Elsa Peretti – a sculptor and force of nature

Elsa Peretti, the jewellery designer who revolutionized the industry with sculptured pieces based on shapes found in nature, such as beans, scorpions and snakes, has died. She also drew inspiration from human skeletons, an early childhood fascination from trips to Italian chapels crammed with the bones of Capuchin friars.

  Her pieces accounted for 10% of $3.8 billion Tiffany’s sales and it was estimated that one of its stores around the world sold an object designed by her every minute.

   She was born 1 May 1940 in Florence (no time sadly) with an Italian oil company father from whom she was estranged for decades after he objected to her early modelling career. She was notoriously strong-willed and tempestuous, with a fiery temper and through her New York 1970s disco days admitted to subsisting on little more than caviar, cocaine, vodka and cigarettes. She reconciled with her father just before his death but then fell out with her sister over his will, when she fought to gain a 50-50 share and that breach never healed. Though it wasn’t greed since she gave the money away in charitable donations and helped friends discreetly. She never married but had numerous relationships with men, including photographer Helmut Newton. Latterly she lived in Catalonia renovating a broken down residence and the surrounding village.

  Her chart has three distinct elements. Three planets in Taurus – Saturn conjunct her Sun and Uranus – earthy, grounded in nature and stubborn. Her Saturn and widely Sun were also in a controlling square to Pluto. Her Uranus was in the inspired, innovative trine to Neptune which produced so many creative talents of that era. And she had a passionately enthusiastic Venus Mars in Gemini sextile Mercury Jupiter in pro-active, upfront Aries. Her Moon was Aquarius or Pisces.

  A mass of contradictions, she somehow wove it altogether to create timeless and accessible pieces and survive a destructive lifestyle.

 Her creative 7th harmonic was her strongest along with her global super-star 22H.

9 thoughts on “Elsa Peretti – a sculptor and force of nature”

  3. Hi Aim, Saturn rules longevity and she has Saturn conj her Sun. In addition Saturn rules her Asc, the body.
    Computer programs displaying harmonic charts are Solar Fire, Sirius, Janus, Halloran Software, etc.
    Google David Hamblin to see his books on Harmonics. Marjorie also has a sheet of Harmonics from
    1 to 22 with a couple sentences for each Harmonic number by Vendla. Search “Vendla” in this site’s
    search bar.

  4. I am a Saturn/ASC Taurus and loved her jewelry. Hope to afford one piece one day.
    I also prefer silver over gold. What did you think accounts for her survivability despite an unhealthy lifestyle? Just simply, the earthiness? Also, I would like to learn about harmonics. Would you please provide a reference link? Is there a free Astro software that can show one’s harmonics? Thank you.

  5. I rectified her chart to 12:36:21 am giving her 19Cp42 Asc. Mars Gemini in 5th with Venus in Gemini, giving
    her creative work with her hands. Venus here also gave her modeling.
    Juela, jewelry, 19 Taurus, joins her Tiffanys, 19Scorpio, in 10th House of career and trines her natal Asc.
    Moon in the humanitarian sign Aquarius, ruling 7th, sextile Jupiter, gave her public philanthropy.

    • Amazing designer and artist. One expression of Venus/Mars with Mercury/Gemini in the mix is the ability to craft with artistry to create beauty. You see it also in the charts of textile designers and it makes sense if you think of Mercury/Gemini (and I would include the 3rd house in this) as manual dexterity.

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