10 minute read
puts the jewellery of Elsa Peretti in the spotlight
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
Elsa 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.
Above Elsa Peretti bone cuffs in 18ct rose gold and sterling silver, courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
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.
THE NEW YORK CROWD
Her modelling career led Peretti to influential American fashion designer Roy Halston Frowick, mononymously known as Halston, who was then a rising figure in fashion, moving from millinery to creating his own line of garments.
The duo became part of a chic Manhattan crowd frequently seen at the legendary Studio 54 in the company of Andy Warhol, Bianca Jagger, Elizabeth Taylor, and Giorgio di Sant’ Angelo. It was at this time that she met the great fashion photographer Hiro (Yasuhiro Wakabayashi), with whom she was to collaborate throughout her career as a jewellery designer. Initially, Peretti designed jewellery for Halston’s own line, starting her life-long focus on silver pieces.
MOVE TO TIFFANY’S
It was Halston who introduced her to Walter Hoving of Tiffany’s in 1974 and, from then on, she designed exclusively for Tiffany & Co. Harry Platt, former president of Tiffany & Co., said: “We were looking for somebody who could capture the mood of young women as well as older women ... someone who could make jewellery that women could wear with jeans and sweaters as well as with their ball gowns.”
Right Elsa Peretti Mesh bra, yellow gold, image courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
Far right Elsa Peretti Mesh scarf earrings in sterling silver with diamonds, image courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
Below Elsa Peretti Alphabet pendant in 18k rose gold, image courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
Below left Elsa Peretti High Tide earrings in 18ct gold, image courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
Below Elsa Peretti cabochon rings in black jade, turquoise, green, nephrite, yellow gold, sterling silver, image courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
THE MESH COLLECTION
The Mesh collection was inspired by craftsmen in Jaipur. It was to play a major role in Peretti’s popularity as she moved into the 1980s. The idea of gold being fluid and spun into fabric-like creations captivated Elsa who was told it couldn’t be done. She contacted Whiting & Davis, a Massachusetts company which had been making mesh evening bags since 1876, to see if it was indeed possible, even – legend has it – adapting an old machine from an 80-year-old former employee. The sample mesh was made into earrings, and the rest is history. The Mesh collection has remained exclusive to Peretti and Tiffany, and taken many forms, from scarf necklaces, to halter tops, and even bras.
Peretti took a gamble when she introduced silver jewellery to Tiffany’s jewellery line. It was a brave move from the young designer as prestigious jewellery houses had not used silver since the 1930s. By adopting it, Tiffany’s intention was to create a range of affordable luxury, which even a secretary could acquire.
It was also the beginning of branding as we know it today, which saw women buying into a universe, instantly making them part of a special club. Peretti soon gained popularity for her “simple, sensual, sculptural shapes”, and, by 1979, she was Tiffany’s lead jewellery designer.
BONE CUFF
Peretti’s bone collections are among her most popular at auction. Her fascination with bones began with her childhood visits to the Capuchin church of Santa Maria dell Concezione in Rome, and witnessing the crypt containing the bones of over 4,000 friars placed in decorative arrangements.
Peretti would bring back fragments of bone, and her mother would scold her for it. It was her fascination with the organic form of bones that led to her world famous bone cuffs and candlesticks.
OPEN HEART
Peretti cited the British sculptor Henry Moore as her inspiration for her renowned ‘Open Heart’ collection. In 1990, Elsa Peretti said: “I really think that the idea for the best-selling item of my collection sprang from a void in a Moore sculpture, a big one. No-one else saw a heart
Above left An Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co. silver cuff bangle, of asymmetric form with raised border, signed Elsa Peretti, stamped Tiffany & Co., sold for £439 at Wilson 55’s sale in September
Above Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co. an Open Heart ring signed Tiffany & Co. and Peretti, it has an estimate of £90-£140 at Wilson 55’s sale on December 2
Above right Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co. an Open Heart pendant, signed Elsa Peretti and Tiffany & Co. It has an estimate of £100-£150 at the same sale there. Just me. The shape was there, in metal. What I couldn’t work out was how to hang it from the chain. Mr. Kalich, then head of Tiffany jewellery, suggested with his strong German accent: 'Why don’t we put it through'. I was so overjoyed that I gave my first model to his fiancée.”
