Antique Citrine Cannetille Day Night Earrings
Mutability in jewelry was a built-in characteristic in a great many designs of antique jewelry in the past. Here we have earrings that can be worn with only the tops or utilize the back to front ear wires (with their "C" curve as the hook) to hang a drop. Thus the name day night was created to refer to this type of dual look earring.
Tendrils of high carat gold create a halo enclosing the faceted oval citrines. Airy and light, the colors of pale sunlight and rays of gold are irresistible. Golden quartz, named from the French “citron” for lemon, the first use of citrine for jewelry seems to be by the Romans for intaglio and cabochon in the first centuries C.E. It was during the Romantic Period of history (1837-1860) that the mineral saw increased use as a gemstone in jewelry.
The tops measure 13/16 of an inches long (1.5 cm); together the earrings fall 2-1/8 inches in length (5.2 cm) and just over 3/4 of an inch at the widest (2.1 cm). They are in very good condition; one small area of loss to cannetille work at the apex of one top where gold ear wire fits into front. Very nicely placed, the wire itself masks the small missing wire work. Otherwise lovely. Circa 1820 - 1830 and most likely, English in origin. Versatility galore—casual in the daytime; more formal for the evenings.
