Georgian Chalcedony Torpedo Earrings

Long torpedo shaped day and night earrings in gilded gold settings. Beautiful white chalcedony. English in origin. Circa 1830's.

The size and design was dictated by fashion and economic factors of the period. The exaggerated horizontal lines of the dress and hairstyle needed to be offset by long pendants while the scarcity of precious metal encouraged the use of wafer thin foil of embossed gold or in this case gilt metal.