I look up to the little bird
that glides across the sky.
He sings the clearest melody
it makes me want to cry.
It makes me want to sit right down and cry, cry, cry, cry — yeah!
Perched eight stories high atop Tiffany’s flagship store on 5th Avenue and East 57th Street, this “Bird on a Rock” has prime views of the city. It stands as both a beacon for shoppers below and a tribute to one of Tiffany’s most iconic pieces of jewelry.
First conceived in 1965 as a gem-encrusted brooch by French artist Jean Schlumberger (1907-1987), the “Bird” has since been commonly paired and sold with a “Rock” — some diamond or other precious stone — that it rests upon.
Its most famous match was probably made in Paris during a Schlumberger retrospective at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in 1995. For that event, Tiffany mounted one the craftsman’s Birds on a legendary heirloom: the real Tiffany Diamond. A fancy yellow gemstone, the Tiffany version was discovered in the Kimberly mines of South Africa back in 1877. Although the original find weighed over 287 carats, Tiffany founder Charles Lewis Tiffany (1812-1902) had it cut down to 128 to maximize its color when he purchased it the following year.
Today, some estimates place the value of the Diamond at $30 million.
Disregarding the money, the “Diamond remains the most important gemstone in the world…” says a recent Tiffany press release. “One that honors Charles Lewis Tiffany’s vision and Jean Schlumberger’s design legacy.”
To celebrate that heritage, Tiffany just launched a fresh collection of both fine and high jewelry suites. They feature more modern depictions of Schlumberger’s “Bird on a Rock” — hence the timing of the colossal display here.
Lyrics from “Little Bird” by Annie Lennox, 1992.
Photos by Rick Stachura. October 23, 2025.
Looking toward Central Park from Tiffany & Co., 727 5th Avenue.