Ippolita Cascade
2010s Dangle Earrings
18k Gold
People Also Browsed
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown Drop Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s American Band Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Platinum
Vintage 1920s Art Deco Brooches
Diamond, Gold, Platinum
20th Century Italian Modernist Modern Bracelets
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Steel, Stainless Steel
21st Century and Contemporary Drop Earrings
14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Early 2000s Italian Pendant Necklaces
Malachite, Onyx, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s More Earrings
Yellow Gold
Vintage 1910s British Brooches
Diamond, Gold, 15k Gold, Platinum
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Link Necklaces
Rose Gold, Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary Lever-Back Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Link Bracelets
Purple Sapphire, Green Sapphire, Yellow Sapphire, Pink Sapphire, Blue Sa...
Vintage 1980s Italian Modern Cuff Bracelets
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Recent Sales
20th Century American Contemporary Dangle Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Chandelier Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Chandelier Earrings
18k Gold
2010s Italian Drop Earrings
Turquoise, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Modern Drop Earrings
Topaz, Blue Topaz, Rhodium, Sterling Silver, Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Drop Earrings
Turquoise, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Topaz, Rhodium, Silver
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.