A new Design Residency launched through a partnership between Design Commission Abu Dhabi and Tiffany & Co. will give ten emerging designers access to Tiffany & Co.’s creative expertise, with the top three earning internships at the House’s New York headquarters.

Designing jewellery is about more than the finished object, and the part that is harder to teach comes before the diamonds, the metal and the final polish: how to turn an idea into a language of its own.

That thinking sits behind a new partnership between Design Commission Abu Dhabi and Tiffany & Co., through which the two have launched the Tiffany & Co. Design Residency, a programme dedicated to jewellery and watch design. The initiative places one of the world’s best-known jewellery houses inside Abu Dhabi’s growing design ecosystem, giving emerging designers the tools, mentorship and creative exposure to develop their own practice.

Ten UAE residents will be selected for the programme, which runs from November 2026 to April 2027 through weekly Saturday sessions in Abu Dhabi. Participants will work across the conceptual, creative and technical foundations of jewellery and watch design, with workshops, mentorship and material exploration forming part of the programme, and the residency builds toward a particularly compelling close: the three highest-performing participants will be offered three-month internships at Tiffany & Co.’s New York headquarters from June to August 2027. For designers at the beginning of their careers, that creates a direct link between Abu Dhabi’s emerging creative scene and one of the world’s most established jewellery houses. The programme will also culminate in a Capstone Exhibition in Abu Dhabi in May 2027, where participants will present their final projects.

A global house meets a local design language

The residency asks participants to look in two directions at once, drawing on Tiffany’s own design language while also turning to Emirati culture, architecture and artistic heritage as they develop their work.

That exchange runs through Abu Dhabi’s wider ambitions for design, where international partnerships are treated less as milestones in themselves and more as a pathway through which global expertise can meet local creative talent.

It is this kind of exchange that suits jewellery particularly well. It is a portable form of storytelling, capable of carrying references to architecture, history, landscape and identity in an object that can move between cultures. For emerging designers, the opportunity lies in taking those references and translating them into something contemporary rather than simply reproducing what has come before.

About Tiffany & Co.

Few names carry the same history in American jewellery as Tiffany & Co. The House was founded in New York in 1837 by Charles Lewis Tiffany and began as a stationery and fancy-goods store before evolving into one of the world’s most recognisable luxury jewellery houses.

Its influence has been built not only around gemstones, but around design. Tiffany introduced the Blue Book in the 1840s, established a significant silver-making tradition in the 19th century and developed a reputation for bringing exceptional gemstones and distinctive design to the American market. Today, the House counts more than 300 stores worldwide, a workforce of more than 14,000 employees and more than 3,000 skilled artisans working in its own workshops, a scale that has not displaced craftsmanship from how Tiffany describes its own identity.

Its involvement in Abu Dhabi reflects the same values.

Applications are now open

The residency is open to UAE residents of all nationalities who have foundational knowledge of jewellery and/or watch design. Applications are open from 17 August to 20 September 2026, with applicants required to submit their portfolios through DCAD’s website.