Bakelite Earrings

There is a broad range of bakelite earrings for sale on 1stDibs. All of the items for sale were constructed with extraordinary care, often using Silver, Gold and 18k Gold. Our selection of items includes 81 vintage examples as well as 18 contemporary versions. Our collection is diverse and broad-ranging, and pieces in stock date back to the 20th Century while others were produced as recently as the 21st Century. Our collection of bakelite earrings includes designs that are universally popular, but Art Deco and Artisan styles, specifically, are sought with frequency. Versions of these items have been a part of the life’s work for many jewelers, but those produced by Artisan NYC, Meghna Jewels and Yves Saint Laurent are consistently popular. Many pieces in our collection are stylish for most occasions, but Diamond versions, from our inventory of 14, can add a particularly distinctive touch to your look, day or night. Today, if you’re looking for round cut bakelite earrings and are unable to find the perfect match, our selection also includes cabochon and mixed cut alternatives. There aren’t many items for men in our collection of bakelite earrings, as most of the options available are for women.

Prices for bakelite earrings start at $115 and top out at $6,900 with these earrings, on average, selling for $415.

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.