Mid Century Modern Pearl Earrings
Mid-20th Century Unknown Retro Clip-on Earrings
Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold
Mid-20th Century French Modern Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Dangle Earrings
Pearl, 15k Gold
Mid-20th Century American Romantic Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold
Mid-20th Century Modern Dangle Earrings
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, 14k Gold
Mid-20th Century Modern Stud Earrings
Ruby, Pearl, Yellow Gold, 22k Gold
Mid-20th Century American Modern Clip-on Earrings
Mid-20th Century American Modern Clip-on Earrings
Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold
Mid-20th Century Australian Modern Drop Earrings
Diamond, Opal, Pearl, Sapphire, Blue Sapphire, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Dangle Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Tourmaline, 18k Gold, Whi...
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Drop Earrings
Amethyst, Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century American Modern Dangle Earrings
Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Stud Earrings
White Diamond, Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold, White Gold
Mid-20th Century American Modern Dangle Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Pearl, Topaz, Blue Topaz, Gold, 14k Gold, White ...
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Clip-on Earrings
South Sea Pearl, Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Hong Kong Modern Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, Platinum, Yellow Gold
Antique Mid-19th Century Unknown Modern Clip-on Earrings
Mid-20th Century French Modern Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, Platinum, Gold
1990s American Chandelier Earrings
Gilt Metal
Mid-20th Century French Retro Clip-on Earrings
Onyx, Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century American Modern Clip-on Earrings
Vintage 1950s American Modern Clip-on Earrings
Vintage 1950s American Modern Clip-on Earrings
Vintage 1950s American Modern Clip-on Earrings
Mid-20th Century Indian Dangle Earrings
18k Gold
Vintage 1960s American Modern Clip-on Earrings
Mid-20th Century Drop Earrings
Coral, 22k Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Dangle Earrings
Amethyst, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Cocktail Rings
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, Platinum
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Pendant Necklaces
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century American Modern More Jewelry
Pearl, Turquoise, 18k Gold, Gold
Mid-20th Century Modern Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, Cultured Pearl
Vintage 1950s American Modern Brooches
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern Collectible Jewelry
Glass
Vintage 1950s Italian Mid-Century Modern Floor Lamps
Brass
Vintage 1950s American Modernist Drop Earrings
Cultured Pearl, Sterling Silver
Vintage 1960s American Clip-on Earrings
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, 18k Gold
Antique Mid-19th Century Belgian Victorian Link Necklaces
White Diamond, Diamond, Gold, Silver, 18k Gold, Rose Gold
Vintage 1950s American Modern Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Pearl, Cultured Pearl, White Gold, 14k Gold
Mid-20th Century Modern Stud Earrings
Pearl, 14k Gold, White Gold
Mid-20th Century Modern Drop Earrings
White Diamond, South Sea Pearl, Platinum
Vintage 1950s Modern Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Emerald, Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold, White Gold, Plat...
Mid-20th Century American Modern Stud Earrings
Mid-20th Century Italian Modern Hoop Earrings
Pearl, Freshwater Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Drop Earrings
Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Turquoise, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Drop Earrings
Amethyst, Pearl, Cultured Pearl, Peridot, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Stud Earrings
Pearl, 14k Gold, White Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Lever-Back Earrings
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Drop Earrings
Diamond, Freshwater Pearl, White Gold, 18k Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Drop Earrings
Amethyst, Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Stud Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Black Pearl, Cultured Pearl, White Gold, 18k Gold
Mid-20th Century American Modern Drop Earrings
Amethyst, Pearl, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Dangle Earrings
Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Drop Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Cultured Pearl, 18k Gold, White Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Hoop Earrings
Freshwater Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Stud Earrings
Diamond, Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold, White Gold
Mid-20th Century Unknown Modern Dangle Earrings
Quartz, Cultured Pearl, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
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Mid Century Modern Pearl Earrings For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much are Mid Century Modern Pearl Earrings?
A Close Look at modern Jewelry
Rooted in centuries of history of adornment dating back to the ancient world, modern jewelry reimagines traditional techniques, forms and materials for expressive new pieces. As opposed to contemporary jewelry, which responds to the moment in which it was created, modern jewelry often describes designs from the 20th to 21st centuries that reflect movements and trends in visual culture.
Modern jewelry emerged from the 19th-century shift away from jewelry indicating rank or social status. The Industrial Revolution allowed machine-made jewelry using electric gold plating, metal alloys and imitation stones, making beautiful jewelry widely accessible. Although mass production deemphasized the materials of the jewelry, the vision of the designer remained important, something that would be furthered in the 1960s with what’s known as the “critique of preciousness.”
A design fair called the “Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes” brought global attention to the Art Deco style in 1925 and gathered a mix of jewelry artists alongside master jewelers like Van Cleef & Arpels, Mauboussin and Boucheron. Art Deco designs from Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels unconventionally mixed gemstones like placing rock crystals next to diamonds while borrowing motifs from eclectic sources including Asian lacquer and Persian carpets. Among Cartier’s foremost design preoccupations at the time were high-contrast color combinations and crisp, geometric forms and patterns. In the early 20th century, modernist jewelers like Margaret De Patta and artists such as Alexander Calder — who is better known for his kinetic sculptures than his provocative jewelry — explored sculptural metalwork in which geometric shapes and lines were preferred over elaborate ornamentation.
Many of the innovations in modern jewelry were propelled by women designers such as Wendy Ramshaw, who used paper to craft her accessories in the 1960s. During the 1970s, Elsa Peretti created day-to-night pieces for Tiffany & Co. while designers like Lea Stein experimented with layering plastic, a material that had been employed in jewelry since the mid-19th century and had expanded into Bakelite, acrylics and other unique materials.
Find a collection of modern watches, bracelets, engagement rings, necklaces, earrings and other 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.