Verdura Caged Earrings
21st Century and Contemporary North American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold
Antique 18th Century French Renaissance Pendant Necklaces
Crystal, Rock Crystal, Gilt Metal, Bronze, Copper
People Also Browsed
Early 2000s French Cocktail Dresses
Mid-20th Century German Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1920s Unknown Art Deco Stud Earrings
Diamond, Pearl, Platinum
Late 20th Century American Contemporary Stud Earrings
Cultured Pearl, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1920s French Aesthetic Evening Dresses
1990s French Blazers
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Egyptian Revival Signet Rings
Yellow Gold, 18k Gold
1930s French Dolman Sleeve Coats
Vintage 1930s Art Deco Boxes and Cases
18k Gold
Antique Early 1900s French Art Nouveau More Jewelry
Diamond, Opal, 18k Gold
Vintage 1940s More Jewelry
14k Gold
Antique Late 19th Century Pendant Necklaces
Diamond, Gold, Silver
1950s Evening Dresses and Gowns
Antique 19th Century Unknown Victorian Choker Necklaces
Diamond, Opal, Gold, Silver
Vintage 1950s American Modernist Brooches
Diamond, Tourmaline, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
1990s Italian Modernist Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, White Diamond, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Recent Sales
21st Century and Contemporary Italian More Earrings
Pearl, Gold
20th Century Italian More Earrings
Chalcedony, 18k Gold
20th Century American Drop Earrings
Lapis Lazuli, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Pearl, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Clip-on Earrings
18k Gold
1990s American Clip-on Earrings
Rock Crystal, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Rock Crystal, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Diamond, 18k Gold, Platinum
21st Century and Contemporary American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
Citrine, 18k Gold
20th Century American Clip-on Earrings
18k Gold
Late 20th Century American Clip-on Earrings
18k Gold
2010s American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
18k Gold, Yellow Gold
2010s Unknown Modern Clip-on Earrings
Crystal, Quartz, Rock Crystal, Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Late 20th Century American Contemporary Clip-on Earrings
18k Gold
20th Century American More Earrings
Amethyst, 18k Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American More Earrings
Crystal, 18k Gold
1990s American Clip-on Earrings
Turquoise, 18k Gold
1990s American Clip-on Earrings
Jade, 18k Gold
Verdura Caged Earrings For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much are Verdura Caged Earrings?
Verdura for sale on 1stDibs
Fulco di Verdura (1898–1978) is not exactly a household name, except for those who know a thing or two about highly original, often eccentric handcrafted jewelry and, even more so, for those fortunate enough to own some. In that exclusive group, Verdura is regarded as the most gifted and coveted designer of his time.
Verdura was born in Sicily in 1898, the scion of a noble family related to the Lampedusas. (His cousin, Giuseppe di Lampedusa, wrote the great Italian saga The Leopard). His life was charmed from birth. Raised in his family’s villa, he grew up during a time when Sicily, and Palermo in particular, were meccas for well-born and highly cultured European travelers.
A bona fide duke with no clear ambitions but creative leanings aplenty (he could draw and paint), the young Verdura was part of the wandering social circuit — the so-called beau monde — that went from capital to capital, resort to resort.
Verdura, though small in stature, had that indefinable quality called charm. As a result, he was the life of every party he attended. When he finally started designing jewelry under Coco Chanel in the late 1920s, many of his friends became his clients (or received the pieces as gifts). Elsa Maxwell took him under her ample wing when she was hired to do public relations for the Lido in Venice and introduced him to the local and visiting cognoscenti. Chanel, whom he met in Venice, hired him to work in the textiles division of her fashion house. But it was his flair for jewelry that soon caught Coco’s eye. Eventually, he rose to become her personal designer of fine jewelry.
In 2002’s Verdura: The Life and Work of a Master Jeweler (Thames & Hudson), Vanity Fair’s Amy Fine Collins describes the sensation of wearing pieces by Verdura, who drew inspiration from nature for his signature gem-studded seashell brooches and honeybee earrings. “They were ingeniously calculated to flatter the wearer,” writes Collins. “Earrings undulated to complement the convolutions of an earlobe, rings seductively followed the phalanges of a finger, and necklaces gracefully traced the anatomy of the throat.”
In 1934, Verdura left Chanel and together with two friends, aspiring actress Princess Natalia Pavlovna Paley and Baron Nicholas de Gunzburg, moved to the U.S. After several stops, he found a job through Diana Vreeland in Hollywood with Paul Flato, then the “jeweler to the stars.” Soon he was signing his work and helping Flato cultivate the crème de la creme of the silver screen — those both on it and behind it.
Verdura left Los Angeles for New York and opened his own salon, first on Fifth Avenue in 1939, just as World War II was beginning in Europe. His backers were Vincent Astor and Cole Porter, for whom he made bejeweled boxes and cigarette cases — gifts from Porter’s wife, Linda — to commemorate the opening nights of several musicals. Verdura began to expand both his repertoire — he became much more daring and flamboyant — and his clientele. The Duchess of Windsor, Daisy Fellowes, Greta Garbo and others routinely gave him commissions. In 1941, Verdura collaborated on a collection of six pieces with Salvador Dalí to accompany a Dalí exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. Verdura retired in 1972 and left the care of the company to his partner, Joseph Alfano. He later moved to London, where he died in 1978 at the age of 79.
Among the most prized pieces on display in a 2014 Verdura jewelry exhibition in New York were Greta Garbo’s curb-link bracelet watch, which Verdura designed for her in 1939; Coco Chanel’s pair of Maltese Cross cuff bracelets (she wore one on each wrist); and Diana Vreeland’s duo of Byzantine brooches.
Find a range of authentic Verdura jewelry today on 1stDibs.
Finding the Right earrings for You
In the United States, ear piercing didn’t really become popular until the 1950s and ‘60s, but our desire for a dazzling pair of vintage earrings has deeper roots than that. In fact, wearing earrings actually goes back thousands of years, and you can find many tangible connections between now and then in how we continue to talk about these treasured accessories.
Women wore ornamental earrings — studs and hoops at the very least — in Ancient Egypt, which is home to mines that are among the earliest sources of emeralds in the world. Emerald earrings are highly prized today, and their quality lies in their rich, saturated color. The highest-quality emeralds are green or bluish-green. Earrings worn by the affluent in early Roman civilizations were set with precious stones such as diamonds and pearls, and a clean-looking pop of pearl on the front of the lobe is as timeless as ever. Hoop earrings are imbued with symbolism and cultural significance for many, and on view in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Ancient Near Eastern Art Gallery is a pair of simple gold hoops from Mesopotamia dating to between 2600 and 2500 B.C.
Today, ear piercing is very popular all over the world, and, as a result, it is difficult to overstate how much everyone pines for a good pair of earrings — modernist drop earrings, glamorous Victorian hoops, geometrically complex chandelier earrings, you name it. Sure, jewelry trends and the fashion darlings of social media come and go, but earrings have a staying power that seems impenetrable: The still-strong love affair between British royals and Cartier earrings is more than a century old, glossy 1970s hoops from legacy houses such as Bulgari and Van Cleef & Arpels remain the statement makers they’ve always been and although people have been stacking earrings for many moons, the allure of an expertly mismatched stack of charms and studs still feels fresh and new.
While there is no shortage of modern earring designs to choose from, the classics, like coral earrings, Art Deco–style earrings and diamond drop earrings are still heavy hitters. On 1stDibs, find a wide range of antique, new and vintage earrings today.