Oscar Heyman Ruby Earrings
Late 20th Century American Artist Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Stud Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Lever-Back Earrings
Emerald, Ruby, Blue Sapphire, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, Gold, 18k Gold, Platinum
Vintage 1980s American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, Platinum
Vintage 1940s American Art Deco Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, Sapphire, Star Sapphire, Platinum
2010s American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, Gold
People Also Browsed
Late 20th Century French Modern Engagement Rings
Ruby, Yellow Gold, Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage 1910s Unknown Drop Necklaces
Diamond, Ruby, Rose Gold, Platinum
Antique 1890s English Victorian Engagement Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary French Cocktail Rings
Diamond, 18k Gold
Vintage 1980s Italian Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Ruby, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century Italian Beaded Necklaces
Citrine, Diamond, Pearl, Topaz, Tourmaline, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Aesthetic Movement Chain Bracelets
Diamond, Natural Pearl, Rose Gold, Yellow Gold
Antique 1770s Portuguese Georgian Dangle Earrings
Quartz, Rock Crystal, Silver
2010s French Clip-on Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold, Gold, Silver, Enamel
Vintage 1960s American Bangles
Diamond, Sapphire, 18k Gold
Early 2000s French Textiles and Quilts
21st Century and Contemporary American Engagement Rings
White Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary French Bangles
18k Gold, Rose Gold
Vintage 1960s American Clip-on Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s French Brooches
Diamond, Emerald, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Art Deco Dangle Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, White Gold
Recent Sales
Vintage 1970s American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, Platinum
20th Century American Clip-on Earrings
Ruby, Diamond, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary Modern Lever-Back Earrings
White Diamond, Yellow Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, Platinum
Late 20th Century American Artist Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold, Platinum
1990s American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, 18k Gold, Platinum
Vintage 1980s Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Ruby, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
20th Century American Cluster Rings
Diamond, Ruby, Platinum
Vintage 1960s American Brooches
White Diamond, 18k Gold
2010s American Contemporary Stud Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, Platinum
2010s American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
South Sea Pearl, Ruby, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American More Earrings
Diamond, Ruby, 18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Drop Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, Ruby, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Citrine, Peridot, Ruby, 18k Gold
Oscar Heyman for sale on 1stDibs
Known as “the jewelers’ jeweler,” Oscar Heyman (1888–1970) designed pieces for Cartier, Tiffany & Co., Van Cleef & Arpels, Harry Winston and Black, Starr & Frost. The family-run Oscar Heyman & Brothers jewelry company was founded by Heyman with his brothers Nathan and Harry in 1912. Jewelers from Latvia, they had trained at their great-uncle’s workshop, which had clients including Russian imperial jeweler Fabergé, before immigrating to the United States in the early 1900s.
After arriving in New York, Oscar worked with Pierre Cartier and Nathan was a tool maker at Western Electric before they came together to open their jewelry business. Highly skilled craftsmen, the Heyman brothers quickly developed a roster of high-profile clients — primarily big-name jewelers — drawn to their work with dazzling stones and meticulous design. In 1917, Black, Starr & Frost commissioned the brothers to design an American flag brooch, which would become a recurring motif in the Oscar Heyman & Brothers portfolio. They also designed the Pansy brooch in the 1930s, another long-popular accessory that was produced exclusively for Tiffany & Co. toward the end of the 20th century. After Heyman designed for four of the five jewelers on view at the 1939 World’s Fair House of Jewels (Cartier, Udall & Ballou, Marcus & Co. and Black, Starr & Frost), the company was given the moniker “the jewelers’ jeweler.”
Heyman & Brothers later designed gem-encrusted medallions that traveled to the moon on Apollo 16, the necklace setting for the 69-carat diamond Richard Burton gave Elizabeth Taylor in 1969 and even a pair of ruby-encrusted Stuart Weitzman stilettos in 2003. Over the years, the company has entranced such clients as Evelyn Lauder, Marjorie Merriweather Post, Billy Porter and Tina Fey with its pieces.
In 2012, the century-old jeweler underwent a rebranding to simplify its name to Oscar Heyman and today is still run by the Heyman family, which manages the whole process from alloying their own metal to cutting and polishing their gemstones to assembling the final product in-house. In 2017, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston published a monograph authored by Yvonne J. Markowitz and Elizabeth Hamilton that details for a broader audience the history of Oscar Heyman, an unsung company that’s long been behind some of the biggest names in jewelry.
Shop authentic Oscar Heyman rings, brooches and bracelets 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.