Description
A pair of 1970s drop earrings in 18K yellow gold, conceived as a study in two blues. The upper element is a shaped panel of turquoise, stabilized as is usual for the material, set within a fluid gold frame that traces the soft, wave-like contour of the stone. Suspended beneath it hangs a drop of lapis lazuli, carved in spiralling gadroons so that the ultramarine breaks the light across a series of ridges rather than returning it flat.
Between the two hardstones runs the bail, pavé-set with brilliant-cut diamonds — a narrow line of white that separates the opaque blue-green above from the deep blue below, and gives the design its point of brilliance. The vocabulary is unmistakably that of the late 1960s and 1970s: warm yellow gold, generous volumes, and colour used without hesitation.
The lapis drops detach, allowing the earrings to be worn at full length as pendants or reduced to the turquoise element alone for a shorter, daytime proportion. The pair descends from the collection of a French screen actress of the 1960s and remains in good condition, showing only the light wear proper to jewellery that was genuinely worn.
