Tiffany Unveils New RUBEDO™ Metal to Mark Its 175th Anniversary

Debut Marks the Next Milestone in Tiffany’s Great Legacy

NEW YORK, NY (February 15, 2012) -- In honor of its 175th anniversary, Tiffany & Co. unveils RUBEDO™  metal, a new jeweler’s metal. RUBEDO™  metal is the first such creation in Tiffany’s history and takes its place among the most beautiful metals in the world. In the medieval philosophy of alchemy, Rubedo was the title of the very highest achievement, when matter and spirit fused to create something of rare beauty.

This triumph is perfectly expressed in Tiffany’s new RUBEDO™  metal, which marries the richness of gold, the brilliance of silver and the warmth of copper. Metallurgists experimented with different ratios over a long testing period until they achieved the desired color, radiant with the glow of “ first light”  that awakens a sense of wonder and ennobles the spirit. In addition, this unique alloy is lightweight yet strong, polishes to a smooth luster and is exceptionally flattering to the skin.

RUBEDO™  metal is the company’s latest in a history of innovations in metallurgy. Tiffany was the first American company to incorporate the 925/1000 British standard of silver purity. Largely through the efforts of founder Charles Lewis Tiffany, the U.S. government adopted the standard, and later, the jeweler’s standard for platinum (.950 pure), as well. 

In the 1850s Tiffany & Co. established a silver studio, the first American school of design, which produced groundbreaking exhibits that won top awards at the great world’s fairs of the late 19th century. At the 1867 Paris fair, Tiffany’s lavishly chased silver inlaid with gold, copper and enamel won the grand prize for silver craftsmanship, the first awarded by a foreign jury to an American design house. At the 1878 Paris fair, Tiffany became the first American silversmith to take home the Grand Prize for Excellence, awarded for its ingenious Japanesque silver of inlaid mixed metals and complex alloys of gold, silver, copper, bronze and platinum.

Tiffany’s RUBEDO™  metal is crafted in this great tradition. It debuts in Tiffany 1837™  designs that feature elegant contours polished to a high luster and finished with the jeweler’s hallmark. Light plays over the generous surfaces like the blush of early morning across the sky.

Among the luminous creations is an elongated cuff that crisply incorporates the hallmark at the cuff’s edge. A similarly contoured ring carries the Tiffany legacy with equal grace. Tiffany designers also contrast the warmth of RUBEDO™  with sterling silver in a pendant and necklace of interlocking circles of great movement and dimension. Tiffany 1837™  RUBEDO™  jewelry designs inscribed with the signature of founder Charles Lewis Tiffany are available for 2012, in celebration of Tiffany’s anniversary year.

Just in time for Mother's Day Gift Giving! My favorite piece in the collection is the Interlocking Bangle - BUT - in case you're interested...I would take either the Ring or Inter-Locking Bangle shown above!

The collection is available at select Tiffany & Co. stores worldwide and at Tiffany.com.