Jose Hess Diamond Earrings

Jose Hess concentrated on mentoring emerging designers by teaching jewelry design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. He worked as a consultant to jewelry companies in the United States and abroad — in order to help them improve their design and manufacturing methods — and designed a collection of jewelry that was featured on TV and online, with Jose having done the presentations live on air.

An industry leader, Hess was the first American president of CIBJO, an international trade association whose mission is to establish uniform standards for the jewelry space worldwide. He was a former president of the 24 Karat Club of New York City, the Manufacturing Jewelers and Silversmiths of America, and the Plumb Club.

Mentor and educator Hess taught model-making at the Fashion Institute of Technology and often addressed student groups on goldsmithing and jewelry design. A winner of numerous jewelry design award competitions, including the prestigious De Beers Diamonds International award, Hess was frequently recognized for his talent. His jewelry has been prominently featured in W, InStyle, Mirabella, Town & Country, Vogue, and a variety of other magazines.

Hess’s work is often seen on the glamorous Hollywood circuit, with celebrities such as Demi Moore, Cindy Crawford, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Candy Spelling wearing pieces from his collection. Hess won the 1963 DeBeers Diamonds International (1958–1964); Certificate of Commendation – Diamonds International Awards (1978); Certificate of Distinction, Art Direction magazine (1978); and more.

Find Jose Hess rings, necklaces, earrings and other jewelry on 1stDibs.

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.