Stylish rock crystal poissarde earrings c.1820.
Very fine quality 15 carat hoops with a row of rock crystal set in silver cut-down settings. A trefoil drops from the centre of the hoop.
3cms by 2cms. 
These poissardes are English but the design was a French fashion originating from the simple lightweight gold hoops worn by the wives of fisherman who sold the daily catch in the fish markets of Les Halles. The fittings are inserted through the back of the ear and the S-shaped scroll provodes the tension needed for the earrings to hold.