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Tiffany Settings: Everything You Need to Know

Tiffany Settings: Everything You Need to Know

Tiffany setting is one of the most well-known diamond settings out there.

It’s not the oldest, and it’s certainly not the most popular setting at the moment, but there is something that’s keeping the Tiffany setting at the top.

But what is it? Why is the Tiffany setting so popular? What’s the history behind it? These are all very valid questions, and we can’t wait to answer them for you.

In this article, you’ll find out about Tiffany settings & everything you need to know about them.

If you’re interested in that kind of information, we strongly advise you to keep reading since this is the place where you’ll learn everything there is about this famous setting.

Now that you know what to expect let’s dive right into the article and see what we have in store for you!

History Of The Tiffany Setting

Tiffany & Co is one of the most well-known companies in the diamond and jewelry industry. It’s right up there with De Beers and other famous companies.

But how did the Tiffany setting come to? Who invented it? Is it even related to Tiffany & Co?

First of all, let’s set one thing straight – yes, the Tiffany setting was invented by the man who started Tiffany & Co.

The founder’s name was Charles Lewis Tiffany, and he introduced the Tiffany setting in 1886. Charles Lewis Tiffany is one of the most dominant and well-known figures in the diamond business and jewelry industry.

The son of Chloe and Comfort Tiffany, Tiffany was born on February 15, 1812, in Killingly, Connecticut. Tiffany received her education in Plainfield, Connecticut, at both a district school and an academy.

At the age of 15, he began assisting his father, a cotton manufacturing company owner, in running a modest general store.

Later, he was employed at his father’s mill. The ancestor of the Tiffany family was Squire Humphrey Tiffany, an immigrant from England who lived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1660 until his death in Swansea, Massachusetts, in 1685.

With a loan of $1,000 from his father, Tiffany and John B. Young, a classmate, opened a small stationery and gift business in New York City in 1837.

They barely made $4.98 in total sales on their first day in operation, but two years later, they were still operating and selling jewelry, clocks, glassware, porcelain, and cutlery. Tiffany, Young, and Ellis became the name of the expanding store in 1841.

It had a reputation for only carrying the best products and was an authority on Bohemian glass and porcelain. Additionally, it started producing its own jewelry.

When political upheaval in Europe caused a significant decline in the price of precious stones in 1848, Tiffany significantly invested in diamonds, which were sold at a significant profit a few years later.

At that particular time, diamonds started to become more and more available, and so Tiffany decided to pay closer attention to that market.

It wasn’t for the diamond expansion until the early 20th century, and that’s when the Tiffany setting became popular for the first time.

From the beginning of the last century throughout all of the last 100 years, this setting was enjoying the attention of many buyers.

After World War 2, the diamond market exploded even more. People started marrying each other, and engagement rings were some of the most sold pieces of jewelry at that time; that popularity was seen with the Tiffany setting as well as with some other well-known settings for diamonds.

Best Diamonds For Tiffany Setting

There’s a bit of a debate in the world of diamonds about which diamond is best for the Tiffany setting. Now, this question is really multilayered, and that’s exactly the reason why it’s so hard to answer it.

The best diamond in these kinds of situations has to have it all. The cut, the clarity, and the color, as well as to be a perfect size, or to have enough carats, so it looks nice in the Tiffany setting, or any luxury setting, for that matter.

There are a few guidelines that we’d like to recommend when picking out a diamond for the Tiffany setting.

But, before we do that, we’d like to let you know that these aren’t the best specs of diamonds for Tiffany settings out there in general, but just our guidelines that we find as optimal for a setting such as this one.

Now, let’s see what types of diamonds should be put in a Tiffany setting.

First of all, this setting is minimalistic, which means it lets the diamond “breathe” and allows it to be the centerpiece of the jewelry piece.

That means that diamonds with low clarity rating or bad color grade shouldn’t be considered. If you’re looking to save a few extra bucks by going for a lower-quality diamond, then we recommend you go with a setting such as a flush setting that doesn’t expose the diamond as much.

Best Clarity

The best clarity for a diamond that’s going into a Tiffany setting is debatable. Of course, if you go for FL or IF graded diamonds, which means flawless or internally flawless, you can’t go wrong.

But these diamonds are the most expensive diamonds out there, and surely not all diamonds found in Tiffany settings are FL or IF graded diamonds.

