Vintage Elsa Peretti Tiffany & Co. Sterling Silver Mesh Evening Bag

Created in the late 1970s to early 1980s by legendary designer Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co., this exceptional sterling silver mesh evening bag represents one of the most refined and collectible periods of Peretti’s career. When Peretti joined Tiffany in 1974, she fundamentally transformed the jewelry industry. At a time when fine jewelry was dominated by formal diamonds and traditional gold settings, Peretti introduced an entirely new visual language — organic forms, sensual minimalism, sculptural silver, and objects designed to move naturally with the body. Most importantly, she elevated sterling silver into the world of true luxury, helping redefine modern jewelry and forever changing Tiffany’s identity in the process. By the late 1970s, Peretti had become Tiffany’s leading designer, with her collections generating enormous commercial and cultural success for the house. While Peretti is best known for iconic jewelry forms such as the Bone Cuff and Bean designs, her rarer accessories and wearable objects from this period have become increasingly sought after by collectors of fashion, design, and 20th century decorative arts. Pieces such as mesh handbags, lacquer Bean clutches, woven silk jewelry, and silver accessories were produced in far smaller quantities than her commercial jewelry lines and today are considered among the rarest surviving examples of her studio-era work. Peretti’s silver mesh designs embodied her belief that jewelry and accessories should move naturally with the body. Rather than treating sterling silver as rigid or formal, she approached mesh almost like fabric — soft, fluid, tactile, and sensual in movement. This philosophy became one of the defining innovations of her work during the late 1970s, allowing her to blur the boundaries between jewelry, fashion, and design. This silver mesh evening bag is an exceptional example of that vision. Constructed in finely woven sterling silver chain mail with black silk cord and dramatic tassel detailing, the piece drapes with an almost liquid quality, transforming industrial silver into something unexpectedly soft and intimate. More than an accessory, it functions as a wearable design object — fluid, tactile, and sensual in movement, embodying the effortless elegance of the Halston-era New York world Peretti helped define. This exact Elsa Peretti sterling silver mesh evening bag gained renewed attention following the landmark December 2024 Christie’s sale of a matching Elsa Peretti sterling silver mesh evening bag from the renowned collection of legendary tastemaker and collector Mica Ertegun, which realized $37,800 USD against an estimate of only $2,000–$3,000. That result drew significant attention among collectors and reinforced the growing importance of rare Peretti accessories within the worlds of collectible design, fashion history, and archive jewelry. That landmark result reflected a broader shift in the market, where exceptional late 1970s and early 1980s Peretti works are increasingly viewed not simply as vintage Tiffany pieces, but as important examples of collectible 20th century fashion and design. Condition: Excellent vintage condition. Recently sent to Tiffany & Co. for professional polishing and cleaning. Sterling silver mesh retains a beautiful fluid drape with strong shine and well-preserved silk cord and tassel detailing. Extremely rare to encounter in this form and condition, this piece stands as both a collector’s object and an important example of Elsa Peretti’s lasting influence on fashion, jewelry, and modern design history. Measurements: Strap drop: 18 inches Bag length: 8 inches Tassel: 5 inches