Tiffany & Co. Launches Collections Sparked by Jean Schlumberger’s Iconic Bird on a Rock
The house’s new high jewelry and fine jewelry collections incorporate intricate feathers, birds in flight, and dazzling stones
Jean Schlumberger was a keen observer of the natural world, much like his patron and muse Rachel Lambert “Bunny” Mellon. Throughout his career at Tiffany & Co., he produced a vast array of masterpieces for her, including Bird on a Rock—a stunning white- and yellow-diamond bird perched atop a generous lapis lazuli—created in 1965.
Mellon had a special attachment to her wealth of Schlumberger pieces. A self-taught, masterful gardener, she wore a cherished Croisillon bracelet while potting and pruning at Oak Spring, her 4,000-acre estate in Upperville, Virginia. In her greenhouse (topped by a finial Schlumberger devised, no less), a mural painted on its walls depicts her pair of Tiffany & Co. Sixteen Stone rings hanging from a ribbon in vivid trompe l’oeil.
She found a kindred spirit in Schlumberger, as evidenced by their frequent correspondence. Glorious drawings of flowers and pollinators filled their letters, with birds as a prevailing motif. It’s from this rich legacy that Tiffany & Co.’s chief artistic officer, Nathalie Verdeille, drew influence for her latest collection, Bird on a Rock by Tiffany.
“Bird on a Rock has captured imaginations with its whimsical yet refined expression of personality and freedom. Over the decades, it has evolved while staying rooted in the spirit of joy and transformation,” she says. “With this collection, that same bird takes flight in new forms, figurative and abstract, reminding us of the limitless potential of reinvention and the emotional power of design.”
The collection’s range of fine jewelry features small birds, which each take a week to make; Bird on a Rock by Tiffany Wings also includes earrings, necklaces, and pendants distinguished by diamond feathers that seem to be in constant motion. “Even as the pieces shift toward the contemporary, they remain grounded in expert craftsmanship and poetic symbolism, making them timeless in both aesthetic and
meaning,” says Verdeille, who references the archives for inspiration, then reimagines the works for a modern sensibility.
The introduction also incorporates two high-jewelry suites, one of which is focused on tanzanite, a gem Tiffany & Co. introduced in 1968. A spectacular bracelet features a dazzling example nestled between a pair of pavé diamond lovebirds with ruby eyes seemingly hovering in mid-flight. The other assortment celebrates turquoise—a stone dear to Schlumberger and the impetus behind the house’s signature blue shade—with a brooch showcasing an exceptional cabochon acting as a sublime perch, echoing the original Bird on a Rock.
No one mines the power of Tiffany & Co.’s rich history as well as Verdeille. “In each new design, we honor that relationship by channeling Schlumberger’s observant eye, his poetic take on the natural world, and the sense of joyful sophistication that Mellon so effortlessly embodied.”
A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2025 Late Fall Issue under the headline “Taking Flight.” Subscribe to the magazine.