You, of course, have a couple of other options that won’t force you to spend tons of money on diamonds that are the best of the best.

Very slightly included diamonds work perfectly fine with the Tiffany setting. But we highly recommend that’s the lowest clarity grade you go for. VS1 and VS2 are good, but they’re the “entry-level” clarity grades that go with the Tiffany setting.

You’ll probably see the biggest number of diamonds that are in this setting be graded VVS1 or VVS2, which stands for very very slightly included since they offer the best ratio of quality and price.

These diamonds are far from cheap, but they’re the most used since diamonds with higher clarity ratings have a drastically higher price tag.

Best Color

When it comes to the color of the diamonds that go into a Tiffany setting, there’s not that much to say.

So, the best diamonds are the ones that have the highest color grading, but if we’re talking about colored diamonds as well, then anything goes amazing with the Tiffany setting.

One thing that we’d recommend staying away from is the light or very light diamonds. The best diamonds for the Tiffany setting are the colorless diamonds that have an amazing cut that’ll help them shine as best as they can.

The Cut

While we’re on the topic of cut, let’s discuss the best cut for a Tiffany Setting. When it comes to the cut, there are a few viable options.

The majority of rings with this setting will house a round brilliant cut diamond, which is what you’d expect from a setting such as this.

Round brilliant cut diamonds fit beautifully in a Tiffany setting since this setting allows the light to penetrate the diamond not only from the above but from the sides as well, which really complements a diamond in this cut.

So, if you’re looking into this setting, you’ll most likely end up with a round brilliant cut diamond.

On the other hand, there are a few “unconventional” options in the market to replace this kind of diamond.

The first is the cushion cut. Some modern variations of this cut have 64 facets, but in general, the cushion cut has 58 facets, which is the golden standard.

The six prongs that make the Tiffany setting firmly hold in place any diamond put into them, but the question is – which diamond fits the best?

Sadly, our answer won’t be much different from the beginning of this part of the article. The round brilliant cut goes the best with the Tiffany setting, but all round cuts do look stunning in this setting.

Best Precious Metals For Tiffany Setting

Now, when it comes to the precious metals that surround a diamond that’s embedded in the Tiffany setting, that’s also a very wide topic.

A variety of precious metals go phenomenally with this setting, but only a few stand out.

For starters, we’d like to say that classic gold doesn’t go as well with this setting as some of you might think.

Regular gold has a very intense color, and the rings with Tiffany settings usually don’t focus on glamor but focus on minimalism, which is the exact opposite.

To which conclusion does that get us?

Well, the optimal precious metal for a Tiffany setting ring would be either white gold or platinum. These light metals go phenomenally with a prong variety setting, such as the Tiffany setting, and allow the diamond centerpiece to shine in all its glory without drawing too much attention to other details.

Generally speaking, if you run into an already embedded diamond with the Tiffany setting, the ring will be made out of white gold.

White gold is a much more budget-friendly option if you can call it that. Platinum is quite a bit more expensive, so people opt out for white gold, as they’re already paying a lot for the setting and the diamond.

Price Of The Tiffany Setting

And now, for the most asked question: How much money do you need for a Tiffany setting?

It’s quite a complicated thing to say since the price of the setting alone can’t exactly be pinpointed.

The price that you’ll pay for a ring with the Tiffany setting will heavily depend on the price of the diamond and the precious metals used in the production.

But, we wanted to provide you with as much information as possible, so you have a general idea of how much is the Tiffany setting and what’s the monetary price compared to other settings.

Now, you should be aware that the Tiffany setting has a variety of options for purchase. After more than 120 years of existence, this setting has expanded into many options and variations.

For instance, there’s a Tiffany setting combined with Pave setting that provides the buyer with a beautiful prong setting that holds the centerpiece, but also with a bunch of small diamonds that truly emphasize this kind of setting.

As far as the price range goes, let’s take a look at some basic numbers.

For a classic Tiffany setting that holds a 1-carat diamond, you should expect to pay somewhere around $14,000, depending on where you buy it. The majority of these basic settings will cost up to $15,000 or $16,000.

Now, this is the price with the diamond embedded and all, which means that this price isn’t bound to the setting alone.

