About Us

LUNESSA Designer Jewelry was opened in 2005 by designer Elise Perelman. Inspired by a dream of finding precious gems in an enchanted forest, the seed for LUNESSA was born, intending to be a haven of beautiful feminine treasures. Designer & owner, Perelman, is an FIT Fashion Design graduate who began her career fresh out of school as a Manhattan street artist. She first set up shop with a folding table at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and then later moved downtown to fashionable Fifth Avenue near Union Square. 

In 2005, Perelman gave birth to a baby boy, and everything changed. While looking for a workshop for her tools, she came across an intriguing ad for a shared retail space in the heart of SoHo. The small storefront had a back room occupied by dog groomers. Knowing that this was an amazing opportunity for a small designer, Perelman signed a lease the next day with a four month year old baby in her arms, and set to work on creating LUNESSA. Within a year, the groomers had moved on, and LUNESSA expanded, carving an archway into the dividing wall and taking over the store.

Perelman is a self-taught jeweler, first weaving with gems and crystals and later becoming a bench jeweler to expand her creative possibilities. She is inspired by dreams, nature, ethereality, and the gems themselves. Perelman muses, I love the creative process which is like birth - grueling and then magical, as well as seeing a special piece come to life and transform someone. It brings me joy to add sparkle & beauty to the world!

The LUNESSA Boutique and Elise Perelman have designed for the following runway shows: Jenny Lee, Jim Hjelm, Alvina Valenta, Tia Adore, and Lazaro; partnered with (cosmetics entrepreneur) Bobbi Brown; featured on QVC, The Today Show, and What Not to Wear with Stacey London; covered in the Style Section of the New York Times, NY Magazine, Elle, Lucky, InStyle Weddings, Brides Local, Seventeen, Manhattan Bride, The Knot, Martha Stewart Weddings & Time Out NY. Fans run the gamut from Ke$ha to Bill Clinton!