Rare c.1950's Solid 14kt Yellow Gold Tiffany & Co Putter - Weighs Approx. 458 grams - M.S. Rau
While maybe not the first item you think of when you hear the name, Tiffany & Co. has a long history of crafting golf high-end putters, and sterling silver putters can still be purchased from the firm. This specific putter is referenced on M.S. Rau: Fine Art, Antiques & Jewels platform, for over a century the trusted source for " the most iconic, sublime and legendary pieces." The title of the 2019 article was "11 Things You'd Never Guess Came From Tiffany & Co." and included two photos of this very putter along with the known like example as follows. Notably one of the most famous of its clients, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, once gave her husband President John F. Kennedy a sterling version of the putter around 1960. Adding to significance of this piece, Time Magazine wrote an article about this Tiffany & Co ultra high-end putter in their November 16, 1959 issue. The story goes that The Company ran an advertisment for this solid gold putter just prior to article print and included the fine print 'This advertisement appears for the record only, as the entire stock has been sold.' That 'entire stock' was one putter produced for the managing partner of local Manhattan aviation insurance firm's 30th anniversary. What was meant as a sort of spoof for the seasoned question of 'what do you get a man who has everything?' resulted in phone calls to Tiffany and with a sigh, production of a few more of the prized solid 14k gold putters. This is unsurprisingly the only one of those we have seen.
This highly valuable putter, however, stands as one of the scant few versions that was ever crafted of solid 14K gold! Adorned with the inscription professionally added 'Stick and Stay and Make it Pay,' the prized flat stick was crafted between the years 1955 and 1965, about the same period as the Kennedy example. Significantly composed of 14K gold, this incredible golf putter by the incomparable Tiffany & Co. was likely commissioned for a wealthy business man, celebrity or athlete and true lover of the sport. Tiffany has a long and prestigious history of crafting presentation pieces with precious metal. A handful of sterling silver Tiffany putters have been made, but to find a gold example is quite extraordinary.
Tiffany & Co. is responsible for some of the most legendary awarded trophies in sporting history beginning in 1860, the year they crafted their first horse racing prize. Since then, the firm has designed and produced hardware for tennis, sailing, horse racing, baseball, football, basketball, and many more, including the US Open Tennis Championship trophy, the NFL's Vince Lombardi trophy, and the MLB's World Series trophy. The present example represents the illustrious Tiffany tradition of celebrating excellence on the fields, courts, tracks and beyond through their magnificent creations. This putter is stamped 'Tiffany & Co' with 'L'. William T. Lusk, who was company director at time of putter production between 1955 and 1965. The solid 14k putter head itself weighs approximately 458 grams and the club measures 36 1/4" length from top of the grip to bottom of the heel. The putter was brought to and inspected by two fine jewelry experts. The precious medal contents been confirmed via X-ray, and the weight of a similar shafted putter was used as reference when determining the approximate weight of the putter head itself.
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