But, if you go with the above-mentioned Pave Tiffany setting, you’ll be looking at a price tag of around $24,000, which is almost twice the price of a regular 1-carat classic Tiffany setting ring.

From those examples, you can see the difference between a classic Tiffany setting and an extravagant Tiffany setting with a bunch of fancy additions.

There are other 6-prong settings out there that are more budget-friendly options, but if you’re looking to get the Tiffany setting, you’ll be adding a few thousand dollars on top of everything else on the ring.

Of course, we can’t talk about the Tiffany setting and not talk about Tiffany & Co. In their store, you can find other engagement rings closer to $1,000 in price, but you can find some engagement rings that go for extravagant prices above $100,000.

So, if you’re looking for just the Tiffany setting, you’ll be throwing an extra $2,000 on top of the price of the ring.

But if you’re looking to buy an engagement ring from Tiffany & Co, you can go for something more budget-friendly, but the likelihood of that option having a Tiffany setting is low.

Tiffany Setting – Pros & Cons

Now that you’ve read about all of the history, quality options, and prices of these amazing rings that hold the diamond with the Tiffany setting, it’s time to look at the pros and cons of this setting side-by-side and compare them.

Tiffany Setting – The Pros

The pros of the Tiffany setting are vast. Let’s start with the fact that it’s one of the safest prong-style settings out there.

The safety aspect is quite an important feature since the centerpiece, that is, the diamond needs to be held in place since it is the most important part of the ring.

Also, a strong suit of the Tiffany setting is the fact that it’s timeless.

What do we mean by that?

Well, this setting became popular a long time ago, and it was invented even earlier. So, how is it that it’s still popular?

Part of that answer is the fact that Tiffany & Co. started producing different variations of this setting, but the original one stayed unchanged.

This goes to show you how timeless this setting is and that it will most likely never go out of style. So even in 50 or 70 years, a Tiffany setting ring will still have a shine of a newly bought ring.

Lastly, the Tiffany setting is very easy to repair. Due to the popularity of this setting, many jewelers know how to fix it if it’s broken, and that’s a good thing to know.

That doesn’t mean that you should expect your Tiffany setting to break or a prong to fall off, but under unfortunate circumstances, it’s good to know that your ring can be fixed with ease.

Tiffany Setting – The Cons

As far as our opinion goes, this setting is one of the optimal settings you should consider. But, like with all things, it has its cons.

One flaw that seems to be a recurring theme with the Tiffany setting is the fact that it might not be as comfortable to wear as you’d expect.

Sharp edges of the rings paired with a big diamond sticking on top might take some time to get used to.

Also, you should be prepared to pay a hefty price for fixing this setting in case it breaks.

We’ve mentioned that you can manage to find a repair shop that will repair your ring, but if you’re not sending that ring to the manufacturer under warranty, you should expect a bigger bill for the repair.

Should You Buy The Tiffany Setting?

Our primary concern is that you are provided with as much information as we can provide you with in order to help you reach your final verdict on a product.

With the Tiffany setting, it’s easier to reach a verdict than with some other products from this industry.

A timeless piece such as the Tiffany setting always has been and always will enjoy a dose of fame and popularity.

This means that there’s something Tiffany has done right with this setting, and countless customers can attest to that.

But is the Tiffany setting worth buying?

If you’re looking to spend an extra buck on a safe, yet beautiful setting, then yes, Tiffany setting is worth buying.

But, if you’re looking for a safe setting that won’t cost you much, then looking into the classic prong setting or flush setting might be a better idea.

Like with all things aesthetic, it comes down to your personal choice.

Keeping that in mind, one thing is certain – the Tiffany setting is an amazing choice for those who are looking to buy a safe and reliable setting that has some history behind it.

Conclusion

We hope that we’ve provided you with lots of information related to the Tiffany setting. This is one of the most well-known and famous diamond settings out there and for a reason.

With a rich history, a well-known background, and an amazing style, this setting truly is timeless.

It does cost some extra money to get it, but an overwhelming majority of buyers seem to be thrilled with this setting and don’t have any serious complaints about it.

If you’re looking into a setting for an engagement ring, we hope that this Tiffany setting and everything you need to know about it article helped you form a better-informed opinion about it, and that we’ve helped you choose the right setting.

Now, all that’s left to do is go shopping.

So, happy diamond shopping!