Edwardian Sardonyx & Diamond Drop Earrings

A pretty pair of drop earrings. Each one has a facetedA faceted stone has small, flat-cut surfaces that make a sparkling effect on transparent stones. Facets act as both mirrors and windows. Reflecting light and channelling light into a stone where it refracts and re-emerges. sardonyx bead surmounted by small old mine cutAn 18th, 19th and early 20th century diamond shape, typically cushion or asymmetrical, marked by a small table, a high crown and a large culet. Culets are the small flat facets at the bottom of a stone which appear to the untrained eye as a hole in the middle of the stone. Before the advent of modern machinery which allows for the precise faceting we see tod… diamonds suspended from a platinumDerives from the Spanish word ‘platina’ meaning ‘little silver’. Acknowledged since the 1900s, platinum’s durability and natural brightness has been and still is today highly treasured A metallic element prized for its rarity, whiteness, high tensile strength and insusceptibility to corrosion, platinum first became widely used in jewellery in the late ninete… chain with a diamondA precious, lustrous gemstone made of highly compressed carbon. Diamonds are one of the hardest materials known to mankind. Colours of diamonds range from colourless, yellow, orange and brown to almost black. Natural coloured (or ‘fancy’) diamonds can be extremely rare. The cut, colour, clarity and carat weight of a diamond are the criteria jewellers use… at the top. Delicate gold wires complete the look. They were made circa 1900-1910.