How to Find Vintage Earrings

Earrings have a very long history, people have been piercing ears and wearing ear decorations for a few thousands years. It used to be believed that piercing ears makes one vision and hearing stronger and sharper, but there have been other reasons to pierce ears, for instance, to show status (in some cases even to show ownership of a slave) and more recently sexual orientation. Piercing went out of fashion for about 150 years when clipped on earrings were invented, it came back in the 1960s and 1970s. Therefore lots of original vintage earrings are more likely to have clips while replica vintage earrings are more likely to be for pierced ears.

There is a large market of replica vintage earrings on the internet, the quality and prices vary considerably. The most fashionable replica vintage earrings are probably still those inspired by Art Deco and the Roaring Twenties, as you can easily find many modern collections based on those designs. You will see many crystal, pearl and amber earrings.

Photo: Some rights reserved by Le Petit Poulailler

The best way to get hold of any real vintage earrings and jewellery is to have some in the family, you do not have to inherit silver earrings from your Victorian upper class great great aunt as even those plastic earrings or the dangly earrings that your mother wore in the 1960s would now be classified as vintage. It does get quite difficult to find original pieces made before the Second World War and very very hard (and expensive!) if you are looking for original Art Deco earrings. You can still try auctions and antique shops and markets. If you intend to shop online eBay is possibly your best bet although you can find wonderful handmade vintage inspired earrings on Etsy, often at very good prices. When buying second hand items ensure you sterilize your earrings properly before wearing them.

It can be difficult to find the right clothes and other jewellery with some vintage earrings. While some are so classy and ever-green, never really age and in their own beautiful simplicity can be worn with almost anything, there are some earrings that can be rather heavy and dated and you should consider this before buying any pair of earrings that you actually intend to wear. Lots of vintage earrings, more so as we go back in time, are bought as collectibles or as an investment and not to be worn.