Till eternity: Nicolas Beau on Tiffany & Co.’s Eternity watch collection’s arrival in India

Right after diamonds became a woman’s best friend, Tiffany & Co. became her confidant—one that understands love, permanence and echoes Holly Golightly’s (played by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s) enduring belief that “nothing very bad could happen to you there.” Decades on, the film lives on in our collective imagination, and Tiffany & Co.’s promise of forever continues to endure through its timeless jewels. This language of permanence is not confined to jewellery alone, but extends into time itself. The House’s design codes are seamlessly woven in Tiffany & Co.’s watch collections, and as long-time admirers of the brand, the arrival of these timepieces in India felt like a moment worth pausing over. We speak to Nicolas Beau, Vice President of Horlogerie at Tiffany & Co., about this next chapter.

Beau speaks warmly of the country’s artisanal legacy and the growing sophistication of its luxury audience, adding, with a smile, that a visit to India is already in the works. In our conversation, he reflects on watchmaking, and what the Eternity collection represents as Tiffany & Co. marks this next chapter.

Harper’s Bazaar: The Eternity collection draws inspiration from gemstone cuts, adorned with thoughtful details. How important is storytelling through design when creating watches that feel unmistakably Tiffany?

Nicolas Beau: I love the word storytelling. In the case of Eternity, we wanted to magnify the fact that Tiffany was an expert in stone cutting and in diamonds. So, when you look at The Eternity [collection], we chose the 12 most renowned diamond cuts. Cut rather big stones and use them as index to highlight the time. The second thing we did was the crown, we wanted to have the crown showcasing the setting of the engagement rings which is worldwide known as the ‘Tiffany setting’. And of course, we have the diamond around the bezel.

HB: What makes the Indian market particularly compelling for Tiffany & Co.’s watch collections at this point in time?

NB: India has such a strong culture, and we have a very strong common point—watches. There is a strong industry of watches in India, and I believe you have a very rich jewellery culture in India with special stones. I think a jeweller making watches is something that is going to interest Indian consumers a lot. There is a very strong connection between what we do and the aspiration of the Indian market.

HB: Indian consumers have a deep cultural appreciation for craftsmanship, gemstones, and heirloom-worthy pieces. How do you see these timepieces resonating with this sensibility?

NB: The Eternity collection is quite vast. We know that there is a strong appreciation for stone cutting as well as for coloured stones in India. We’re developing the collection with diamonds and coloured stones, and we are about to introduce new eternities. Yellow gold [watch] with a cushion shape and then two 36-mm round [watch]—the one that we call the Tiffany rainbow, which is a combination of different colour stones to represent a gradient of blue. Blue is such an important colour at Tiffany and that bezel is a combination of 10 sapphires, 21 topaz, emeralds over five carats, plus the famous 12 diamonds on the dial. And then we also have aquamarine on the 12 index, one of the most important gemstones at Tiffany because of its colour.

HB: The Eternity watches are crafted as modern heirlooms. In today’s fast-paced luxury landscape, how do you define longevity and emotional value in watch design?

NB: Stones are eternal. The stone presence, the quality of the stones, the design is made to last for very long. We’re designing our watches so that you can give them to your daughters and granddaughters, and so on. If you see the history of Tiffany watches, there has always been a strong influence by jewellery, and when you see those 1895 or 1900 Leopold watches, they could be worn today. They are works of art. [At] Tiffany, we are trying to make jewels that tell time. 

HB: Tiffany & Co. tells stories of love, time, and permanence. How do these values shape the way the House approaches contemporary watchmaking?

NB: Well, love is not something which is old, love is a human emotion. Gifting a Tiffany watch or buying one for yourself is an expression of love. We deserve more love in this world, and the expression of love is an important value for Tiffany, and it represents what we feel.

HB: What role will watchmaking play in shaping the brand’s future narrative in the region?

NB: Since the acquisition by LVMH, we have created more than seven new collections of watches, all in the spirit of creating jewels that tell time. In India, at the moment you have the two best-selling collections—the Hardware and the Eternity. We are going to slowly but surely deploy all new designs to India. It’s about building things and that doesn’t happen overnight. So we’ll follow the right pace to make Tiffany a strong jewellery brand in India.

Images: Courtesy the brand/Watches from The Eternity collection

This article first appeared in the February 2026 issue of Harper's Bazaar India 

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