A museum quality pair of Georgian memento mori earrings dating to the 18th century made from solid 18K yellow gold, fine silver, diamonds enamel and emeralds.
This rare pair of 18th century fine earrings are as beautiful and fashionable today as the day they were made. Designed as a mirror image pair they each feature a fine silver snake drop which is set with exquisite quality rose cut diamonds each with lovely sparkly emerald eyes. At the bottom of each snake drop is an articulated hand enameled skull and cross bones made from solid gold. The skulls have rose cut diamond eyes which beautifully catch the light.
The use of silver as the preferred metal to set diamonds was common practice in this era.
In total the precious emerald and fine white rose cut diamond weight in the earrings is 30 points. The rose cut diamonds have been cut by hand and are amazingly symmetrical, each one perfectly matched to the next. They are exquisite little gems.
Together the pair weigh 8.2 grams.
Each lovely earring measures 2 1/16" long by 1/2" wide at the widest (52mm x 13mm).
These exceptionally rare earrings are in amazing condition for their age. There is some age appropriate wear to the white enamel of the skulls which is to be expected for an original pair of fine Georgian period earrings. A single minute rose cut diamond is missing which is only visible with a loupe. If desired the enamel could be repaired and the minute diamond replaced, we personally felt considering their rarity it was better to leave them absolutely unaltered.
An appraisal shall accompany this item. This appraisal has been made by a professional Gemologist and accredited Jewelry Appraiser who is a specialist in the field.
The photos form part of the description. Like all colored stones there is a color variation that occurs in different lighting conditions both inside but also outside, even the time of day can make the color of a stone appear a little different. We do our best to show colors as we see them. Color perception is highly individual and some people can perceive more colors than others, also colors can appear somewhat different on different screens and devices due to variations in screen hardware and device display settings.
