Earrings, about 1870

These earrings are quite typical gold metal and black enamel earrings dating from about 1870.This gold metal and black enamel decoration is quite popular 1870-1890.However, the decoration on the plaques appears to be from the late 1860s or early 1870s and the length of the earrings indicates a date of the 1870.By the 1880s earrings had become shorter to prevent them from becoming entangled in lacy collars; these are too long to date from the 1880s.