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Tiffany & Co. photo

Tiffany Keys in silver, yellow gold and platinum with diamonds

Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany unlocks the doors of its newest store

Tiffany & Co. executive vice-president Beth Canavan is comparing the finely-crafted pendants in the new Tiffany Keys collection to the clunky old key to her country home. “It’s about this big,” she laughs, separating her hands about the length of a hot dog. “We have a saltbox house built in 1730 and I am sure one day that key is going to give out.”

No chance of that happening with Tiffany's newest pendants. The designs are finely-crafted replicas of vintage keys in the Tiffany archives. Some were used to open country manors or steamer trunks. Others were jewel-encrusted gifts given to heads of state.

The keys come in sterling silver, 18 kt white or yellow gold, or platinum with diamonds. With heart, quatrefoil and petal motifs, there is a key for every taste. The designs blend easily with one another as well as other Tiffany designs. Kristin Scott Thomas layered multiple 18 kt yellow gold keys and chains over a vintage Yves Saint Laurent tuxedo for the 2009 SAG Awards. Canavan wears two diamond and platinum keys with an Elsa Peretti Diamonds by the Yard strand.

The launch of Tiffany Keys dovetails with the opening of Canada’s third freestanding Tiffany & Co. and the jeweller’s second Toronto location. The 6,200 sq. ft. store is located in the upscale Yorkdale Shopping Centre, about halfway between the Tiffany & Co. flagship on Bloor St. W. and Pearson International Airport.

And despite its mall location, the new Tiffany is as gracious as its sister store with a marble façade, Art Deco-style stainless steel doors, and dark wood paneled walls.

Fashion jewelry, diamonds, and accessories are housed in separate rooms, and there is a private salon for major purchases or special moments, like the “many, many” wedding proposals that take place in Tiffany stores around the world. The Yorkdale store is among the first to have a Tiffany charm bar, where miniature blue boxes and sterling hearts are openly displayed rather than kept in locked cases. Pens and watches can be found at the back of the shop.

Front and centre, though, is the elegant diamond Atlas watch on Canavan’s wrist.

“I don’t think cocktail watches should only be worn at night,” Canavan says of the square-faced dial framed in diamonds.

We couldn’t agree more.