Hope is a thing with gemstone feathers

On the legacy of Tiffany & Co. and its transcendental beauty

If hope is the thing with feathers, as Emily Dickinson once wrote, one wonders what gemstones may add to the equation. The late poet believed that this feathered thing perches in the soul, singing the tune without the words that never stops at all. Though she never speaks of avifauna of any specific kind, her words radiate a romance akin to that which can be felt when we are in the presence of particular Tiffany & Co. pieces. Indeed, the label’s iconic Bird on a Rock design transcends the perimeters of its physical makeup, evoking a magic much like that which is quasi-conjured by Dickinson’s famous words.

While the poet’s metaphorical feathered thing perches in the soul, the bejewelled bird on a rock of Tiffany & Co. is designed to rest upon the body, nestling into the aura of the individual who becomes not only the wearer but also, seemingly and mysteriously, the bird’s chosen one.

First designed by famed French visionary Jean Schlumberger for Tiffany & Co. in 1965, The iconic Bird on a Rock resembles the Yellow Cockatoo, a creature that is said to represent illumination. According to some ancient traditions, in fact, it is the sentinel guard and guide through darkness. Whether Schlumberger had such symbolism in mind when he first sketched his design is something we may never know, regardless, his feathered creation epitomises the brilliance of both the bird that belongs to nature and the artisanship that lies at the heart of Tiffany’s. As if having flown through kaleidoscopic clouds from skies painted by the Greek goddess Theia, the iconic Birds are set with diamonds and pink sapphire eyes, their gold claws perched on precious stones such as tri-colour tourmaline, amethyst, kunzite emerald, chrysoberyl, and morganite.

Once upon a time, the original model for the ornate avian creature was handcrafted with each component assembled using a variety of techniques including traditional soldering. Today, Bird on a Rock pieces continue to be produced through a special casting process, a secret craft used by Tiffany artisans since 1867. After the jewel’s skeleton is assembled by the jeweller, the setter opens up the stone seats using what is referred to as a pavé setting technique. Just as no two flowers ever blossom in exactly the same manner, each stone in every Bird on a Rock brooch is entirely unique— chosen for its overall beauty based on its shape, depth, and intensity of colour.

As the nests of Satin Bowerbirds are consciously built by the male’s vibrant violet eyes as gestures of love and courtship, every Bird on a Rock is uniquely crafted as an exquisite echo of Schlumberger’s original vision, as conscious reflections of nature’s untouched beauty. No two stones, as no two souls, are ever alike, nor are they ever perfect. Flawlessness, after all, is something one need not strive for in a world of chaos. As ‘in chaos,’ Anaïs Nin reminds us, ‘there is fertility.’ A secret that perhaps the late Schlumberger—a man who sought inspiration in the biotic interactions of nature—had always known.

In the hopes of capturing the irregularity of the universe, Schlumberger’s innovative designs were inspired by everything from deep-water shells and exotic plants to fantastical birds, just like the Yellow Cockatoo that guides us through the darkness. Many of his famous hybrids, for example, evolve from animals and minerals; a starfish becomes a star and a flower a sun—a bird’s plumage transforms into an angel’s wing. In the artist’s own words: ‘I try to make everything look as if it were growing, uneven, organic.’ Just as the burnt orchid is birthed by seeds that must first be lovingly germinated, Schlumberger’s designs were born from drawings that were first tenderly traced from the artist’s unbridled imagination. It was this time spent creatively siphoning his observations of the environment that led to him to conjure so many dreamlike relics of our organic landscape. His artisanal emblems may not perch in the soul, but they still permeate the spirit of the person adorned in Tiffany’s.

Indeed, Schlumberger’s sublime creations are everlasting icons that reflect both the artist’s own metamorphic ingenuity and the technical virtuosity of the label’s craftsmanship. Intricate jewels of wonder that sing the tune without the words that never stops at all—the music composed and magnified by the wearer. Schlumberger may no longer be with us, but fragments of his imagination endure in the studio where he once worked on the mezzanine floor of the original Fifth Avenue store. At Tiffany’s, hope is a thing with gemstone feathers, perched on the body to be felt in the soul.

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You can read more of Kathryn’s poetry here.

This article was first published in issue 27 of LOVE WANT

The TIFFANY AND CO. SCHLUMBERGER collection photographed by Bartolomeo Celestino

With additional Photography by Tim Ashton with Mercy Rose Watson at Priscillas Model Management

Styling Ilkin Kurt | Hair Georgia Ramman | Make up Teneille Sorgiovanni