After two years in the making, Tiffany & Co. opened its first-ever experiential exhibition in Shanghai called “Vision & Virtuosity” to appeal to its large and important social media-savvy consumer base there. The multilevel exhibition—housed in the culture and arts building, Fosun Fondation—showcases the company’s 180-year history through six themed rooms, or “chapters.”

To reach the first room, “Blue is the Color of Dreams,” a room dedicated to colored gemstones, visitors must enter through a hall of mirrors. There, Tiffany & Co. incorporated mural work from local contemporary artist, Ran JiWei. 

“The World of Tiffany,” highlights the intersection of the brand and pop culture. On display is a ruby-and-diamond clip which John F. Kennedy gave to Jackie Kennedy Onassis as a push present in 1960 and a diamond-and-sapphire brooch that Tiffany & Co. gifted to Elizabeth Taylor in 1965.

In chapter three, visitors experience some of the jewelry designs featured in the Tiffany blue book, which, in 1845, became America’s first mail-order catalog. Signature pieces spanning about two centuries as well as vintage Tiffany blue books can be viewed.

Tiffany & Co. is also giving its guests a glimpse of how and where its stones are sourced and mined in the “Love” room, where eight signature engagement settings are featured. 

Many moments within the exhibition were set up to encourage social media posting. The “Love” room, for example, includes walls lined with interactive screens on which guests can write messages and a lit selfie station. Additionally, situated at the end of the exhibition is an oversized Tiffany & Co. ring box chair.

Lastly, a room dedicated to the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s reveals never-before-seen images of Audrey Hepbrun filming scenes at the New York City Tiffany & Co. flagship. Also on display is Hepburn’s original script and clips from the movie in which the brand’s jewelry appears. Tiffany & Co. merged its cinematic history with Chinese contemporary art with a sculpture of the little black dress Hepburn wore in the movie. Li Xiafeng, the sculptor who’s partnered with Lacoste and Louis Vuitton, created the dress via his broken porcelain technique using shards from the Song Dynasty.

The “Vision & Virtuosity” exhibition is key to Tiffany & Co.’s mainland China strategy and comes at a time when, by 2025, Chinese consumers will account for 44 percent of the global luxury market.

This week, Tiffany & Co. opened the doors to its first Blue Box Café in Asia at its Hong Kong flagship store. The interior matches the brand’s signature robin’s egg blue and will serve treats to guests on the brand’s silverware and flatware.