Tiffany Mourns Famed Designer Elsa Peretti

RAPAPORT... Elsa Peretti, one of Tiffany & Co.'s most distinguished designers, died last week in Spain at the age of 80, according to the charity she founded.Peretti began designing for Tiffany in 1974, and continued to do so for the rest of her career. Inspired by nature, she would take everyday items such as beans, bones and apples, and transform them into cufflinks, bracelets and other jewelry pieces, the Nando and Elsa Peretti Foundation explained. She would reimagine scorpions and snakes as necklaces and rings, often in silver, one of her preferred materials."A masterful artisan, Elsa was responsible for a revolution in the world of jewelry design," Tiffany said in a statement. "Her collections of organic, sensual forms have inspired generations."Peretti was committed to improving the environment, social welfare and human rights, as well as to preserving arts and culture, Tiffany noted. Those goals are the focus of her charitable foundation, which she established in 2000 in memory of her father.Image: Elsa Peretti. (Elsa Peretti Holding)