The charm of Elsa Perreti

It’s been almost 15 years since Perreti celebrated her 50th year at Tiffany’s (the huge jewelry enterprise Audrey Hepburn made po-pular in Breakfast at Tiffany’s) but her jewelry is proving to be timeless treasures. Her ideas are translated in yellow gold, silver and white gold in various forms ranging from dainty ornaments to bigger and bolder bracelets, necklaces, rings, earrings and belts.

You can identify a Perreti by its constant themes – hearts, snake earrings, gold flasks or a free-form curved cuff. Every accessory is a study in form. Every year, her themes evolve into different interpretations. Despite these changes, these accessories remain simple and their designs retain their fluidity.

The designs are so beautiful that I couldn’t help but go to Tiffany’s in San Francisco if only to look at the pieces. It’s fun looking at these dainty jewelry that look more enticing on the shelf than when they’re on me.

Her golden rule? Any object that is completed on her work table is an object of art.

For Elsa Perreti, lines and forms are timeless. She sees what no one else can see. With a very personal approach to her creations, she ends up with Perreti sculptural pieces.

Her Golden Bottles

Perreti says her bottles were inspired by Portofino, a place in Italy which was magic to her in the ’60s. "All the women were stunning figures in shockingly beautiful Pucci silk and each with a gardenia in her hand."

She wrote, "The flower vase I unearthed in a junk shop drove me to design, for Giorgio di San’t Angelo, something in which to carry the flower, in which to keep it alive. Of all the bottles I fashioned, the first was the most magical." Josine Elizalde has a tiny gold one she wore on her neck in the ’70s.

Her Tear-Shaped Jewelry

"The tear is a symbol of feeling. The drop is also beautiful in itself and naturally allows a designer a lot of variations including an elongated shape (i.e. for earrings) so as to form the clip of a pen, or to curve and close like a key ring."

My children Josephine and Mai have inexpensive tear necklaces and earrings in varying sizes.

Elsa’s Snakes And Scorpions

"It’s not that I love snakes," she says, "but I’ve seen so many of them that I really think they’re beautiful. The approach to the ideas dates back a long time. In Lausanne, a Texan guy gave me the endpiece of a rattlesnake tail as a good luck charm. I thought American had to be brave, having these kinds of snakes in their backyards."

She adds, "I kept the object with me for many years. The expertise of excellent craftsmen, and my will, bought the snake to life in silver and gold." The said long, dangling earrings are very feminine.

It was while working in San Marti Vell that Elsa came across a lot of scorpions. "The animals are incredibly attractive with fascinating mechanics. Strangely, they are never around when I need to review something in my design." By the way, Chingbee Kalaw Cuenca has a scorpion pin.

Whether you invest in small or big jewelry pieces, remember to pick the simple ones for, more often than not, these are the ones that last.