Tiffany & Co. Makers New York.

Tiffany & Co. Makers New York. 

Tiffany & Company is New York’s and, indeed, America’s first great jeweler. This storied firm is forever linked to the city’s rise as an international capital of glamour and sophistication. The Tiffany & Co store, now located on 5th Avenue, is among New York City’s most storied and romantic destinations.

Charles Tiffany founded Tiffany & Co. in 1837. The store sold high-end goods, including jewelry, decorative lamps, stained glass, silver, and clocks. The vast majority of which was imported. They soon began to develop their own crafts by employing skilled artisans and craftsmen. For a brief period, 1870 -1910, Tiffany brought the manufacture of high-grade clocks in-house under the supervision of Master Clock Maker Joseph Lindauer. The manuscript Order Book kept by this Clock Department begins in 1879 and ends in 1910 and is now in the collection of the New York Historical Society. The clock movements manufactured in this department are die-stamped on the backplate with a number corresponding to the order number in the ledger. The first dated order is number 19, which was placed on October 30, 1879. The last numbered entry is for number 829, which was completed on April 13, 1910. The order book was updated until June 1918.

Joseph Lindauer was born on January 17, 1835, in Pilsen, Bohemia, Austria. He trained as a clockmaker in Pilsen and Prague. He came to America in 1865 and worked for Tiffany & Co., then at 550 - 552 Broadway as a clock repairer. He proved to be so proficient that he was soon put in charge. As the superintendent, he hired many skilled and expert clockmakers. Under his direction, Tiffany occupied a prominent position in American clock-making both aesthetically and technically. This division manufactured many important clocks, including astronomical clocks, which were exhibited by Tiffany & Co at the Paris and Chicago exhibitions. Examples of their work that are well-known to the clock community include two astronomical clocks. The first, No. 289, is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection. The second example is in the Cleveland Museum of Art. An isochronal clock, No. 516, was designed to have four pendulums and was constructed in 1884. The current New York City store clock measures 9 feet tall. It includes a full Atlas figure supporting a clock on his shoulders. Another well-known public clock is located on the exterior of the Grand Central Terminal. Joseph Lindauer worked for Tiffany & Co. for 32 years. He died in New York on Sunday, March 7, 1897. 

Today, Tiffany-constructed clocks are highly sought after and prized by collectors.