Hailing from Florence, Elsa Peretti studied interior design in Rome, then proceeded into her modeling career in Barcelona and New York. An enigmatic muse for creatives like legendary designer Halston and renowned photographer Hiro, Peretti exuded vibrancy, tomboy beauty, and je ne sais quoi magnetism. The same vivacious energy fueled the biomorphic jewelry designs through which she asserted her artistic independence. Peretti’s star-making moment came in 1969, with the launch of her iconic sterling silver bud vase on a chain, shown as part of the Italian designer Giorgio di Sant’Angelo’s show. The unusual design was the catalyst for a multi-decade career as an innovator in high jewelry, and in 1974 she began a long-standing business partnership as a designer for Tiffany and Co.

Elsa created jewelry for women and with women in mind. Casual, yet statement-worthy, the use of materials like sterling silver led her to uncover a new market of women purchasing practical and affordable jewelry pieces for themselves, without a man, thus recreating the notion of what fine jewelry is and could be. The revolutionary designer and model passed on March 19, 2021, at the age of 80 leaving behind a strong legacy of female entrepreneurship, beloved designs, unadulterated kindness, and her charitable grant organization, The Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation, dedicated to her late father, Nando Peretti.