Elsa Peretti
Queen of Modern Jewelry
When Elsa Peretti debuted at Tiffany & Co. on September 1974, it marked the beginning of a revolution in jewelry. Over 2,000 people attended her first personal appearance, magnetized by the artistry and elegance of her sculptural gold and silver and the laid back glamour of her diamonds.
The jewelry equivalent of ready-to-wear, Elsa’s designs were intended to be put on and carried off with ease. This attitude was something new for Tiffany and indeed the jewelry market. “What I want is not to become a status symbol but to give beauty at a price,” explained Elsa in a 1974 interview with People. It may not have been her goal, but Elsa’s pieces instantly became, and remain, emblems of style for many celebrated women.
Elsa, who passed away on March 18, 2021 at 80, was born in Florence, Italy and educated in Switzerland and Rome. After receiving a degree in interior design, she worked briefly for architect, Dado Torrigiani in Milan before beginning a modeling career in Barcelona. She channeled her assured sense of style into a few bold and sensuous sculptural creations that fit perfectly with the clothes. Elsa immediately built up a fanbase. Tiffany took notice.
Elsa’s historic career at Tiffany began after Tiffany’s art director George O’Brien, reached out to a senior editor at Harper’s Bazaar and set up a meeting. For the get-together, Elsa wore a red cashmere Halston dress and black shawl and carried her designs in a Spanish basket she used as a handbag. The only jewels she showed were her Bottle pendant and Bone cuff. He offered her a contract on the spot. “It was the right idea at the right time,” the executive told The New York Times a few years later.
From the moment Elsa began designing jewelry, she worked side-by-side with the craftsmen making certain the curves on her gold and silver were comfortable to wear, beautiful to look at and wonderful to touch. Elsa had a particular love for sterling silver jewelry, elevating the status to accessible luxury for the first time. At Tiffany, Elsa Peretti’s legacy will live on through her jewels and objects many of which have been continuously made since the day she launched her collection in 1974.
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