Manufactured c. 1883-1898, this is a very attractive example of a Smith & Wesson .32 Double Action revolver that was embellished by the legendary Tiffany & Co. From the 1880s to the early 1900s, the self-described “American multinational luxury jewelry and specialty retailer” Tiffany & Co. created spectacular and expensive highly embellished deluxe handguns and rifles for America’s leading firearms manufacturers such as Colt, Winchester and Smith & Wesson. It is interesting to note that, unlike Tiffany embellished guns done for Colt, all the examples done for Smith & Wesson are believed to have been unique, one-off pieces of art and done on an individual basis. The “rich and elaborate decorations” on handguns alone set a customer back $50.00 to $300.00 or about $1,400.00 to $8,600.00 in today’s money. The number of surviving Tiffany firearms remains unknown, but studies clearly show that the partnership between Smith & Wesson and Tiffany was the most prolific. Tiffany Smith & Wessons are arguably some of the rarest and most desirable of the late 19th century American high art firearms, and offered here is one of those rare prizes in firearms art collecting that help define a private or public collection. Many of these arms featuring Tiffany's world renowned craftsmanship made appearances at some of the various trade fairs and exhibitions around the turn of the century, before being sold to discerning and affluent customers. The largest public display of Tiffany embellished 19th century arms can be viewed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Gallery 372. The lion’s share of the display was donated and/or sold by Dr. Gerald Klaz. Tiffany marked each piece they made on special order. The grip and frame housing on this example has the Tiffany & Co. sterling silver marking just behind the trigger guard. The grip is extensively embossed and engraved with Civil War battle scenes on both sides, a fasces and laurel on the back strap, some floral motifs scattered throughout, and an "HB" monogram engraved on the butt. The top of the barrel rib is marked with the standard one-line address and the matching serial number is visible on the rear face of the cylinder and the bottom of the barrel latch. It is fitted with a blade front sight a notch rear sight on top of the cylinder catch.