Elsa Peretti Full Heart Sterling Silver Buckle and Six Belts circa 1975
View Similar Items
Elsa Peretti Full Heart Sterling Silver Buckle and Six Belts circa 1975
About the Item
- Designer:Elsa Peretti
- Brand:Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co.
- Dimensions:Width: 0.75 in (1.91 cm)Length: 50 in (127 cm)Marked Size: One Size Fits Most (US)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:New Hope, PA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU4720105972
Elsa Peretti
In an era of social upheaval, venerable Tiffany & Co. designer Elsa Peretti reimagined diamonds as jewelry that working women bought for themselves rather than receiving it from a suitor.
By the time the Italian-born Peretti arrived in New York City, she’d already studied design in Rome, worked for a Milanese architect and taught Italian, French and skiing in Switzerland. She settled on interior design as her potential career path but then chose an altogether different route: modeling. Peretti modeled in Barcelona, Spain, and on the advice of Wilhelmina Cooper — a former model who’d by then founded Wilhelmina Modeling Agency — moved to Manhattan in 1968. When she relocated, Peretti was inspired to pick up jewelry design.
After modeling for designer Halston, the undisputed fashion king of Studio 54, Peretti became his close friend and collaborator, eventually creating jewelry and teardrop-shaped perfume bottles for him. By way of her association with Halston, Peretti took to the disco scene, flourishing in a social circle that included artist Andy Warhol and fashion designer Giorgio di Sant’Angelo.
It wasn’t long before models on di Sant’Angelo’s runway were donning two-inch sterling-silver vases, complete with a rose stem, suspended on leather thongs around their necks. The accessory was Peretti’s inaugural piece of jewelry — she designed it in 1969 after finding a flower vase at a flea market. It was hardly the only time that Peretti found motifs in nature and in organic forms. In the years that followed, her Bean pendant necklace, Starfish earrings and other sensuous accessories would draw on human emotion as well as the natural world around her. Each evocative and wholly versatile design is universally adored decades later, and each was made for a storied American jewelry house with which Peretti would be associated for nearly 50 years.
It was Halston who introduced Peretti to Tiffany & Co. She had her own boutique at Bloomingdale’s by 1972, and her partnership with the firm, which signed the venturesome and unorthodox designer to an exclusive contract in 1974, would cement her place in the lofty annals of jewelry legend. Peretti’s simple but sophisticated designs — the Teardrop collection, her minimalist Diamonds by the Yard necklace and Open Heart ring, to name a few — elevated sterling silver, previously considered unsuitable for fine jewelry, and created an enthusiastic young audience for Tiffany’s offerings. In 1977, Peretti’s designs earned the jewelry house more than $6 million. (In some years, her work has accounted for 10 percent of the company’s sales.)
In 2012, Peretti signed a 20-year, $47.3 million contract with Tiffany & Co., but she passed away in 2021, at age 80. Today, her designs are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the British Museum.
Find an exquisite collection of Elsa Peretti jewelry today on 1stDibs.
Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co.
In an era of social upheaval, venerable Tiffany & Co. designer Elsa Peretti reimagined diamonds as jewelry that working women bought for themselves rather than receiving it from a suitor.
By the time the Italian-born Peretti (1940–2021) arrived in New York City, she’d already studied design in Rome, worked for a Milanese architect and taught Italian, French and skiing in Switzerland. She settled on interior design as her potential career path but then chose an altogether different route: modeling. Peretti modeled in Barcelona, Spain, and on the advice of Wilhelmina Cooper — a former model who’d by then founded Wilhelmina Modeling Agency — moved to Manhattan in 1968. When she relocated, Peretti was inspired to pick up jewelry design.
After modeling for designer Halston, the undisputed fashion king of Studio 54, Peretti became his close friend and collaborator, eventually creating jewelry and teardrop-shaped perfume bottles for him. By way of her association with Halston, Peretti took to the disco scene, flourishing in a social circle that included artist Andy Warhol and fashion designer Giorgio di Sant’Angelo.
It wasn’t long before models on di Sant’Angelo’s runway were donning two-inch sterling-silver vases, complete with a rose stem, suspended on leather thongs around their necks. The accessory was Peretti’s inaugural piece of jewelry — she designed it in 1969 after finding a flower vase at a flea market. It was hardly the only time that Peretti found motifs in nature and in organic forms. In the years that followed, her Bean pendant necklace, Starfish earrings and other sensuous accessories would draw on human emotion as well as the natural world around her. Each evocative and wholly versatile design is universally adored decades later, and each was made for a storied American jewelry house with which Peretti would be associated for nearly 50 years.
It was Halston who introduced Peretti to Tiffany & Co. She had her own boutique at Bloomingdale’s by 1972, and her partnership with the firm, which signed the venturesome and unorthodox designer to an exclusive contract in 1974, would cement her place in the lofty annals of jewelry legend. Peretti’s simple but sophisticated designs — the Teardrop collection, her minimalist Diamonds by the Yard necklace and Open Heart ring, to name a few — elevated sterling silver, previously considered unsuitable for fine jewelry, and created an enthusiastic young audience for Tiffany’s offerings. In 1977, Peretti’s designs earned the jewelry house more than $6 million. (In some years, her work has accounted for 10 percent of the company’s sales.)
In 2012, Peretti signed a 20-year, $47.3 million contract with Tiffany & Co., but she passed away in 2021, at age 80. Today, her designs are in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and the British Museum.
Find an exquisite collection of Elsa Peretti jewelry today on 1stDibs.
- HERMES orange ETRIVIER 32mm Belt 100 ChamonixBy HermèsLocated in Zürich, CH100% authentic Hermes 'Etrivier 32mm' belt in orange Veau Chamonix leather with palladium buckle. Brand new. Comes with box. Measurements Tag Size 100 Width 3.2cm (1.2in) Fits 95cm ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Belts
- Gucci Tom Ford Python Carmel Leather Gold G Logo Snake Belt (80/32)By GucciLocated in Montreal, QuebecColor: Metallic brown / carmel Vintage 1990s Material: Python leather Model No: 129191 Measures: L 35” x W 1.75” Size: 80 cm / 32 inch Comes With: No Brand dust bag Condition: Very g...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Belts
- Gucci Tom Ford Python Black Leather Purple G Logo Snake Belt (85/34)By GucciLocated in Montreal, QuebecGUCCI TOM FORD PYTHON BLACK LEATHER PURPLE G LOGO SNAKE BELT (85/34) Color: Black with purple snake logo buckle Vintage 1990s Material: Python leather Model No: 129191 Measures: L 3...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Belts
- Silver-tone metal chain and rhinestone belt ChanelBy ChanelLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FRSilver-tone metal chain and rhinestone belt. Small rhinestone "CC" Lenght: 98 cm ( Max) Singapore Cruise 2013/14Category
2010s Unknown Belts
- F/W 1995 Gucci by Tom Ford Kate Moss Square G Logo Navy Leather Runway BeltBy Gucci, Tom Ford for GucciLocated in West Hollywood, CAPresenting a vintage Gucci 'G' unisex belt with a modern design, designed by Tom Ford. This sought after belt is from Tom Ford's first fall collection with the house of Gucci...Category
1990s Italian Belts
- J. Lindeberg Black Cross Leather Strap Men's BeltLocated in Downey, CAJ. Lindeberg Black Cross Leather Strap Men's Belt Description This belt is a crafted of genuine leather black men's size 38 waist features an cross buck...Category
2010s Belts