Vintage Multi-Stone and Pearl Long Drop Earrings

Vintage Multi-Stone and Pearl Long Drop Earrings

Vintage drop earrings stringing four different stones — blue, purple, red, and pearl — in a vertical line. Materials of contrasting cut and colour assembled in succession, like a small jewel box held at the ear — the sort of vintage composition that finds beauty in the structure itself.

What makes these earrings particular is the rhythm of colour and light created by joining four different materials along a single vertical axis. At the top sits an oval cabochon (a dome-polished stone) of blue glass — a deep sapphire blue, holding the kind of softer, inward-looking glow that only a cabochon offers. Below it swings a faceted purple stone, sharp where the cabochon was soft, releasing a flash entirely different in character to the one above. The two qualities of light meet in deliberate contrast.

Lower still, two red cabochons sit side by side. A deep ruby red brings warmth into a composition that, until then, has leaned toward cooler tones — anchoring the whole with its weight. At the very bottom, an oval costume pearl, soft in colour between white and cream, receives all the brilliance above and grounds the piece gracefully. Colour stones meeting colourless pearl — the ornament never tips into excess, settling into elegant composure.

Combining cabochon and faceted cuts deliberately within one piece was a much-loved approach in 1980s and 90s costume jewellery. The baroque and renaissance-inspired ornament that haute couture houses like Chanel introduced into their collections was distilled here into more wearable, daily form — and that sensibility comes through clearly in this piece.

The fittings are pierced. Worn, they extend from the ear toward the collarbone in a long vertical line. Because each stone swings independently, the four colours each return light in their own rhythm with every movement. Paired with a simple black or white dress, or a top with an unornamented neckline, the colour composition of these earrings comes forward as the centrepiece of the look. For more considered evenings — a wedding, a celebration, a day when you want to express yourself clearly — a piece that supplies real drama at the ear.

Length: approx 8cm

Material: Brass, gold metal plating, glass, costume pearl

Period: 1970s-80s

Condition: Very good vintage condition

Sourced/Made in: Australia

***This item will be dispatched on 12th May***

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.