Victorian Diamond Cluster Dormeuse Earrings

A stunning pair of late Victorian earrings, of dormeuse form with the original leverback earwires preserved, and set with a glittering array of 34 old European and old mine cut diamonds of good quality and clarity, together weighing about 2.4 ctw. The lozenge-shaped openwork drops, complete with raised gallery settings, allows for excellent light passage, further enhancing the diamond scintillation. The dormeuse, French for “sleeper”, became widely popular during the 1860s, initially as single drops attached to the characteristic dangling wire. Large pendant and girandole earrings of the eras previous were cumbersome on the ear, and the older forward-catch earwire mechanisms rather painful to work. The dormeuse was therefore a rather “ergonomic” development in the history of earring design, intended to be so comfortable that the wearer can go to sleep with them and thus prevent piercings from closing at night. The earwires with their curving sweep and simple leverback mechanism was easier to handle than previous types. Towards the last decades of the Victorian era, more fanciful designs for the dormeuse-type earrings emerged, often featuring complex openwork and diamond cluster designs. Some, such as the present earrings, were garnished with enamel or engraved details, and indeed were so much larger and heavier that the form’s original intent as “sleeper” earrings were moot, though the essential drop and curved earwire shape was preserved.
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