Pharrell Williams exists in a sort of cultural Mt. Olympus so why would his debut Tiffany & Co. jewelry collection be any different? Literally years in the making, Pharrell x Tiffany is as titanic as, well, Pharrell.
In fact, Pharrell's first-ever Tiffany jewelry line is appropriately named Tiffany Titan, a deserving moniker for something designed by a man who redefines culture with the sweep of his arm.
But as big as it is, Tiffany Titan's origins are also warmly intimate.
“The name of this collection draws inspiration from Poseidon, ruler of the sea, King of Atlantis," Pharrell said, pointing out that Atlantis is also the name of his childhood community in Virginia Beach (Pharrell is fixated on the mythical city: his soon-coming resort is built on the similarly-named Atlantis Paradise island).
You can see Pharrell's multilayered motifs play out in the jewelry itself. The Tiffany Titan bracelets, earrings, rings, and necklaces are shaped from gold and fitted with diamonds, their rounded silhouettes and sparkling diamonds recalling the ornate curves of the Tiffany Lock.
Further, Pharrell's tangible homage to King Poseidon's trident manifests as a tiny jutting obelisk that accents every single piece in the line.
But whereas Poseidon wielded his signature weapon with fearsome strength, Pharrell's prongs are soft and sharp at the same time, sculpted with a defined point that's also delicately rounded off.
This simultaneous contrast is a consistent throughline in Pharrell's oeuvre. With The Neptunes (another Atlantean homage!) and N.E.R.D., for instance, he specialized in songs soft and hard at the same time, sweet nothings whispered over menacing guitar crunch.
You can even extract a similar give 'n take from the fabrication of Tiffany Titan, with glistening gold offset by dark links. This is, of course, by design.
"The detail in all of the jewelry pieces is very intentional," Pharrell continued, citing the use of black titanium as "a physical manifestation of beauty in Blackness.”
Highsnobiety went hands-on with Pharrell's Tiffany jewelry before its release and we can confirm: this stuff is weighty. Literally.
The $16,000 bracelet literally feels as hefty as its price tag would imply but it's not like it's an art piece removed from reality.
Instead, Pharrell has created ideal for daily wear but elevated by advanced design cues. The "spikes," the dusting of diamonds, the unexpected black color-blocking — it's all in service of a shape more substantial (literally) than any ordinary linked bracelet.
Tiffany Titan is but a first taste of Tiffany's fine craft filtered through Pharrell's design language but it is not his first Tiffany team-up.
Pharrell has been wearing a diamond-encrusted set of tiny Tiffany shades for over a year now, again allowing his personal touch to lead his luxurious vision (in this case, literally).
Those sunglasses remain exclusive to Pharrell himself for now but don't count on it being that case in perpetuity.
Louis Vuitton's fearless leader has already proved his mettle at intermingling disparate partners during his brief tenure so you know he's got much more cooking in the long-term.
Could Tiffany x Louis Vuitton be in the works? With Pharrell, nothing's off the table.
