Baby Fat Earring
21st Century and Contemporary French Dangle Earrings
21st Century and Contemporary French Stud Earrings
People Also Browsed
Early 2000s American Fashion Rings
Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Band Rings
Sterling Silver
1990s Chain Bracelets
21st Century and Contemporary French Tote Bags
Early 2000s French Cocktail Dresses
1980s American Evening Gowns
2010s American Modern Engagement Rings
Diamond, Platinum
1990s Sunglasses
1990s Italian Day Dresses
Early 2000s Unknown Retro More Bracelets
Silver, Sterling Silver
1990s French Swimwear
2010s Crossbody Bags and Messenger Bags
2010s Miscellaneous
Vintage 1970s Italian Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Emerald, 18k Gold
1990s Italian Cardigans
Early 2000s Italian Tank Tops
Recent Sales
21st Century and Contemporary Drop Earrings
21st Century and Contemporary Drop Earrings
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.