Kurt Wayne Diamond Earrings
20th Century American Modern More Earrings
Diamond, Platinum
Vintage 1980s American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century Hoop Earrings
Diamond, Platinum
Vintage 1980s American Modern Hoop Earrings
Diamond, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1980s American Modern Stud Earrings
Diamond, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century Lever-Back Earrings
Diamond, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern More Earrings
Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum
Late 20th Century American Lever-Back Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Modern Dangle Earrings
White Diamond, Yellow Diamond, Brown Diamond, 18k Gold
20th Century More Necklaces
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
People Also Browsed
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Band Rings
Diamond, White Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Bangles
Gold, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s French Sunglasses
21st Century and Contemporary Band Rings
18k Gold
2010s Italian Contemporary Band Rings
Diamond, Black Diamond, Titanium
1980s French Sunglasses
2010s Chain Bracelets
Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Bangles
18k Gold, White Gold
1980s French Sunglasses
1980s French Sunglasses
1980s French Sunglasses
21st Century and Contemporary Engagement Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hoop Earrings
18k Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s Bangles
Diamond, White Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Clip-on Earrings
Vintage 1960s American Modern Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Platinum
Recent Sales
2010s Lever-Back Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern More Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Stud Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Stud Earrings
Sapphire, Diamond, 18k Gold
1990s American Stud Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold
Vintage 1980s American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold
Vintage 1960s American Hoop Earrings
White Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Malagasy Lever-Back Earrings
White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold
1990s American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Drop Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Clip-on Earrings
White Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Gold, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1960s American More Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold
20th Century More Jewelry
White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, 18k Gold, ...
20th Century More Jewelry
White Diamond, Blue Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, 18k Gold, ...
Vintage 1980s American Modern Hoop Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Hoop Earrings
Diamond, Platinum
1990s Lever-Back Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, White Gold
Late 20th Century American Hoop Earrings
Diamond, Platinum
20th Century American Drop Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold
20th Century More Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, Gold
20th Century American Retro More Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold
20th Century American Dangle Earrings
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, Topaz, 18k Gold
American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Cultured Pearl
Late 20th Century American Clip-on Earrings
Cultured Pearl, Diamond, 18k Gold
American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond
American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond
Kurt Wayne Diamond Earrings For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much are Kurt Wayne Diamond Earrings?
Kurt Wayne for sale on 1stDibs
Kurt Wayne brought an optimistic and playful style to the art of making jewelry. Celebrated by those in the know for his alluring, offbeat creations that feature south sea pearls, emeralds and more, Wayne strayed from conventional jewelry design of the time, making such bold decisions as setting a square-cut diamond in the center of a polished orb of black onyx. The Austrian-born designer produced lively pendants, rings and brooches made to resemble frogs, canaries and owls, and with radiant starbursts and clustered stones, Wayne's style was meant to bedazzle as much as it was to stoke the imagination.
Not much is known about the life of Kurt Wayne. He is believed to have been born in 1909, in Vienna, and was reportedly fostered by a jeweler at the age of ten. Under the jeweler's tutelage, Wayne learned about watchmaking and how to work with gold, silver and precious stones.
At the time, the whiplash lines, vibrant materials and dramatic imagery that had characterized the Art Nouveau style — cemented in Viennese culture by artists such as those in the Wiener Werkstätte collective and others working in the Jugendstil style in Germany and Austria — had given way to Art Deco’s geometric diamond brooches and long pearl necklaces.
In 1937, Wayne emigrated to the United States and settled in New York City. He is said to have established his own business in 1945 and found great success in making jewelry. Throughout his career, he developed close ties to the Zale family of Zale jewelers and with Stanley Marcus of Neiman Marcus.
Wayne created imaginative modernist cocktail rings and other accessories during the 1970s and 1980s that are still widely collected today.
Find vintage Kurt Wayne necklaces, earrings and bracelets on 1stDibs.
Finding the Right earrings for You
In the United States, ear piercing didn’t really become popular until the 1950s and ‘60s, but our desire for a dazzling pair of vintage earrings has deeper roots than that. In fact, wearing earrings actually goes back thousands of years, and you can find many tangible connections between now and then in how we continue to talk about these treasured accessories.
Women wore ornamental earrings — studs and hoops at the very least — in Ancient Egypt, which is home to mines that are among the earliest sources of emeralds in the world. Emerald earrings are highly prized today, and their quality lies in their rich, saturated color. The highest-quality emeralds are green or bluish-green. Earrings worn by the affluent in early Roman civilizations were set with precious stones such as diamonds and pearls, and a clean-looking pop of pearl on the front of the lobe is as timeless as ever. Hoop earrings are imbued with symbolism and cultural significance for many, and on view in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Ancient Near Eastern Art Gallery is a pair of simple gold hoops from Mesopotamia dating to between 2600 and 2500 B.C.
Today, ear piercing is very popular all over the world, and, as a result, it is difficult to overstate how much everyone pines for a good pair of earrings — modernist drop earrings, glamorous Victorian hoops, geometrically complex chandelier earrings, you name it. Sure, jewelry trends and the fashion darlings of social media come and go, but earrings have a staying power that seems impenetrable: The still-strong love affair between British royals and Cartier earrings is more than a century old, glossy 1970s hoops from legacy houses such as Bulgari and Van Cleef & Arpels remain the statement makers they’ve always been and although people have been stacking earrings for many moons, the allure of an expertly mismatched stack of charms and studs still feels fresh and new.
While there is no shortage of modern earring designs to choose from, the classics, like coral earrings, Art Deco–style earrings and diamond drop earrings are still heavy hitters. On 1stDibs, find a wide range of antique, new and vintage earrings today.