Tiffany & Co: Key Chains

Tiffany Key Collection

In the 1990s, every self-conscious fashionista adorned herself with something that originated in that precious blue box: a silver heart pendant, a chunky chain bracelet with that unmistakable tag chain, a mesh ring. In those days, I remember falling prey to the Tiffany craze, alongside prepubescent spoiled girls who had loaded their arms, fingers, necks, and ears with a treasure chest's worth of baubles. Eventually, the craze had invaded almost every age bracket that eventually, I tired of seeing what now had become generic until I altogether retired those items to some dark crevice in my jewelry box. Despite those romantic posters of a glamorous Audrey Hepburn in front of an equally glamorous window, Tiffany's had, at least for me, lost its luster.

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Until now. The sight of these vintage-inspired, elegant Victorian keys--something Miss Havisham would have used--is touching, poignant even. I love the symbolic aspect of these keys, but at the same time they carry a casual tee-shirt and jeans quality to them that attenuates any preciousness they might have originally imparted. They work best, I think, as an old-world accompaniment to a modern outfit: reminders of an enchanted time in a secret garden.