The streamlined heart collection is hugely wearable and, having featured in countless variations over the years, is arguably Peretti’s most popular collection.
BOTTLE PENDANT
Before Tiffany’s, Peretti’s first jewellery design originated in Portofino, Italy, in the 1960s, which she designed for her friend, the fashion designer Giorgio di Sant’Angelo. She said: “Portofino in the sixties was magic. All the women were stunning figures in shockingly beautiful Pucci silks, each with a gardenia in her hand.” Peretti found a vase in a bric-a-brac shop, which she used as the basis for her first ‘bottle’ design. After making sketches she hammered it out of silver back in Spain under the eye of a silversmith, creating a miniature silver flask that could be worn with a leather thong. Her bottles and flasks went on to be made in many different materials, including rose quartz and jade. Once employed by Tiffany’s, Peretti evolved the design into a more angular shape, later claiming her first bottle pendant, crafted with the help of Spanish craftsmen was her favourite.
Above Open Heart bracelet by Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co., the openwork heart links with trace link chain spacers, signed Elsa Peretti and Tiffany & Co. has an estimate of £120-£180 at Wilson 55’s December sale Right Zodiac necklace by Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co., the oval shape pendant depicting Cancer, suspended from a trace link chain, signed Elsa Peretti and Tiffany & Co. has an estimate of £90-£140 at Wilson 55’s December sale
DIAMONDS BY THE YARD
As well as her silver designs, Peretti was commissioned by Tiffany’s to create wearable diamond jewellery for women on a budget. Her solution was the ‘Diamonds By The Yard’ collection, initially stationing 12 small diamonds set in gold bezels at uneven lengths on a 36-in chain.
Upon seeing the long chains with uniform diamonds set at regular intervals, her old friend Halston
ingeniously gave them the name ‘Diamonds by the Yard’ – a moniker which stuck. Peretti varied the style by adding different sizes of diamonds and lengths of chain, and the collection remains one of Tiffany’s most popular to this day.
Liz Bailey MA FGA DGA CPAA, is Wilson 55’s head of jewellery and watches. The Nantwich-based auction house’s jewellery sale on December 2 features many pieces by Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co., for more details go to www.wilson55.com
Above left Starfish necklace by Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co., suspended from a trace link chain, signed Peretti and Tiffany & Co. It has an estimate of £100-£150 at Wilson 55’s December 2 sale
Above Infinity Cross pendant by Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co., the openwork cross pendant suspended from a trace link chain, signed Peretti and Tiffany & Co. It has an estimate of £100-£150 at the same sale
Left Elsa Peretti, Diamonds by the Yard drop earrings in 18k rose gold with diamonds, courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
Below Elsa Peretti Amapola brooch, red silk, yellow gold, courtesy of Tiffany & Co. Elsa Peretti Doughnut bangles, lacquer, courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
Japanese influence
Peretti’s passion for Japan and all things Japanese, began with a visit to the country in 1969.
She said: “The impact I felt on my first trip to Japan was the speed and technology of a train from Tokyo to Kyoto and the exquisite craftsmanship of the things I saw. Entering Tiffany in 1974, I became free to convert that feeling into reality. With Yasuyoshi Morimoto’s help and patience, like a capricious child I managed to persuade the best craftsmen to manufacture some of my forms. Behind them lie centuries of culture and a long process of loving production.”
Her contacts with Japanese craftsmen were made through her friends Yasuyoshi Morimoto and David Kidd, and her first lacquer collaborator was Shimofuri-san of Kyoto. In recent years the pieces have been made by a cottage industry of workers in Wajima, working for Tiffany’s agent, Sofue, always striving to achieve improved quality and durability.
Pieces are made from a Japanese hardwood called katsura, which is lacquered according to traditional Japanese techniques using the sap of the urushi tree.
Different woods are chosen depending on the shape of the piece, with the main requirement being a dense wood that is light in weight and resistant to warping. Red lacquer is applied over black, which, over time, wears away to reveal the colour beneath, creating a greatly-prized aged appearance.
