Vintage Stud Earrings with Emeralds & Diamonds in Gold, c. 2000

In the late 19th century, a small but dazzling fashion trend took the major cities of Western Europe by storm. Tiny insects crafted from luxurious materials and lavishly set with diamonds and colored gemstones suddenly began to adorn lapels, dresses, and hair. Whether spiders, bees, butterflies, dragonflies, or flies, they all fluttered through the salons as so-called “novelty jewelry” and provided a topic of conversation at dinner parties and soirées. The fly, in particular, was a popular choice. It was not only a fashion accessory but also a playful nod. Even art history is full of anecdotes about it. It is said, for example, that the young Giotto once painted a fly on a painting by his master Cimabue that looked so deceptively real that Cimabue wanted to shoo it away. Only at that moment did he realize that the student had surpassed the master. This pair of stud earrings also playfully takes up this idea. Created around the turn of the millennium, they depict two life-size flies crafted from high-karat gold. Their heads and bodies are each formed from a luminous green emerald in a star cut and a pear cut, transforming the familiar insect into a dazzling fantasy creature. Small brilliant-cut diamonds adorn the insects’ wings. Both lifelike and stylized, this precious pair flits back and forth between art and jewellery.

Estimate:£3,078.22

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