EARRING PROVENANCE:
These marvelous earrings came directly from Federico & were from his "Personal Collection"..Since his youth Federico has had a love for antiquities, pieces that have stories behind them & especially with the emphasis on Mexican textiles & jewelry. He has been an avid collector of not only the finest Colonial pieces of jewelry,but is also an avid collector of Native American antiquities & jewelry from the Mexican Silver Renaissance days.His love for pieces from the past,with a collection so vast,so much so,that he & his wife Ellen display this collection at their own museum in Oaxaca that bares he & his wife's name, where only the finest pieces are displayed. (Belber-Jimenez Museo))
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THE EARRINGS:
These extremely elegant & very romantic earrings are the perfect example of what was made & worn by the most elite from the turn of the century. They are very "Georgian/Victorian/Art Nouveau" in both appearance and a style that came from the 1700's to the turn of the century period.

There are made with 5 movable tiered sections where each tier is hooked to the next by a small bar that leads to the next section. This is what helps to give them their fluid movement.

They are fully encrusted with rose cut diamonds & have 9 emerald cabochons accents(Per earring) that add not only color to the earring, but add to their pristine value. It's hard to give an accurate carat weight once the gems are set,but have roughly 1 carat of emeralds per earring.

The emeralds sit in a decorative bezel & although hard to tell,it does look like the diamonds have prongs(?) Typical of this era,the gems are mounted in silver& the backside & ear hooks test at 12K gold. (White Gold was not out at the time these were made & silver was the only white metal of the day)

Their age is validated by the "Back to Front" ear hook, which were very common in the 1800's..Trying them on,I actually thought it would be odd to put them on this way &possibly much more difficult than one would imagine, but actually found it to be quite easy ! Each person will be different,so while some will find it easy,it may take others more time to get the hang of it. (see photo 7 & 8)

It's hard to capture the diamond's sparkle in photos,but really sparkle in the light! They are in perfect well kept condition,with no diamond loss,no loose/cracked stones & the ear wires are still in their original shape.

** These are not “ Paste Diamonds” **