ART DECO PLATINUM 5.0CTS MIXED CUT DIAMOND COMET EARRINGS c.1920s

Antique Platinum and 5.0ct Mixed Cut Diamond Comet Earring 1920s

The 1910 appearance of Halley’s Comet inspired two very different fashion crazes. The first came in the lead-up to its passing, during which time the masses began panic buying gas masks (along with “anti-comet pills” and “anti-comet umbrellas”) after French astronomer Camille Flammarion posited that the tail of the comet contained toxic gasses that could end all life on the planet. The second came in the years that followed, after the unwarranted hysteria had passed and the fascination with the celestial phenomenon remained. The image of falling stars began appearing in jewelry almost immediately after Halley’s Comet left Earth’s sight.  

These spectacular early Art Deco earrings are one such example of this trend, and one that is itself worthy of placement among the heavens. Five carats of old mine cut and baguette cut diamonds are held in radiant platinum to form a pair of opulent meteorites that would look just as dazzling crossing the floor of a party during the Roaring Twenties as they would the night sky.