The powerhouse couple makes history with Basquiat and the 128.54-carat, 82-faceted Tiffany Yellow Diamond, worn only by four famous women in 144 years

As for many of us in these strange times, the year 2021 as well as the year before it for Tiffany & Co. has been a year of pivots.

In May this year, the luxury jeweler debuted a collection of engagement rings for men, the first time the brand in its 184-year history departed from its classic solitaire engagement rings for women, for which it had had a singular reputation for over a century. It’s a nod, not only to the rise of same-sex marriages, which is now recognized in over 30 countries, but also to the gender-neutrality of the current and emerging generations, whose champions include the likes of Harry Styles or even Ed Sheeran whose wife Cherry Seaborn designed him an engagement ring before they tied the knot in 2018.

Next month, as it launches a new campaign, Tiffany & Co. is turning a fresh new page yet again, featuring powerhouse couple Jay-Z and Beyoncé, otherwise known as the Carters, perhaps the last of modern icons to keep their fire power for decades in this age of obsolescence, when icons are ditched like outdated, already obsolete iPhones from just a year or a few months ago.

It’s intriguing that the campaign, About Love, is an attempt to decode modern love, after which a lovely two-season series of about eight short films of half-an-hour episode is named. Modern Love, the series, based loosely on true-to-life essays about love published in the New York Times, is currently gaining traction on Amazon Prime in Manila, although it has been released since 2019.

But let’s get back to the “Crazy in Love” couple, who now officially plays the latest lead roles in the evolving history of Tiffany & Co., which has since 1837 etched itself in the world’s greatest love stories, including the couples the brand’s “Stand for Love” campaign championed for pride month this year in collaboration with, again, the New York Times.

This time, more than a collaboration, it’s a vision shared between the Carters and Tiffany & Co. “Beyoncé and Jay-Z are the epitome of the modern love story,” explains Alexandre Arnault, executive vice president of product and communications. “As a brand that has always stood for love, strength, and self-expression, we could not think of a more iconic couple that better represents Tiffany’s values. We are honored to have the Carters as a part of the Tiffany family.”

About Love is the first time for Beyoncé and Jay-Z to appear together in a campaign exploring connection and vulnerability. It’s also historic, according to the brand, because this is also the first time the iconic Tiffany Yellow Diamond, 128.54 carats, with 82 facets, is making an appearance in a campaign. Tiffany & Co. founder Charles Lewis Tiffany acquired the 287.42-carat rough stone for $18,000 a year after it was discovered in the Kimberley diamond mines in South Africa in 1877, one of the largest gemstone discoveries of the 19th century. The purchase solidified Tiffany’s personal reputation as the “King of Diamonds” as well as that of his eponymous brand as a diamond authority.

Beyoncé Knowles, Queen Bey as she is called by loyal fans, would be the first one to have it draped on her in a long-running campaign, although she would be the fourth famous woman to have the mammoth-sized yellow diamond on her on record.

The first was American socialite Mary Crocker Alexander Whitehouse, who wore it to the Tiffany Ball held as a fundraiser for the restoration of 17th and 18th century buildings across the US at the Marble House mansion in Newport, Rhode Island on July 13, 1957.

Next was Audrey Hepburn, who wore it, set in a ribbon rosette necklace by French jewelry designer Jean Schlumberger, for the promotional photos of the equally iconic fashion film Breakfast at Tiffany’s in 1961.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z are the epitome of the modern love story —Alexandre Arnault

The third to wear it was Lady Gaga as she received her award for Best Original Song at the 2019 Academy Awards, after which, to the consternation of Tiffany’s security personnel and to my surprise because I didn’t think they were chummy with each other, she wore it on her way to Taco Bell to hang out with Madonna.

You might have seen it on others, like Gal Gadot in the promo images for the upcoming Death on the Nile or Kate Hudson in the 2003 rom-com How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, but what they wore were only replicas.

So, yes, Beyoncé is only the fourth famous woman—and the very first woman of color—to ever wear the Tiffany Yellow Diamond in 144 years and she wears it in this 2021 Tiffany & Co. campaign in terms of styling as an homage to Hepburn’s iconic character Holly Golightly, replete with the updo, the evening gloves, and the Givenchy black dress, although she wears a second dress by Balmain in the film.

In the work by acclaimed Ghanaian-Dutch filmmaker Emmanuel Adjei, she also gives her own interpretation of the Breakfast at Tiffany’s theme, “Moon River,” and, although Hepburn, hardly known as a singer, made the Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer song immortal and well loved by the ages, not to mention the best movie song at the Oscar’s in 1962, I can’t wait to hear Beyoncé give it a new life with her coloratura mezzo-soprano signature. But that’s not all. While she’s at it, giving it more power with her unmistakable vocals, Jay-Z captures everything on a Super 8 camera. The power couple chose the Orum House in Los Angeles to serve as the setting for the film, where nostalgic flashbacks are interwoven with cinematic, dreamlike visuals.

I’m sure I’ve used the words icon and iconic once too often writing this but in the upcoming Tiffany & Co. campaign, Jay-Z wears Jean Schlumberger’s legendary Bird on a Rock brooch, reconstructed as a pair of one-of-a-kind cuff links. The film is awash with nods to the famed Tiffany & Co. jewelry designer, who was also designer to the high society of the 1960s and the 1970s. He began his career illustriously enough, designing buttons for Elsa Schiaparelli in the 1930s.

Sorry, but I’m going to have to use the word iconic once more because, equally highlighted in this great commercial work that is worthy of art itself is Equals Pi (1982) by Jean-Michel Basquiat, one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. As if that’s not enough, let me pick my jaw up from the floor because this Tiffany & Co. campaign, at least according to the promotional materials, also marks Equals Pi’s “first public appearance, propelling Tiffany’s long-standing tradition of working with New York creatives forward.”

Basquiat’s celebrated work of art, which has been kept long enough like a secret in private collections, appears as a common Tiffany Blue thread throughout the portrayal of modern love and all its diverse facets, as embodied in the ties that bind Jay-Z and Beyoncé through time.

More than a portrayal of love, About Love is also a force for good. As a part of its partnership with the Carters, Tiffany & Co. is proud to pledge a $2 million commitment toward scholarship and internship programs for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Accompanied by a print campaign shot by Mason Poole and styled by June Ambrose and Marni Senofonte, About Love launches globally on print on Sept. 2. The film will launch on Tiffany.com on Sept. 15, amplified through global media activations. The campaign will further unfold later this year with additional films created by acclaimed cinematographer Dikayl Rimmasch and second unit director, Derek Milton.