New Jewel for South Coast Plaza: Tiffany

Tiffany & Co., one of the flashiest names in jewelry, is moving into Orange County’s version of Rodeo Drive.

South Coast Plaza, the Costa Mesa shopping mall, will be the third California location for the 151-year-old company, whose name is to jewelry, china and crystal what Rolls-Royce is to luxury cars.

Tiffany announced the Orange County site as part of a major expansion in the United States and abroad. The first new domestic store is planned for South Coast Plaza and is scheduled to open in October. A store in Zurich, Switzerland, should open in September, said William R. Chaney, chairman of Tiffany & Co.

9,500 Square Feet

In addition to its flagship store at 5th Avenue and 57th Street in New York, Tiffany operates retail stores at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, as well as in San Francisco, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas and Houston.

In Costa Mesa, Tiffany will share mall space with some of the priciest names in retail, including Cartier, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Polo/Ralph Lauren and Yves St. Laurent Rive Gauche.

Its 9,500-square-foot store is slated for the mall’s Jewel Court area in a space formerly occupied by Lina Lee, a glitzy designer women’s clothing store that entered bankruptcy proceedings late last year. And it will be just a short walk from Kenneth Jay Lane, the self-proclaimed “king of junk jewelry” known for his copies of priceless jewelry.