A pair of antique, Victorian-era earrings, each modeled in 14k gold as a curling leaf, upon which a small housefly rests. These leaves are gracefully and realistically rendered, with bright-line veins and fine all-over stippling that communicates a leaf's delicate, celled texture. They are finished with a vibrant yellow, high-karat bloom. Their little housefly "passengers" are built in rose gold— these flies have blue, old-cut sapphire heads and natural pearl bodies; they have tiny rose gold legs and eyes, and their wings are set with seed pearls. Earwires are long shepherd's hooks that are embellished with a floating pearl. These earrings are really special! They are rare and impossibly fine— they live in that place where sweetness and sadness overlap.

Flies are a traditional symbol of mourning, and of the fleeting nature of existence— this is what they would have symbolized for the Victorians.

Materials

14k gold
Sapphire
Pearl

Age

c. 1890

Dimensions

Total drop measures approx