Vintage Marcasite Drop Earrings

Vintage Marcasite Drop Earrings

A two-part earring: a silver fan-shaped motif at the top, with a teardrop frame swaying just below. Marcasite is set one stone at a time along the edges of the frame, and a deep grey stone is placed at the centre — a richly decorated piece of true vintage character.

What makes these earrings particular is the way marcasite is used. Marcasite is iron pyrite, polished and cut as a stone — without the loud brilliance of diamond, it carries instead a subdued, oxidised silver glow. It was a material favoured throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries in vintage jewellery, and here, it is set with care across every detail: the fan-shaped filigree above, the outline of the teardrop frame below, and the perimeter around the central stone. The small glints of each marcasite stone, gathered together, transform the silver frame from a simply polished metal into a surface alive with countless tiny points of light. This is the particular beauty of marcasite work.

The silver carries a softly oxidised finish, holding a deep tone rather than a bright, fresh-from-new shine. That antique finish sits in quiet harmony with the restrained light of the marcasite and the muted colour of the central grey stone, lending the whole a composed sense of weight. The lower frame is openwork — when the earrings move, you can see through the form to the space behind, which keeps the piece light to wear despite the density of its ornament.

The fittings are clip style, so they can be worn without pierced ears. The form swings vertically from ear toward upper chest, creating a delicate vertical line at the face when worn. Paired with simple, unornamented clothes — a black dress, a white blouse — the decorative quality of these earrings comes quietly to the fore. Earrings for slightly more considered dinners, for evenings, for days when you want to add shadow and story to what you're wearing.

Length: approx 5cm

Material: Brass, silver metal plating, marcasite

Condition: Very good vintage condition

Sourced in / Made in: Australia

Eight days, eight quiet scenes from early summer. From the 29th of April through the 6th of May, a small selection of pieces drawn from the colours, the air, the details of this brief season between spring and summer. However you spend these days, we hope something here finds its way to you.