Tiffany Setting Engagement Ring (1 ct, platinum)

Lifting the stone out of the metal

Before the late 1880s, a diamond in a ring was usually set low, sunk into the band in a closed-back mounting much like a bezel, with the top of the stone nearly flush with the metal. The setting held the stone securely, but it blocked most of the light that a diamond needs to sparkle.

In 1886 Tiffany & Co. introduced a different idea. The diamond was raised above the band and held by six slim prongs spaced evenly around its girdle, with the space beneath it left open. Light could now enter the stone from the sides and below and return through the top, which is what gives a round brilliant its fire. Tiffany says the design defined the engagement ring as we know it today.

The design is credited to Charles Lewis Tiffany, the firm's co-founder. Descriptions of the setting stress how little metal touches the stone: the prongs fold just over the girdle, so the diamond seems to float.

The King of Diamonds

Charles Lewis Tiffany opened a fancy goods store in Lower Manhattan with John B. Young on September 18, 1837. First-day sales reportedly came to $4.98. The firm became Tiffany & Co. in 1853, when Tiffany took control, and he steered it toward jewelry. In 1845 it published its first Blue Book catalog, one of the first direct-mail catalogs.

By the time the firm moved to Union Square in 1870, Tiffany was being called the King of Diamonds. In 1878 the company acquired a 278.42-carat rough yellow diamond, according to one account, later cut into the 128.54-carat Tiffany Diamond; another account dates the purchase to 1879.

The year after the setting appeared, Tiffany bought a substantial part of the French crown jewels when they were sold in 1887, and resold pieces to wealthy American families. A jeweler who could buy a monarchy's gems wanted a ring that showed his diamonds off rather than hiding them, and the six-prong solitaire did exactly that. Charles Lewis Tiffany died in 1902.

America in 1886

The setting arrived in a year of new American symbols. On October 28, 1886, President Grover Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor, an event that set off the city's first ticker-tape parade. In May, Dr. John Pemberton created the drink that became Coca-Cola.

It was also a year of upheaval. A national strike for the eight-hour day in early May ended in the Haymarket affair in Chicago, and in September the Apache leader Geronimo surrendered in Arizona. In Germany, Karl Benz patented his gasoline-powered Motorwagen in January.

When a brand becomes a word

The six-prong solitaire spread so widely that, according to one jewelry history, Tiffany had to warn customers about imitations, and jewelers around the world now sell their own versions. The phrase "Tiffany setting" came into common use for the style regardless of who made the ring.

That usage ended up in federal court. On February 14, 2013, Tiffany sued a national warehouse-club chain in the Southern District of New York, alleging trademark infringement and counterfeiting over display signs that described engagement rings, some priced above $6,000, as "Tiffany." About 3,349 customers had bought such rings. In September 2015 Judge Laura Taylor Swain ruled for Tiffany on liability, writing that no rational finder of fact could conclude the chain had acted in good faith, and the case ended in a $21 million award for Tiffany.

The chain argued that "Tiffany" on the signs was a generic description of the six-prong setting. In August 2020 a three-judge panel of the Second Circuit, in an opinion by Judge Debra Ann Livingstone, vacated the judgment. It held that a jury could reasonably conclude that buyers of diamond engagement rings would know or learn that "Tiffany" describes a style of setting not unique to Tiffany rings, and sent the case back for trial. The parties settled on July 19, 2021; terms were not reported.

In the meantime the maker itself changed hands. LVMH announced a deal to buy Tiffany in November 2019 at $16.2 billion and completed the purchase on January 7, 2021, at a reduced price of about $15.8 billion.

How to recognize the real thing

The FLOAT 100 entry is a specific configuration: a 1.0-carat round brilliant diamond, F color and VS1 clarity, in a platinum mounting. The example tracked here, a pre-owned size 6 ring marked Pt950, comes with a GIA report, the original Tiffany receipt and the original box. It was offered at $10,800 against an original retail price of $15,400.

A genuine ring is defined less by its shape, which anyone may copy, than by its paperwork and marks. Tiffany registers its engagement diamonds individually and says it accepts them only in the colorless and near-colorless range, measures them to a thousandth of a carat, and offers a triple excellent cut on round brilliant diamonds over 0.18 carats. A buyer should expect the maker's documentation, a metal stamp and a diamond whose grading report matches the stone.

