The Tiffany website visitor is welcomed by a close-up on a couple in cocktail attire. Being an e-commerce, the visitor must choose a location before browsing the online catalog. The site sets a cookie and greets you back at your location upon return.

Restrained in its presentation, most images depict the items cleanly with a white background. The use of colors and textures is minimal, but the site blends pictures and Flash animation extensively. Although the result is of a high quality, staring at the site does not connote luxury any more than staring at your favorite word processor. It is clean and sober, but also rather dull. Perhaps a textured background behind the items would create a feeling of warmth.

It is hard to understand some decisions that Tiffany has chosen to make, which may have resulted from internal compromises. For instances, prices are not displayed when browsing until one zooms in on a specific article. Tiffany addresses a different audience than, say, office supply superstore Staples, and it is therefore arguable and understandable if the decision was made to not list price since emphasizing prices could negatively affect the brand. The search engine, however, allows browsing through the same items with the added advantage of price comparison. When faced with the two different outcomes, the user is just frustrated by inconsistent usability.

Although Tiffany.com is professionally designed and a great distribution channel for the offline brand, it does not support the store brand and its portfolio of fine luxury. Tiffany's web presence is a step above Amazon; not a destination for Cinderella dreaming of her Prince Charming.