Elsa Peretti
Elsa Peretti. The first jewelry designer who’s work I truly loved.
As I write this the rain is pouring, in streaks and at an angle, right across my view of undulating green with majestic trees, soaking it all up. It’s a welcome respite after weeks of scorching, humid, tropical heat. The brightly coloured birds flitting from tree to tree steal my attention. I find myself unconsciously connecting a gemstone to their brightly coloured feathers.
Nature is also what inspired Elsa Peretti. The legendary Italian designer sadly passed on earlier this March in Spain at the age of 80. While we know this human life is temporary and cannot be forever, death always takes us by surprise and shakes things up.
Elsa Peretti’s work will never be forgotten.
She had the incredible gift of capturing nature and clarifying it to its essence in a few strokes and curves. I loved her pieces with their undulating curves. Their Simplicity. Their Sensuality. To me they are work from the soul.
Today design is convenient and quick, rendered in three dimensional digital images. Yet there’s nothing like time taken to observe nature, the rough scribbles and the workings on paper – drawn and drawn again until you get the strokes – just right. The A-symmetrical quality, the curves, lures me. The fearless drawings of Elsa Peretti… the path that carries you from the beginning to the end, to the final product – I could gaze at again and again. It is my hope a book will be published soon in memory of her, inclusive of her hand drawn sketches along with her rough experimental sketches.
There are numerous posts and articles about her glamorous life, her beginnings and the iconic jewels. I want to share with you the links to my favourite three.
Vogue has an article that captures her story, you can read it here.
Youtube: Fifteen of My Fifty With Tiffany
IG account: elsaperettidesign
The gold necklace above at the top left against a black lace dress is my Elsa Peretti jewel. It was a gift from my husband, who knew how much in love I was with it. She has and will always be truly an inspiration. Her life will be remembered and celebrated by her jewelry that will live on, cherished by many.
Rest In Peace, Elsa Peretti, you will be missed…
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