The history of high jewelry is often fragile, living mostly on paper sketches that the passage of time threatens to fade. Recognizing this vulnerability, Tiffany & Co. has taken a major step during Paris Fashion Week by announcing a landmark partnership with the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. This joint effort, which also brings in the scientific expertise of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, carries a vital mission for design history: to preserve and digitize nearly ten thousand original drawings and documents from the legendary jeweler Jean Schlumberger. The goal is to ensure his vast archive remains intact for future researchers and emerging creative talents.

To frame this ambitious conservation project, the American house inaugurated the presentation I Am Only a Pencil. This exhibition offers a deep and refreshingly human look into the mind of a man who, after joining Tiffany's ranks in 1956, forever altered the codes of jewelry design. Walking through the space, the public encounters intimate photographs and materials revealing Schlumberger's working method—a creative who knew exactly how to translate the beauty of nature, from birds and marine creatures to fantastical botanical shapes, into pieces filled with unmatched wit and color.

The great success of the exhibition lies in its ability to illustrate the complete journey of an idea, placing the delicate pencil strokes right in front of the spectacular finished jewels. Highly complex works such as the Hedges and Flowers, Jasmine, and Tulips necklaces are displayed alongside their original sketches, showing the seamless connection between free imagination and high artisanal demands. The galleries allow visitors to see the strong influence that surrealism and haute couture exerted on the designer, culminating in a well-deserved tribute to his most recognizable work: the Bird on a Rock brooch.

Among the exhibited treasures stands one of the earliest versions of this iconic bird, a historical piece belonging to the collector Bunny Mellon, where the imposing creature rests upon a lapis lazuli stone. Through this initiative, Tiffany & Co. and its partner institutions celebrate the brilliance of one of their most prolific creators while sending a powerful message about the importance of protecting our design history before it is lost to oblivion.