Whether you’re a ’90s kid who grew up begging your parents for a Bean necklace or a vintage collector drawn to minimalism, you know the name Elsa Peretti. The Italian-born multihyphenate began her career in fashion as a “Halstonette,” one of the models favored by Halston. (Rebecca Dayan played Peretti in the Netflix series based on the designer’s life.) She then became known as a designer herself—crafting modern, sculptural jewelry that perfectly complemented Halston and Giorgio di Sant’Angelo’s collections.
A Bone cuff by Elsa Peretti.
In 1974, Peretti began her fruitful collaboration with Tiffany & Co., crafting timeless designs including the Bone cuff and Bean necklace. In the era of women’s liberation, her work helped shift the jewelry market: Women bought pieces for themselves, rather than wait to be gifted by an admirer.
To mark the 50th anniversary of Peretti’s appointment, the jewelry giant is issuing updated versions of her designs with glittering gemstones and releasing a trove of new pieces inspired by her work. Anthony Ledru, the brand’s president and chief executive officer, called the project “a remarkable testament to the house’s heritage of collaborating with the world’s greatest artists. Peretti was able to create an extraordinary universe of groundbreaking designs that changed the course of Tiffany’s history and continues to resonate to this day.”
The array, which is being released throughout the year, includes a limited one-off edition of the Bone cuff hand-set with pavé diamonds and rubies and hand-carved cabochon stones. And for those who spent Y2K pining for a Bean necklace, maybe it’s time to snap one up, this time rendered in oh-so-grown-up pavé diamonds.
This story appears in the October 2024 issue of ELLE.
Véronique Hyland is ELLE’s Fashion Features Director and the author of the book Dress Code, which was selected as one of The New Yorker’s Best Books of the Year. Her writing has previously appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, W, New York magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, and Condé Nast Traveler.
