Inspired by …Elsa Peretti, Jewelry Designer for Tiffany&Co!

Elsa Peretti Editorial Image by Kacper Kasprzyk for CR Fashion Book

Photo by Jill Krementz

When we started this blog we wanted to write about people who made an impression on us either because they achieved great things in their lives either because they are simply unique, speak their minds and live each day doing what they love the most. And so we came up with a series called Inspired by… We would like to continue this series with another remarkable women, a true legend of our times in the person of Elsa Peretti, jewelry designer for Tiffany&Co .

Elsa Peretti is such a source of inspiration that we had to write about her lifestory. She has been working as a designer for Tiffany&Co since 1974 and since then she revolutionized the jewelry design and enchanted the whole world with her timeless masterpieces.

Photo by Tiffany&Co

She designed the famous "bottle necklace" as she, herself recalls walking around the magnificent allies of Portofino, Italy with a single gardenia in her hands and wearing a small bottle on a string around her neck just to       keep her flower alive.

She created the well known "Sevillana", a motive inspired by the earring of a Flamenco dancer that delighted her in Spain, the magnificent "bone cuff", inspired by the shape and form of the human bone, the "empty heart" inspired by the void in a sculpture of Henry Moore and the stunning "mesh", an idea that crossed her mind while traveling in India. She even designed a necklace in the shape of a snake and of a scorpion which soon became iconic jewelry. By far, one of her best creations was the diamond necklace, named " Diamonds by the yard", worn by Elsa in the second photo above, when she genuinely reinvented the diamond jewelry.

In one of her recent interviews Elsa Peretti Essentials of Style she says she takes her inspiration from traveling which is why she spent most of her lifetime discovering new places that keep her mind full of joy and passion for beauty. She has several homes, in Italy, in Spain, in New York but she admits that one of her favorite places is Spain, where she gathers her thoughts.

All her life she was surrounded by talented and inspiring people like Salvador Dali, Liza Mineli, Andy Warhol, Oscar de la Renta, Halston, Helmut Newton, Giorgio di Sant'Angelo and many others. She has been a model, a muse and ultimately a designer.

Her story is meant to remind us but also to remind you how important is to keep our mind full of beautiful thoughts, love that can fuel our imagination and that can make us dream. Nevertheless, being in the right place with the right people has an important role in our self-development. We hope we will always be surrounded by talented people, that inspire us to be nice and kind, that teach us and guide us on our chosen path. We wish to have always close to us people who are happy to share their knowledge and to give a chance to a young dreamer. And above all we wish to be always surrounded by our friends, the old ones and the new ones and of course by our beloved families.

During all her lifetime Elsa received several awards: Coty Award for Jewelry in 1971, Rhode Island School of Design President's Fellow Award in 1981 and in 1996 she was named Accessory Designer of the year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America.

In December 2012 Peretti signed a new 20-years contract with Tiffany therefore she will continue to design and delight the world with her priceless creations under the label of Tiffany. And we are so looking forward to see her next pieces of jewelry because as Elisabeth Taylor said, "diamonds are a girl's best friend".

Love,

Laura & Elena