These early 19th century gold earrings were made around the 1840s in the gold stamped technique. They have become a rare commodity. In their style and make you can see the fruits of the industrial revolution with its novelty techniques. This kind of jewellery was stamped out of sheets of gold, with the aim of molding them into elaborately decorated pieces. Gold being such a weighty element, an lighter (and more affordable) alternative seemed like a good idea. Light earrings, after all, are infinitely more wearable than heavy ones. Technology provided the solution. However, there was a downside: the light and dangly earrings were also more fragile than their heavier counterparts. So most of the jewellery produced this way were damaged or broke and, because they were difficult to repair, ended up in scraps and were lost. So few of them are still around. Nowadays, if you find a pair, even slightly damaged, hold on to it, it might just be that laser technology can repair them.

Again, new technology may save the day.