Price depends almost entirely on the diamond. The mounting is the same design across sizes; carat, color, clarity and cut move the number, which is why two Tiffany Setting rings can differ in price by many multiples.

The default engagement ring

Nearly every jeweler today sells a six-prong solitaire, and many still call it a Tiffany setting. That ubiquity is the design's legacy and, as the court fight showed, its complication: a shape so successful that the maker's own name became shorthand for it.

Tiffany still sells the ring under the registered name The Tiffany Setting and puts the 1886 date at the center of its engagement business. It has added other designs since, such as the Tiffany True ring in 2018, but the 1886 solitaire is the one the house calls the standard for engagement rings.

The numbers

Carat weight

1.0 ct round brilliant (this example)

Color/clarity

F / VS1 (this example), with GIA report

Metal

Platinum, marked Pt950

Setting

Six evenly spaced prongs, open base, stone raised above the band

Maker

Tiffany & Co., design introduced 1886

Origin of diamond

Not stated in the listing for this example

Timeline

1. Sep 18, 1837

   Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young open their store in Lower Manhattan.

2. 1845

   The first Blue Book catalog is published.

3. 1853

   Charles Lewis Tiffany takes control; the firm becomes Tiffany & Co.

4. 1870

   The firm moves to Union Square; Tiffany is known as the King of Diamonds.

5. 1878

   Tiffany acquires the rough that becomes the 128.54-carat Tiffany Diamond (another account says 1879).

6. 1886

   Tiffany introduces the six-prong solitaire setting that becomes known as the Tiffany Setting.

7. 1887

   Tiffany buys pieces from the sale of the French crown jewels.

8. 1902

   Charles Lewis Tiffany dies.

9. Feb 14, 2013

   Tiffany files a trademark suit against a warehouse-club chain over rings sold as "Tiffany."

10. Sep 2015

    Judge Laura Taylor Swain rules for Tiffany on liability.

11. Sep 2018

    Tiffany adds a new engagement ring design, Tiffany True.

12. Nov 2019

    LVMH announces a $16.2 billion deal to buy Tiffany.

13. Aug 2020

    The Second Circuit vacates the $21 million judgment and orders a jury trial.

14. Jan 7, 2021

    LVMH completes its purchase of Tiffany for about $15.8 billion.

15. Jul 19, 2021

    Tiffany and the chain settle before a new trial.

The world in 1886

• Jan 29, 1886

  Karl Benz patents the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, a gasoline-powered automobile.

• Mar 29, 1886

  Wilhelm Steinitz becomes the first recognized world chess champion.

• May 4, 1886

  A labor strike for the eight-hour day leads to the Haymarket affair in Chicago.

• May 8, 1886

  John Pemberton creates the carbonated drink that becomes Coca-Cola.

• Sep 4, 1886

  Geronimo surrenders to General Nelson Miles in Arizona.

• Sep 9, 1886

  The Berne Convention on copyright is signed.

• Oct 28, 1886

  President Grover Cleveland dedicates the Statue of Liberty, prompting New York's first ticker-tape parade.

Price record

This is an asking price, not a sale. It is what a seller wanted on the date shown. Asking prices often sit above what buyers pay, but an ask is not a ceiling: a sale can land on either side of it. It is not a value.

By reference price, Tiffany Setting Engagement Ring (1 ct, platinum) is number 62 of 100 in the jewelry entries of the FLOAT 100. 44 of those 100 rest on a realized sale; the rest carry an asking price or a guide value, and each page says which. Rank within the FLOAT 100 itself (62 here) is editorial: how much an object defines its field, not price alone.

Did you know

• Tiffany & Co.'s first day of sales in 1837 reportedly totaled $4.98.
• Before 1886, diamonds were usually set low in closed mountings that kept much of the light out.
• A federal appeals court held in 2020 that a jury could find "Tiffany" describes a style of setting, not just a brand.
• The trademark case lasted more than eight years and ended in a settlement, not a verdict.
• Tiffany measures its diamonds to a thousandth of a carat; one carat is 0.2 grams.
• The setting debuted the same year the Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York Harbor.