Elsa Peretti was born in Florence, studied interior design and was a language teacher and ski instructor before becoming a model. Peretti settled in New York in 1968 and began a career as a to jewelry designer working for for Halston, Giorgio di Sant’ Angelo, Oscar de la Renta, and others. Peretti recounted how she began designing jewelry: "In 1969, I found a tiny flower vase in a junk shop and was inspired to design a bottle on a chain for designer Giorgio di Sant'Angelo.” Since 1974, she has designed exclusively for Tiffany & Co. Jack Robinson photographed Peretti outside Lincoln Center in New York on January 6, 1971