Earring

Black and white jewellery was considered chic in the 1920s and 1930s. It exploited the contrast of glossy black onyx and diamonds. In 1926 the French magazine Fémina explained to its readers: ‘Its sombre sheen makes a paved diamond ground shine out more splendidly, more brightly’. Black onyx is rare in nature but a substitute can be created by soaking paler chalcedony in a boiling sugar solution and then heating it in sulphuric acid. Long earrings came back into fashion in the 1920s, along with fashionable boyish hairstyles, such as the Eton Crop.

Earring · Paris · about 1925. White gold set with brilliant-cut diamonds and cabochon stained chalcedony. By Janesich. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.