A long, long time ago I worked at Tiffany & Co., when the archetypal store was the epitome of elegance and grace in everything, from design to service.
I have fond memories of the old Tiffany’s, and was initially shocked and heartbroken to find out that the French had bought the American store.
An iconic centenarian old ad placement on Page 3 of the New York Times had been given the coup de grâce. As late as 2016, the American jewelry store insisted that,
“In an ever-changing world, perhaps Tiffany & Co.’s most consistent relationship with the public over the last century is its daily advertisement on page A3 of The New York Times, which began running in 1896.”
Alas, Tiffany’s new French owners had a nouveau vision, now that the American quintessential jewel was no more: her own Belle Époque had come to an end.
There may be some who still read the print edition of newspapers, who will feel a pang of nostalgie, and wonder if la mort d’une campagne publicitaire had to be done with such sang-froid.
However, according to Christie’s, the American Tiffany’s was the “world’s oldest jewellery brand”. And in 1887 it managed to purchase “about one third of the French crown jewels when they were sold off after the collapse of the Second French Empire.”
Some have considered this event “une catastrophe nationale”.
So the American brand, emblematic of a time of excellence, is no more. C’est la vie!
And while the New York Times lost the daily ads, the French came back to reclaim some of their patrimony. Fait accompli!
Dum Spiro Spero 