Tiffany’s debut of “About Love” marks the latest evolution of the luxury jewellers new creative direction.
The alluring new campaign will launch globally in print on 2 September 2021, with an accompanying film launching on Tiffany.com on 15 September. Featuring both Beyoncé and Jay-Z, the campaign will continue to unfold throughout the year with additional films created by acclaimed director Dikayl Rimmasch. Beyoncé has also posted snippets of the campaign on her Instagram account, which currently has 203 million followers!
“Beyoncé and Jay-Z are the epitome of the modern love story. As a brand that has always stood for love, strength and self-expression, we could not think of a more iconic couple that better represents Tiffany’s values. We are honoured to have the Carters as a part of the Tiffany family,” Alexandre Arnault, executive vice president of product & communications, Tiffany & Co. said.
Worn in a campaign for the first time in history is the Tiffany Diamond, which weighs 128.54 carats and boasts an unprecedented 82 facets. Beyoncé Knowles-Carter becomes the fourth woman in over a century to wear the Tiffany Diamond.
The film by acclaimed director Emmanuel Adjei features a highly anticipated musical performance of the classic song “Moon River.” Made famous in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the iconic tune is reimagined with vocals by Beyoncé and captured by JAY-Z on a Super 8 camera.
Throughout the campaign film, Beyoncé wears an assortment of incredible diamond-intensive pieces, including the Tiffany Diamond. The Tiffany Diamond is considered among the most important gemstone discoveries of the 19th century and symbolizes the brand’s rich heritage. House icons including designs from Jean Schlumberger and the Tiffany T collection are also featured in the campaign film. Most notably, JAY-Z wears Jean Schlumberger’s legendary Bird on a Rock brooch that Tiffany artisans reimagined as a pair of one-of-a-kind cuff links. Jean Schlumberger was best known for dressing high society’s elite in the 1960s and ’70s; it is appropriate that his unmistakable designs live out his legacy on one of today’s greatest creative forces.
A result of close collaboration and a shared vision between both the Carters and Tiffany & Co., the film is stripped down and raw, capturing the Carters’ indescribable chemistry through stolen moments of intimacy. It is a story of longing and reunion—a bond that transcends space and time.
The Tiffany Diamond is one of the world’s largest and finest yellow diamonds. Discovered in the Kimberley diamond mines in South Africa in 1877, the 287.42-carat rough stone was acquired the following year by founder Charles Lewis Tiffany for $18,000. It solidified Mr. Tiffany’s reputation as the “King of Diamonds.”
The rough stone was brought to Paris, where Tiffany’s chief gemologist, Dr. George Frederick Kunz, supervised the cutting of the diamond into a cushion-shape brilliant weighing 128.54 carats with an unprecedented 82 facets—24 more facets than the traditional 58-facet brilliant cut. The stone is just over an inch wide and seven-eighths of an inch from top to bottom. Cut to enhance its radiant colour rather than size, the diamond sparkles as if lit by an inner flame.
The Tiffany Diamond was the highlight of Tiffany’s award-winning exhibits at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and the 1939–40 World’s Fair in New York City. Later appearances include the 2006 “Bejewelled by Tiffany” exhibition at Somerset House in London and an exhibition celebrating the National Gem Collection at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
In 1957, socialite Mrs. E. Sheldon Whitehouse became the first woman to wear the Tiffany Diamond. In 1961, it was reset in Jean Schlumberger’s Ribbon Rosette necklace, worn by Audrey Hepburn in publicity photos for the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The stone was reset for our 175th anniversary and later worn by Lady Gaga to the 91st annual Academy Awards.
In addition to Beyoncé and Jay-Z, the “About Love” campaign also features the never-before-seen painting, “Equals Pi,” from the late artist Jean-Michel Basquiat’s private collection. Also part of the campaign is a new rendition of “Moon River,” the song made classic in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” with vocals “reimagined” by Beyoncé.
“Love is the diamond that the jewellery and art decorate,” the couple said in the campaign’s statement.
GO: Visit www.tiffany.com for more information.
