Paloma Picasso's design collaboration with Tiffany and Company

¶ … jewelry brands and one of the most acclaimed designers combine their work, superb quality jewelry is the result. Tiffany Co. In the summer of 1980 decided to bring aboard Paloma Picasso to design their jewelry and result in its own long running brand. Paloma Picasso, already known for her artistic designs, is the famed daughter of Pablo Picasso. Throughout the past two decades, she has crafted her image into a brand itself and is recognized around the world for her jewelry, clothing and perfume lines.

Paloma Picasso was introduced to the art world at a very young age. She was the youngest child of the master artist Pablo Picasso and his lover Francoise Gilot. Her upbringing surrounded the theme of art and artistic endeavors. As a result, she too turned towards this profession as a designer. Her exposure to art did not only include her own designs, but she was also the subject of at least two of Picasso's most famous artworks. Paloma began her career in Paris as a costume designer in 1968. Her costume work was primarily focused on jewelry design, and her rhinestone necklaces were immediately noticed by critics and positively acclaimed. After taking several courses in jewelry design, she became fully introduced to the jewelry design field when Yves Saint Laurent requested her to design accessories for one of his collections. With this impromptu start, Paloma began working for the highly respected Greek jewelry company Zolotas. It was through years within the jewelry design industry that Tiffany Co. finally began to recruit her in earnest, and as a result, she joined aboard the company in 1980 as the lead designer in her own signature series.

At the time Paloma joined Tiffany Co. It was also undergoing a revolution of its own. The company was originally founded as a boutique jewelry store on Broadway Street. It took the revolutionary sales policy that all items within the store were non-negotiable on price. Founded in 1837, it is the most recognizable name in the high end jewelry and household accessory market. During the past forty years, Tiffany expanded its market presence through cultural advertising. The 1961 classic movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's" made the store widely popular all over the world. It has stores all around the world; recently they opened stores in Japan, China, and South Korean. Their flagship store located in New York City's Fifth Avenue, not far from their original store location on Broadway. The corporation has an exclusive diamond agreement with the Tahera Diamond Corporation to buy the entire production capacity of the Jericho Diamond Mine; as a result they have consistent access to the best quality diamonds in the world. Tiffany has sold its merchandise through two primary distribution channels, its more than 150 Tiffany and Co. stores worldwide, and through its mail-in catalog and website. In the fiscal year 2005, Tiffany was the most successful jewelry retailer, outstripping their next three competitors by a significant margin. Its overall revenue was 2.47 billion with a profit margin of 1.34 billion. The majority of its sales came directly from stores, although almost 15% came from their website purchases.

The signature lines produced by Paloma are characterized by their unique Xs and scribbles of both gold and silver. Two of the most important signature items are Paloma Picasso "Scribble" earrings. These pieces are usually set in silver and consist of a free flowing scribble attached through a loped ear piece. Paloma came out with this signature design in early 1980 and it has been one of her signature lines ever since then. Among these "Scribble" designs is the drop earrings design. The reason for their success is the overall smooth and elegant look of these earrings. Made with sterling silver, the piece creates a contrasting color tone against darker skin tones. The scribble shape of the design creates a free-flowing feel that makes the piece feel both delicate and prominent at the same time. Although the Scribble appears relatively small, with most signature lines no more than two inches in length, the color and smooth texture of the earrings, magnifies its overall charm. The "Scribble" series reasonably priced, this is because Paloma steers away from expensive jewelry for this signature series, intending to keep it elegant and simple. The line starts from as low as 75 dollars to over 3000, with most of the pieces costing around 200 dollars.