Elsa Peretti - Tiffany & Co Jewelry Designer

Educated in Rome and Switzerland, Elsa Peretti initially made her living teaching Italian and working as a ski instructor in the German-speaking Swiss mountain village of Gstaad, before moving to Milan, Italy in 1963 to pursue a degree in interior design and to work for the architect Dado Torrigiani.

“Style is to be simple.”

In 1964 she decided to take a new career path as a fashion model. After having spent her first couple of years in Barcelona, Spain, she followed Wilhelmina Modeling Agency'ssuggestion to move to New York City in 1968. While modeling in Manhattan, Elsa began creating new jewelry styles for a handful of fashion designers including Giorgio di Sant' Angelo and Halston. She was initially inspired by a silver flower vase she had found at a flea market. In 1972 Bloomingdale's, one of New York's landmark shopping stores, opened a dedicated Peretti boutique.

Elsa Peretti explores nature with the acumen of a scientist and the vision of a sculptor. She allows us to see such forms as the bean, the apple and the snake in intriguing and beautiful new ways. 

Information source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsa_Peretti