Malmo - Drop Earrings

1950 Swedish emerald and diamond drop earrings. These 1,65 inch / 42mm long and lovely vintage earrings, crafted in 18karat white gold in the 1950s, feature a dreamy pair of lively...

Sensational earrings truly befitting of royalty! The Crescent Moon was immensely popular during the Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian eras. Loaded with hidden messages, symbolism, and emotion. Through the use of themes, design, and stones, the Victorians pioneered the art of jewelry symbolism. Every aspect of the Victorians life from clothing to tapestries to paintings were packed with symbolism. Be it on pendants, brooches, bracelets, rings and more – it imbued symbolism. Crescent moons were a symbol of spirituality and the feminine moon goddess. Furthermore, the crescent moon represented change, for just as the moon cycles through phases, so does life - the renewal of life and nature. Symbolizing “new beginnings” they were often given as a marriage gift or for the birth of a child. In many spiritual traditions, the crescent moon symbol is associated with feminine energy in contrast to the sun, which boasts masculine energy. The crescent is also a very widespread motif in Islamic iconography, it is not Islamic in origin nor exclusive to that religion. The emblem has been used in Christian art for many centuries in depictions of the Virgin Mary, for example. It is in fact one of the oldest icons in human history, having been known in graphic depictions since at least as early as the Babylonian period in Mesopotamia. In many cultures, goddesses possess lunar energy, acting as protectors and nurturers of children and childbirth. Examples like the moon goddess Artemis or Selene of Greek mythology and the Roman goddess Diana come to mind here. In Chinese philosophy the moon is the yin to the sun’s yang, showing how the female moon and the male sun can perfectly balance each other despite being opposites. The moon is a powerful symbol of female influence, intuition, generosity, and female empowerment. The release of “From the Earth to the Moon” by Jules Verne, which imagined a futuristic journey to the moon in a rocket ship. Victorian era men and women were intrigued by Verne’s adventurous tales and the demand for starburst and crescent moon jewels peaked. Spiritually, the stars were vital as markers of direction and guidance. Stars would commonly complement crescent moons in jewelry...

A pair of high quality 18k gold earrings with faceted citrines. Outstanding filigree work, second half of the 19th century. Revival jewelry embodies a long-standing tradition of drawing inspiration from the past – either by copying or reinterpreting ancient motifs. It has been a way for us to wear jewelry pieces that connect us to the rich history of the beginning of civilization. Nineteenth-Century jewelry consisted predominantly of adaptations of earlier jewelry styles. We now know, through historical studies, that this return to the past sprung from a renewed sense of national pride. The revivial movements reflected time periods of national achievement and symbolized all that was great in the history of European civilization. Each country embraced this nostalgia for different reasons. In the nineteenth-century revivial movement sculptors played a major role in the design of jewelry. They contributed models for use in three-dimensional sculptural figural designs.  After opening the Regolini-Galassi tomb in 1836, jewelers Fortunato Pio and Alessandro Castellani were granted access by papal authorities to study the ancient gold jewelry...