Tiffany & Co., Cartier and Bulgari— An Analysis of Print Luxury Jewellery Advertisements

Historically known to be savoured by the selected few, luxury products are famous for not only their immaculate designs and artistry, but also how they make their possessors feel once they are put on and the messages they convey to others who see them. Luxury is not defined by what the product is, but rather what kind of an experience the product offers and what meaning the brand symbolises. Hence, these pieces of fine jewellery have ceased to be a way to accessorise outfits, they have become status and wealth symbols in their own right. Therefore, luxury products also provide satisfaction in the sense that their users feel good and accomplished for having access to these items. Being able to be a member of the elite group of consumers who are able to afford such extravagances; the people who have added, and continue to add, such jewellery pieces to their collection do so not only because they can, but because doing so elevates their status, rendering it unnecessary for such iconic jewellery houses as Tiffany & Co., Cartier and Bulgari to have to rely on overt communication techniques in their print ads to capture the attention of their consumers. In this light, this article will focus on print advertisements by Tiffany & Co., Cartier and Bulgari for their iconic jewellery pieces with regard to the techniques used such as symbolism, intertextuality, and polysemy, and include a short analysis for each advertisement by the author