Elsa Peretti Scorpion Pendant

Carine Roitfeld is renowned for her style, classic with a twist, and her beloved Elsa Peretti scorpion necklace suits her aesthetic perfectly. The elegant metallic scorpion collar pendant is crafted of articulated segments with the menacing claws encircling the neck and the tail poised on the chest in a dangerous flick, so Carine… Designed by Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co. in 1979, the curious necklace resulted from her obsession with the scorpions living near her home in Catalonia. The artist shares her inspiration: "While working in Sant Martí Vell, I came across a lot of scorpions. The animals are incredibly attractive, with fascinating mechanics. Strangely they are never around when I need to review something in my design. I have to confess that I had to sacrifice a few. I feel sorry."

Carine acquired this treasured piece years ago and stored it in her bank vault for safekeeping until recently when she retrieved it so she could wear it again. One reason she loves the scorpion is because it reminds her of her partner, Christian Restoin, as Scorpio is his astrological sign; I adore her sweet sentimentality. Carine refers to herself as a collector of the designer's work and also among the treasures in her jewelry box is the Elsa Peretti bottle pendant.

Carine met Elsa Peretti once and remembers her as an amazing woman with an amazing (albeit masculine) voice, she considers the jewelry designer a big talent and one of her big icons. Carine also thinks of Peretti as a muse for the first issue of CR Fashion Book, she styled the editorial "Elsa" in her likeness, casting Catherine McNeil as Peretti as shot by Kacper Kasprzyk in a New York apartment that formerly belonged to Halston. I wonder if McNeil is wearing Carine's own Elsa Peretti scorpion pendant for the editorial… Tiffany & Co. continues to produce the scorpion necklace but in a slightly different variation, it now hangs on a 15.5" inch chain and is cast in either gold or sterling silver. Be sure to view "Scorpion Queen" on CR Fashion Book in which Carine Roitfeld discusses Elsa Peretti and her scorpion pendant.

Elsa Peretti scorpion collar pendant photo courtesy of Tiffany & Co. Carine Roitfeld photos courtesy of Fashion Spot. "Elsa" editorial image by Kacper Kasprzyk for CR Fashion Book.

Elsa Peretti

One of the classic pieces in Carine Roitfeld's jewelry box is the Elsa Peretti bottle pendant by Tiffany & Co. The understated simplicity of the piece is completely in line with Carine’s own fashion sensibility, which tends toward an undone insouciance. She is pictured below wearing Peretti's creation with a white Givenchy gown and Alaïa shoes at Cannes in 2009. Peretti describes her vision behind the pendant that Carine wears: "Once I was in Portofino and I met all those beautiful women that were wearing Pucci's dresses and had a gardenia in their hand. That was the flash that made me think to realize something to keep the flower fresh and alive, therefore the little bottle came to the light...."

Born in Florence, Peretti worked as both a designer and model in Rome prior to moving to New York during the 1960s, where she collaborated with a number of designers, including Halston and Oscar de la Renta, before finally committing exclusively to creating fine jewelry for Tiffany in 1974. Peretti’s signature designs continue to garner praise for her organic, sensuously sculptural aesthetic which melds the fluid elements of nature with the precision of impeccable craftsmanship. For a closer look at her work, view this video of Peretti's bottle pendant.

Elsa Peretti bottle pendant image courtesy of Tiffany & Co.
Carine Roitfeld photograph courtesy of Fashion Spot.

Boucheron Quatre Ring

Carine Roitfeld seldom wears jewelry on her hands, preferring not to draw attention to one of the first parts of the body to show signs of age: "I think jewels are beautiful when you are young and when you are old. Because when you are 40 you do not want anything that makes you look older, makes your skin look more wrinkled." This means that the rings Carine chooses to wear are special and one of her finest is the Boucheron Quatre ring which occasionally graces her pinky finger. Crafted from four golds in rose, chocolate, yellow, and white, three of the bands are embossed in patterns of grosgrain, diamond point, and godron and the fourth is polished smooth for contrast. The subtle yet striking drama of the piece results from the fusion of the unusual materials and textures. The House of Boucheron was founded in 1858 by Frédéric Boucheron, acquired by Gucci Group in 2000, and launched its Quatre collection in 2005. If you have a printer and a web camera, you can try on the jewelry virtually via myBoucheron.com and then share your images with friends. Go see how you look wearing Carine Roitfeld's favorite pinky ring...

Boucheron Quatre Ring photograph courtesy of boucheron.com.
Carine Roitfeld photograph courtesy of Fashion Spot.

Bess

Carine Roitfeld is a fan of Bess, she has been spotted wearing one of their distinctive feather necklaces, a gothic concoction of lace, suede, and feathers that appear to be those of a raven. Bess was created in 2000 by Doug and Bess Abraham, by 2001 their pieces were being stocked by Harvey Nichols, Fred Segal, Bergdorf Goodman, and Barney's NY. The Abrahams opened the first Bess store in 2002. Now located at 292 Lafayette Street (between Prince and Houston), the space that Bess occupies formerly housed Keith Haring's Pop Shop.

Bess is known for bold, colorful jewelry made of precious and semiprecious stones frequently interwoven with rich, layered fabrics such as velvet and silk. For extra pleasure, they custom stud a variety of vintage apparel. In addition to working as a sculptor and jewelry designer, Doug also oversees the jewelry line produced by Ralph Lauren.

Other notable Bess fans include Alexander Wang, Alexandre Herchcovitch, Marc Jacobs, Hedi Slimane, Fabiola Beracasa, Vanessa Traina, Anna Sui, Domenico Dolce, Olivier Theyskens, and Erin Wasson. Bess Los Angeles is now open at 8166 Melrose Avenue and they plan to debut their collection at the upcoming New York Fashion Week, hopefully we will see Carine there showing her support.

Images from the Bess Autumn/Winter 2009 and  Spring/Summer 2010 collections © 2009 Bess NYC. All Rights Reserved.

Compression by César

Have you noticed the unusual gold pendant that Carine Roitfeld wears frequently? This striking vintage piece is one of a limited series of "Compressions" made by César in 1971 for the jeweler Pascal Morabito. César Baldaccini, usually known simply as César, was a noted French sculptor at the forefront of the Nouveau Réalisme movement. He is famed for his radical compressions of materials such as compacted automobiles, discarded metal, or rubbish; his expansions such as his polyurethane foam sculptures; and his fantastic representations of animals and insects.

César's early work used junk materials and soldered and welded metal. In 1960 on a visit to a scrap yard in search of metal, he noticed a hydraulic crushing machine in action and he decided to begin experimenting with the element of compression in his sculpture. He selected the cars used for each of his compressions, mixing elements from vehicles of different colors. In this way he found he could control the surface pattern and color scheme of the piece. César astonished art lovers by exhibiting three crushed cars at a Paris show and he became renowned for these compressions. His later works also include sculptures made from molten crystal.

Carine Roitfeld wearing Compression pendant by César photograph by Inez van Lamsweerde et Vinoodh Matadin courtesy of Purple Fashion No. 5