Italian Woven Basketweave Ear Clips in 18K Gold, circa 1970s

A bold pair of 1970s Italian ear clips built from ribbed gold bars woven over and under one another in a basketweave, set on the diagonal so each clip reads as a diamond rather than a square. Every bar carries a hand-hammered surface, so the light breaks unevenly across the weave and the interlacing reads clearly even at a distance.

Italian workshops dominated textured gold through the 1970s, and the basketweave was among their most characteristic forms which is a motif borrowed from woven cloth and translated into metal at a scale that suited the decade's appetite for bold, unadorned gold.

At 37 millimeters these cover the lobe generously and make a real statement, yet at 18.5 grams for the pair they stay light and comfortable through a long evening, an unusual combination in earrings this size. Fitted with hinged clip backs and posts. Stamped ITALY with assay mark for 18K gold.