Image: Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville
The exhibition combines objects from the Crystal Bridges permanent collection with exceptional jewelry and gemstones on loan from The Tiffany Archives. It is free and open to all, with no tickets or reservations needed.
The exhibition situates Tiffany & Co. within the broader story of American art and highlights its role in transforming the nation’s natural riches into objects of beauty and cultural significance. It explores the natural world as both inspiration and material, encompassing native flora and fauna as well as gemstones sourced across the country. Founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany in 1837, Tiffany & Co. has shaped American jewelry design for nearly two centuries.
Among the featured objects is ‘The Orchid Brooch,’ made by George Paulding Farham for Tiffany & Co. between 1889 and 1893 from gold, diamonds, rubies, and enamel. The exhibition also includes an Arkansas Diamond weighing 27.21 carats; it was discovered in 1926 and purchased by Tiffany & Co. in 1946.
Another Tiffany object is Jean Schlumberger’s ‘Hedges & Flowers Necklace,’ made with gold, platinum, diamonds, rubellite tourmalines, and turquoise. George Paulding Farham’s ‘Tiger Orchid Brooch’ for Tiffany & Co. was made in 1889 from gold, sterling silver, diamonds, emeralds, pink sapphires, and enamel. The brooch was exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in 1889.
