CHANGING THE FACE OF LUXURY

In the book The Bling Dynasty: Why the Reign of Chinese Luxury Shoppers Has Only Just Begun, HSBC Managing Director Erwan Rambourg drew up a chart reflecting the hierarchy of luxury brands around the world, covering levels from “Everyday Luxury” to “Ultra High End.” Tiffany’s occupies two parts in the spectrum, with its silver jewelry occupying the Affordable Luxury tier, and its exclusive silver line occupying a tier called Premium Core.

“This is quite unique in the world of luxury, and it’s absolutely part of the Tiffany DNA,” said Mr. Jacheet. “We take particular pride at Tiffany’s of having both, on the same day, a 15-year-old girl being gifted for her 15th [ birthday with a] Tiffany piece at $300, and having next to this person, a $1-million statement ring-buyer.

“We service every client as if they were spending a million dollars,” he said.

In Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Ms. Golightly and Paul Varjak, her neighbor and eventual lover, walk into Tiffany’s with $10 and are treated quite politely by a salesman, and are offered a piece at $6.75 “including federal tax.”

“There is an idea of not only serving, and being the brand of education to luxury jewelry, but as well as the brand that will go throughout your life, with you; with the evolution of your taste and needs,” Mr. Jacheet said.

“Historically, the brands in luxury have… desirability [ by creating] some sort of gap between you, the customer, and them, the icon, so that if you were buying an item from them, you would be part of those who belong. It’s a desirability model created by exclusion… and it creates aspiration. We don’t believe in that; we believe in inclusion,” he added.

However, it’s not easy to market itself as a brand of privilege if it is also

LOVE, ETHICS, AND LUXURY

According to Mr. Jacheet, Tiffany’s practices traceability and ethical sourcing for its diamonds. Ethical diamonds are a major concern for highend customers, in an effort to stop the trade in blood diamonds that fund civil wars in poor, diamond-mining nations. “I’m absolutely convinced that modern luxury is going to evolve towards that,” said Mr. Jacheet while discussing the market’s response to customers who demand not only quality but good values, “The younger generation that is coming up is not going to be interested by [the statement] ‘I’m the status guy’.”

In The Substance of Style by Virginia Postrel, the author cites an interview by Francine Maroukian with designer Karim Rashid in a 2002 Town and Country article titled “What’s Really Important,” which came out just a few months after the 9/11 tragedy in New York. “What really endures are artifacts, effigies, things that speak about a time, place, or civilization. When people say to me that everything seems trivial or meaningless, I believe the opposite. Objects outlive us, and they are the symbols of our culture and history,” said Mr. Rashid.

“When you think of it, diamonds are totally useless. You can live your life without diamonds… so why is it that it works? It’s a little bit like going to an art exhibition, opening a book — you can spend your whole life without that,” said Mr. Jacheet. “But would [ life] have the same taste and spice? Not so sure… do you see a book as simply black words printed on white paper, or something that can deeply move you? It’s related to our needs to have emotions, to the reality that we have emotions, and to have them fed,” he added.

“There is an idea of something useless, but deeply fundamental, and deeply needed.” —