A Tale Of Time

Exactly 26 years after the launch of tiffany & co.’s iconic atlas collection, the maison introduces atlas X – a contemporary take on a house classic

- Maya Menon

In the voice that immortalised American rock band The Eagles, Don Henley sang: “Everything can change in a New York minute.” And while that stands true in the transient Big Apple, the saying’s origin lies in Tiffany & Co.’s Atlas Clock, a monument that has quite literally stood the test of time.

First envisioned by jeweller and watch merchant Charles Lewis Tiffany, the clock came to life at the hands of shipbuilder Henry Frederick Metzler in 1853. A wood-carved Atlas – the Greek Titan god – was installed at the entrance of Tiffany & Co.’s 550 Broadway building. In his hands, a four-foot clock that would go on to become the timekeeper of the city – eventually finding its forever-home atop the Maison’s Fifth Avenue flagship store.