Tiffany Lays Out its Diamond Supply Chain in Short Sustainability Film

A singular shade of robin’s egg blue holds special meaning for many of us. For designers, it’s known as No. 1837 in the Pantone catalog, the year the iconic jeweler Tiffany & Co. was founded 180 years ago. For the rest of us, it’s just Tiffany Blue, a color that, particularly in the form of a box tied with a white satin ribbon, stands for luxury.

Now, Tiffany & Co. wants their trademark blue to stand for something else: sustainability. For more than a decade, the company has been implementing a series of ambitious practices in how they source and craft their jewelry. With a new video released just after Christmas, the company is cinematically illustrating its competitive difference in sustainability. It is the story of how 0.04% of the world’s gem-grade diamonds become Tiffany diamonds.

Featuring footage from Mauritius, Antwerp and New York, the film shows the journey of a Tiffany diamond from sourcing to cutting, polishing and finally setting. It also lays out how that entire process is managed so that the company can ensure the sourcing and crafting is undertaken in a way that protects both the environment and the people who live in the communities where Tiffany operates.

“This is truly a story only Tiffany can tell. We are unique among luxury jewelers in that we obtain our diamonds through direct sourcing relationships, and that those diamonds never leave the precise hands of our highly skilled artisans,” says Andy Hart, senior vice president, Diamond & Jewelry Supply, Tiffany & Co.

In order to maintain its strict quality control as well as its sustainable practices, Tiffany & Co. makes the majority of the jewelry it sells at its own diamond and jewelry workshops, both in the U.S. and abroad. Two of those overseas locations are featured in the video – the island nation of Mauritius and Antwerp, Belgium.

“With an uncompromising commitment to transparency and traceability throughout our supply chain, we developed an industry-leading approach to responsible sourcing and manufacturing,” says Anisa Kamadoli Costa, the company’s chief sustainability officer. “We are able to trace the path of a majority of our raw materials from origin to finished product, which is our best means of ensuring social and environmental responsibility.”

As Costa points out, the company’s commitment goes beyond just the jewelry, through investing in the local communities where Tiffany & Co. operates, through job training and a commitment to living wage practices. The results of the company’s commitment to sustainability, captured briefly in the new video, are laid out in detail in the Tiffany & Co. annual sustainability report. From the company’s aim to become a net-zero emissions business by 2050, to its progress in diversifying both its workforce and senior leadership, the report details the results of multiple programs and practices.

The sustainability report – and recent video – don’t come in one of the company’s iconic boxes. But they do present a compelling argument to expand our shared understanding of what Tiffany blue stands for.