tiffany & Co. | Encyclopaedia Britannica; The World of Tiffany timeline | Tiffany & Co..