When is a bean more than a bean? When it’s crafted from jade as a Tiffany necklace, of course. This piece is the brainchild of 70s Wünderkind Elsa Peretti, whose extraordinary work sought to elevate the ordinary and make the costly almost quotidian – amongst her innovations were diamonds by the yard, a dime-shop approach to that most precious of materials. That was just one of the revolutions Peretti brought to Tiffany, who she began working with in 1974 – before her, for example, the house hadn’t carried silver jewellery for a quarter century. A half century later, her pieces still do swift business, and look just as stark and modern as ever. Peretti’s work often encapsulated natural forms in gold or gemstones – bones, teardrops, or here, a fragment of jade polished to resemble a bean. It’s a key Peretti motif, translated in gold and silver to become everything from a strung necklace to an abstract earring to an evening purse. But this is a different thing – so realistic it becomes almost surrealistic, and executed in one of the designer’s favoured gemstones. And hey, green is suitably festive too. Imagine finding one of these under your pillow as an early Christmas gift – regardless of Hans Christian Andersen’s assertions, you’d get a good night’s sleep.
The Tiffany Elsa Peretti Bean pendant in yellow gold with green nephrite jade is available now.
