IN THE
Loupe
In the
LOUPE
Above all ELSA
Pieces by the Italian model turned jewellery designer Elsa Peretti, who died last year, have never been more popular, writes Liz Bailey
E
lsa Peretti is one of the 20th-century’s greatest and most prolific jewellery designers. Joining Tiffany & Co. in 1974, she was responsible for some of the company’s most iconic and wearable designs. Free from the privations of the post-war decades, the ‘70s were an exciting time for jewellery designers whose innovative ideas were met by an eager new audience with money in their pockets. Elsa Peretti’s designs for Tiffany turned the concept of expensive jewellery on its head; she brought back an acceptance of silver jewellery, out of fashion since the ‘30s. Although she died in March 2020 her lasting legacy of exceptional jewellery design continues, and prices for her timeless pieces, combining movement and minimalism, have soared at auction.
52 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
Above Elsa Peretti bone cuffs in 18ct rose gold and sterling silver, courtesy of Tiffany & Co. Right Elsa Peretti in
her studio
EARLY DAYS After completing an interior design degree in Rome at the Volbicela School in 1966, Peretti left her native Italy in the same year to move to Barcelona, which was the cultural hub of Europe at the time. It was in Spain, while working as a fashion model, that she met a number of 20th-century greats who were to populate her life, including Salvador Dalí, for whom she modelled at his home in Port Lligat. Keen to grasp all the decade had to offer, she soon moved to the States taking up residence at a hotel on the Upper West Side. Although she apparently did not enjoy modelling, she found success in the mid-late ‘60s walking the cat walk for designers including Charles James and Issey Miyake.
