Design for a Gold Hook Earring with Diamonds, Rubies and Black Pearls

Drawing with a design for a gold hook earring with diamonds, rubies and black pearls that is part of a collection of 85 drawings with figurative designs for earrings, brooches, pendants and other jewels, possibly real-sized, created with graphite and gouache and heightened with gold inside lithograph frames. These designs are all characteristic of the period between 1870 and 1900, when jewelry design saw a great degree of innovation and creativity in both style and technique. Some of the most important innovations that took place at this time included the setting of diamonds without metal on the back to reinforce the refraction of light on the cut surfaces of the stones, and the use of gold granules and cannetille (scrolls of metal strips) in the creation of fine metal surfaces. (Semi-)precious stones continued to be used in jewelry design at this time, especially with the discovery of diamond mines in South Africa, although alternative techniques, many of them inspired on ancient jewelry, were also common: Enamel in its different application techniques (including champlevé, cloisonné, and low-relief) was particularly popular. In addition to enamel, colored glass was used to add touches of color to the metallic structures that formed the base of the jewels. In general, jewelry design during this period became more complex, and the colors in nature were mimicked by the color of gemstones used for jewelry design: the designs were elaborate and relied in the natural beauty of cabochon gems, curving, and figurative designs with symbolic meaning, typical of the Arts and Crafts movement. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the Art Nouveau movement created sinuous and organic pieces that moved away from conventional stones and put emphasis on the subtle effects of materials such as glass, horn and enamel. The European Middle Ages and the Renaissance, as well as civilizations of the Mediterranean, and even Japan, became important sources of inspiration for jewelry design at this time.

This design for a gold earring is made up of a gold hook that holds a gold frame with a gold fleur-de-lis motif inside that flanks a small round diamond from which hangs a gold palmette with a small cabochon ruby, standing above gold scrolling motifs. The bottom part of the scrolling motifs is decorated with a princess-cut diamond, and from the lower edges of the scrolls hang five strips of a cabochon ruby and a teardrop-shape black pearl; the stones that form the strip in the center are slightly larger than the rest. The rubies and black gold could have been replaced by red-colored and black-colored glass stones, both techniques very popular at the time when these designs were created. The rubies could have also been replaced by red enamel, a technique that was also widely popular at the time. This drawing for an earring was created over a lithograph cream frame with a light-brown ear, to show how the earring would look like when worn.