The newest fan-motif earrings leave us feeling very cool
Few motifs in jewelry can rival the handheld fan—which originated in ancient Egypt, India, and China—for sheer elegance and femininity.
And the semicircle motif—in accordion-style-literal and more abstract incarnations—is suddenly popping up everywhere in jewelry: on fashion runways and red carpets, in fine jewelry showrooms, and on hipster e-comm jewelry sites.
Janelle Monáe wore a sparkling pair of Nikos Koulis emerald-studded fan earrings to last weekend’s SAG Awards (Koulis’ current collection uses the splayed fan shape widely), while Natalie Portman donned a pair of vintage Tiffany & Co. fan earrings—platinum with diamonds—for the occasion.
Natalie Portman in vintage Tiffany & Co.
The earrings, in platinum with mixed-cut diamonds, that Portman wore, $50,000; Tiffany & Co.
The accessory, which was all the rage in Europe from the 1500s through the Victorian era, became a staple fine jewelry motif in the 1900s, as seminal designers including Paul Flato and Duke Fulco di Verdura incorporated gem-festooned fans into brooches, earrings, and other items.
Below, some of our favorite newfangled fan designs:
Double-fan earrings with diamonds, $7,875; Anita Ko
Fan earrings in sterling silver with brass, $150; Erin Peachee
Fan earrings in 18k gold with diamonds, $3,430; Ileana Makri
Small fan earrings in 14k gold, $2,120; Kathleen Whitaker
Fan earrings with diamonds and emeralds, $63,100; Silvia Furmanovich
Janelle Monáe in Nikos Koulis emerald fan earrings
(Tiffany & Co. earrings photo courtesy of Tiffany & Co.; Natalie Portman photo courtesy of Tiffany & Co; Janelle Monáe photo courtesy of Instagram/@museshowroom; all product photos courtesy of brands)
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