Tiffany Unveils The Making of its Iconic Engagement Ring in Campaign Celebrating 130 Years of the Tiffany® Setting

By paying tribute to the artisans who handcraft each ring, Tiffany highlights its superlative standards

Dubai, UAE, January 21, 2016:  For the first time, Tiffany & Co. is casting its advertising spotlight on the artisans behind its most iconic diamond ring, as part of a year-long campaign to illustrate why the globally recognized symbol of love and marriage - the Tiffany® Setting engagement ring - can only be found at Tiffany.

“When our founder Charles Tiffany introduced the Tiffany® Setting in 1886, he gave us not only a symbol of true love, but also an enduring reminder of our diamond heritage and reputation for craftsmanship,” said Caroline Naggiar, chief marketing officer of Tiffany & Co. “What better way to celebrate the 130th anniversary of this handcrafted ring than to honor its makers.”

The campaign features testimony by the real artisans who hand cut, hand polish and handcraft each ring in an unparalleled tradition of excellence, just as it was done 130 years ago. Emphasizing what makes the Tiffany® Setting different from other six-prong engagement rings, the jeweler is reminding soon-to-be brides (and their prospective fiancés) that Tiffany rejects 99.96% of the world’s gem-grade diamonds, and that its superlative standards go beyond the 4Cs (Tiffany’s 5th C, Presence, grades a diamond’s brilliance, scintillation and dispersion).

The single and double-page spreads are headlined with the declarative I WILL, followed by individual quotes that reveal the artisans’ deep sense of pride and dedication in creating Tiffany’s iconic diamond engagement ring, which can take a full year to craft. 

• “I will reject 99.96% of the world’s finest diamonds because there’s a difference between quality and Tiffany quality.” - Chief gemologist Melvyn Kirtley
• “I will craft a setting so flawlessly that the exquisite diamond seems to float. Just as it was done 130 years ago.” - Diamond setter Tomasz Dziwura
• “I will polish a diamond’s 57 facets with exacting precision and if only 56 of them are brilliant, I’ll consider it a failure.” - Diamond polisher Jorge Jimenez

The quotes appear with an image of the Tiffany® Setting and acclaimed photographer Martyn Thompson’s striking black-and-white photographs of the artisans’ hands performing their time-honored tasks. In addition, director Keith Ehrlich worked with Tiffany to create black-and-white videos in :15, :30 and :60 segments, which showcase more of these masters at work, with voiceovers by the artisans themselves. 

These experts say they are privileged to set such high-quality diamonds, which Tiffany procures in the rough to ensure that each was responsibly extracted directly from a known mine or through a supplier with multiple known mines. Tiffany then cuts and polishes most stones in the company’s own state-of-the-art facilities in order to maintain the integrity of its diamond supply chain.

The I WILL campaign follows Tiffany’s spring 2015 WILL YOU? engagement campaign, which featured modern couples embarking on a new chapter in their romantic journey. Both campaigns were created with Tiffany’s ad agency, Ogilvy & Mather in New York. The images will appear in print, as well as across digital properties under the hashtag #TiffanySetting.