Antique Georgian Earrings Ear Pendants 18k gold Enamel Day Night French (7493)

Antique Georgian long earrings ear pendants. 18k repousse gold and enamel.  Made in France between 1819 -1838. 
 

Measurements:

 Weight is 4.7 grams. A little over 2 1/4 inches (6cm) long.

Description :

 Earrings in two sections that can be worn seperately, top only for simple day wear or together, for a more dramatic effect. Hence they are called top-drop or day-night earrings. The bottoms simply slip over the hoops/wires of the tops to detach them. As with all antique earrings, original wires go from back to front of the ear lobe and simply click into place.
Curved and scrolled lobes of tops in repousse gold. Central flat area beautifully enamelled with flowers and foliage on a black ground bordered with sky-blue and gold. 
Drops are elongated kite-shaped with scrolling edges and adornment in repousse gold. Golden globules intersperce the repousse  gold which is in the form of scrolls and foliage. Again, the central area with enamelling depicting flowers and foliage. 
Enamelling in naturalistic colors - white, green, red and blue with black background, reminiscent of similar work done in Switzerland at the time. All hand-enamelled. 
An unusual additional feature of the drops is that they are identical with the same beautiful enamelling both back and front.
Gold repousse details are of a lovely quality.  
The earrings are light and therefore comfortable to wear. 

Marks and Metal:

 Both earrings are marked with the ram's head facing left, used in France between 1819-1838. Both tops and drops are marked (on the hoops and on the loops). 
     

Condition:

Enamelling is all in very good condition. There is a touch of solder on the upper join of one earring to its loop. (This can be cleaned up if so desired).   Please see enlarged pictures and don't hesitate to ask questions which we will do our best to answer.   

THE STORY:

We normally associate wonderful enamelling of this quality with either Switzerland or France. In this case, it is hallmarked as French, so there is no question of the origin. It's quite astonishing that enamel work and repousse gold have survived over 200 years intact and in such good shape. 
The earrings have a big appearance and command a lot of interest. Despite this, the lightness of the earrings make them comfortable to wear and they will not stretch your earlobes. It is of course a great advantage to choose whether to wear the tops alone or together with the drops. This attention to quality, detail and versatility is something that simply does not exist in today's world of mass-production. 
Enameling is a complex process that requires a lot of knowledge on behalf of the craftsman. Each color has to be fired separately at different temperatures.