Turquoise Bead Earrings
21st Century and Contemporary American Artisan Dangle Earrings
South Sea Pearl, Turquoise, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Artisan Dangle Earrings
Diamond, Turquoise, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Artisan Dangle Earrings
South Sea Pearl, Turquoise, Gold, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Artisan Dangle Earrings
Emerald, South Sea Pearl, Ruby, Turquoise, 14k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Artist Drop Earrings
Onyx, Turquoise, Gold, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s American Modernist Clip-on Earrings
21st Century and Contemporary American Artist Dangle Earrings
Turquoise, Gold, 14k Gold, Gold Plate, Yellow Gold
2010s Italian Modern Lever-Back Earrings
Onyx, Turquoise, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s French Stud Earrings
Turquoise, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Artisan Dangle Earrings
South Sea Pearl, Turquoise, 14k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Hong Kong Contemporary Drop Earrings
Diamond, South Sea Pearl, Tsavorite, Turquoise, Silver, 18k Gold, Vermei...
21st Century and Contemporary American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, Lapis Lazuli, Turquoise, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, Emerald, Lapis Lazuli, Turquoise, Carnelian, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980s Contemporary Chandelier Earrings
Turquoise, Diamond, Yellow Gold
2010s Italian Art Deco Dangle Earrings
Onyx, Turquoise, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Italian Art Deco Dangle Earrings
Multi-gemstone, Onyx, Turquoise, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1960s American Modern Clip-on Earrings
Crystal, Gold Plate
21st Century and Contemporary American Artisan Dangle Earrings
Garnet, Turquoise, Rhodolite, 14k Gold, White Gold
2010s Drop Earrings
21st Century and Contemporary American Artisan Dangle Earrings
Amethyst, Diamond, Turquoise, 14k Gold, White Gold
Vintage 1980s Unknown Modern Drop Earrings
Early 2000s Clip-on Earrings
Crystal, Quartz, Bronze
2010s Italian Art Deco Dangle Earrings
Agate, Amethyst, Diamond, Turquoise, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Artisan Drop Earrings
Cultured Pearl, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
20th Century American Native American Objects
Silver
Vintage 1970s Italian Clip-on Earrings
Turquoise, 18k Gold
20th Century Beaded Necklaces
20th Century Unknown Beaded Necklaces
Diamond, Turquoise, 18k Gold
2010s Australian Modern Beaded Necklaces
Turquoise, Gold-filled
Early 2000s American Drop Earrings
Turquoise, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Artisan Dangle Earrings
Turquoise, Silver, Sterling Silver
21st Century and Contemporary American Artisan Dangle Earrings
Turquoise, Sterling Silver, Silver
Vintage 1970s Italian Stud Earrings
Turquoise, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Drop Earrings
Turquoise, Diamond, 18k Gold
20th Century American Native American Native American Objects
Ceramic, Paint
20th Century American Tribal Tribal Art
Ceramic, Paint
21st Century and Contemporary American More Earrings
Turquoise, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Dangle Earrings
Turquoise, Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
2010s Drop Earrings
Diamond, Turquoise, 18k Gold
2010s Italian Artisan Dangle Earrings
Amethyst, Turquoise, Silver
2010s Australian Contemporary Dangle Earrings
Turquoise, Gold, 14k Gold, Gold-filled, Gold Plate, Yellow Gold
2010s Australian Contemporary Dangle Earrings
Lapis Lazuli, Turquoise, Gold, 14k Gold, Gold-filled, Gold Plate, Yellow...
20th Century Modern Dangle Earrings
Turquoise, Gold, 14k Gold
2010s Australian Contemporary Dangle Earrings
Lapis Lazuli, Turquoise, Turquoise Matrix, Gold, 14k Gold, Gold-filled, ...
2010s American Clip-on Earrings
Amethyst, Peridot, Turquoise
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Turquoise Bead Earrings For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much are Turquoise Bead Earrings?
The Legacy of Turquoise in Jewelry Design
The thought of vintage and antique turquoise jewelry often conjures up images of striking Navajo bracelets and necklaces worn with a denim shirt and cowboy boots. This all-American look has been celebrated by fashion designers like Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger on their runways and in ad campaigns. In the October 2016 issue of Vogue magazine, Tom Ford said he only wears turquoise jewelry at his Santa Fe ranch. So what is it about this gorgeous blue-green stone that makes us wish that we were born in December?
It’s not surprising that turquoise is abundant in New Mexico and Arizona because, according to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), it needs to be in “dry and barren regions where acidic, copper-rich groundwater seeps downward and reacts with minerals that contain phosphorus and aluminum.
Turquoise is not found in a single crystal but is a combination of microcrystals. Its appearance, waxy and opaque, is attributed to its structure and composition. “It’s an aggregate of microscopic crystals that form a solid mass. If the crystals are packed closely together, the material is less porous, so it has a finer texture. Fine-textured turquoise has an attractive, waxy luster when it’s polished. Turquoise with a less-dense crystal structure has higher porosity and coarser texture, resulting in a dull luster when it’s polished,” notes the GIA. Since no one wants to set a dull piece of turquoise, porous turquoise is often treated to make the stone more attractive.
In the United States, there have been discoveries of turquoise from 200 B.C. It is not just loose turquoise stones that have been found, but entire suites of jewelry from prehistoric times. In the late 19th-century, the Navajo Indians, who learned silversmithing from the Spanish, started to make beads out of turquoise and eventually combined it with silver around the 1880s. Initially this jewelry was for ceremonial purposes, but it became fashionable once the tourism in the Southwest picked up in the beginning of the 20th century.
Find antique and vintage turquoise rings, necklaces, bracelets and other accessories 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.
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