Mappin And Webb Earrings
Early 2000s English Modern Drop Earrings
Amethyst, Topaz, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s British Modern Stud Earrings
Gold
Recent Sales
Early 2000s British Contemporary Pendant Necklaces
Aquamarine, Diamond, White Gold
Late 20th Century English Bangles
Diamond, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary British Contemporary Lever-Back Earrings
Citrine, Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
20th Century British Contemporary Dangle Earrings
Diamond, Turquoise, 18k Gold
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Vintage 1950s British Modern Stud Earrings
Gold, 9k Gold
Vintage 1950s British Modern Stud Earrings
Moonstone, Platinum
Vintage 1950s British Modern Stud Earrings
Diamond, Gold, 9k Gold
Antique 1770s Portuguese Georgian Dangle Earrings
Quartz, Rock Crystal, Silver
Mappin And Webb Earrings For Sale on 1stDibs
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Mappin & Webb for sale on 1stDibs
Appointed the Crown Jeweler in 2012, Mappin & Webb is one of the most widely recognized makers of silver and luxury goods in the world. With a roster of prestigious clients that has included six British monarchs as well as Charles Dickens, Winston Churchill and Harry Houdini, the historic firm has supplied fine jewelry and silver objects for royalty all over the globe including the Russian Imperial Household, the Siamese royal family and the Indian Maharaja.
Mappin & Webb’s origins are rooted in Jonathan Mappin’s workshop in Sheffield. He opened in 1775 with the intent to serve British society with the highest quality silverware ever made. His son and grandson, both named Joseph, carried on his vision until the mid-19th century when his four great-grandsons incorporated the business into Mappin Brothers Ltd. and embarked on a substantial expansion of the firm.
Nearing 1860, two of the great-grandsons, eldest Sir William Mappin and youngest John Mappin, left to pursue other opportunities. John opened his own business, Mappin & Company, and was joined two years later by his brother-in-law George Webb. Webb passed away in 1868 — the same year that saw the family form Mappin & Webb Co.
Webb’s name lived on in the company even after 1889 when the company became Mappin & Webb Ltd. In 1897, Mappin & Webb were granted their first Royal Warrant as silversmiths to Queen Victoria. The firm has been a holder of Royal Warrants since then.
Mappin & Webb supplied soldiers in the battle of Omdurman with their acclaimed Campaign watch. The company also supported wartime efforts during both World Wars in their enormous factory in Sheffield. Today Mappin & Webb is among the most prominent makers of Sheffield silver in the world.
Watches of Switzerland Operations Ltd. acquired Mappin & Webb in 1998 after a series of mergers and acquisitions.
Find antique Mappin & Webb serveware, decorative objects and other collectibles on 1stDibs.
Why Gold Shines in Jewelry Craftsmanship
Gold is the feel-good metal, the serotonin of jewelry. Wear vintage and antique gold necklaces, watches, gold bracelets or gold rings and you feel happy, you feel dressed, you feel, well, yourself.
Gold, especially yellow gold, with its rich patina and ancient pedigree going back thousands of years, is the steady standby, the well-mannered metal of choice. Any discussion of this lustrous metal comes down to a basic truth: Gold is elementary, my dear. Gold jewelry that couples the mystique of the metal with superb design and craftsmanship achieves the status of an enduring classic. Many luxury houses have given us some of our most treasured and lasting examples of gold jewelry over the years.
Since its founding, in 1837, Tiffany & Co. has built its reputation on its company jewelry as well as its coterie of boutique designers, which has included Jean Schlumberger, Donald Claflin, Angela Cummings and Elsa Peretti. There are numerous gold Tiffany classics worth citing. Some are accented with gemstones, but all stand out for their design and the workmanship displayed.
For the woman who prefers a minimalist look, the Tiffany & Co. twist bangle (thin, slightly ovoid) is stylishly simple. For Cummings devotees, signature pieces feature hard stone inlay, such as her pairs of gold ear clips inlaid with black jade (a play on the classic Chanel black and tan), or bangles whose design recalls ocean waves, with undulating lines of lapis lazuli and mother-of-pearl. And just about any design by the great Jean Schlumberger is by definition a classic.
Even had he eschewed stones and diamonds, Southern-born David Webb would be hailed for the vast arsenal of heavy gold jewelry he designed. Gold, usually hammered or textured in some manner, defines great David Webb jewelry. The self-taught jeweler made very au courant pieces while drawing inspiration from ancient and out-of-the-way sources — East meets West in the commanding gold necklaces made by Webb in the early 1970s. The same could be said for his endlessly varied gold cuffs.
In Europe, many houses have given us gold jewelry that sets the highest standard for excellence, pieces that were highly sought after when they were made and continue to be so.
Numerous designs from Cartier are homages to gold. There are the classic Trinity rings, necklaces and bracelets — trifectas of yellow, white and rose gold. As a testament to the power of love, consider the endurance of the Cartier Love bracelet.
Aldo Cipullo, Cartier’s top in-house designer from the late 1960s into the early ’70s, made history in 1969 with the Love bracelet. Cipullo frequently said that the Love bracelet was born of a sleepless night contemplating a love affair gone wrong and his realization that “the only remnants he possessed of the romance were memories.” He distilled the urge to keep a loved one close into a slim 18-karat gold bangle.
BVLGARI and its coin jewelry, gemme nummarie, hit the jackpot when the line launched in the 1960s. The line has been perennially popular. BVLGARI coin jewelry features ancient Greek and Roman coins embedded in striking gold mounts, usually hung on thick link necklaces of varying lengths. In the 1970s, BVLGARI introduced the Tubogas line, most often made in yellow gold. The Tubogas watches are classics, and then there is the Serpenti, the house's outstanding snake-themed watches and bracelets.
A collection called Monete that incorporated the gold coins is one of several iconic BVLGARI lines that debuted in the 1970s and ’80s, catering to a new generation of empowered women. Just as designers like Halston and Yves Saint Laurent were popularizing fuss-free ready-to-wear fashion for women on the go, BVLGARI offered jewels to be lived in.
Since Van Cleef & Arpels opened its Place Vendôme doors in 1906, collection after collection of jewelry classics have enchanted the public. As predominantly expressed in a honeycomb of gold, there is the Ludo watch and accessories, circa the 1920s, and the golden Zip necklace, 1951, whose ingenious transformation of the traditional zipper was originally proposed by the Duchess of Windsor. Van Cleef's Alhambra, with its Moroccan motif, was introduced in 1968 and from the start its popularity pivoted on royalty and celebrity status. It remains one of VCA’s most popular and collected styles.
Mention must be made of Buccellati, whose name is synonymous with gold so finely spun that it suggests tapestry. The house’s many gold bracelets, typically embellished with a few or many diamonds, signified taste and distinction and are always in favor on the secondary market. Other important mid-20th-century houses known for their gold-themed jewelry include Hermès and Ilias Lalaounis.
Find a stunning collection of vintage and antique gold jewelry 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.