Rare Antique and Estate Jewelry & Fine Collections of Precious Gems

What Are Day and Night Earrings?

by Michael Khordipour January 12, 2017 1 Comment

Ordinarily, when we describe something as “night and day”, it usually means that we’re talking about two things which, for whatever reason, are polar opposites of each other.

With day and night earrings, though, we’re actually talking about a single pair of earrings, and not two entirely different pairs.

When attending an event which runs from daytime into the evening, it’s fairly common for the attendees to change clothes between the two periods. For example, a wedding usually requires one particular dress style for the ceremony itself, but then demand something a little more formal for the evening. The same convention applies with jewelry with earrings, in particular, often being switched to better suit the style of the evening.

For Day and For Night

Buccellati Diamond Earrings

Classic day and night earrings usually consist of 2 separate sections. The top section is designed to be worn at daytime events and then, to avoid the necessity for a complete change of jewelry, a bottom section can be added to transform the earrings into glamorous evening jewelry that is still able to match other items being worn.

Because of the 2-part nature of day and night earrings, the “day” wear is usually quite modest but able to stand as fine jewelry in its own right, and the addition of the bottom, drop, section turns them into striking night wear for the inevitably much fancier evening event.

All day and night earrings are of the drop style, simply due to the manner in which the bottom section is added, and often introduce complementary elements such as colored stones.

The most renowned jewelers in the world, like Harry Winston, recognized the beauty and practicality of day and night earrings, and ensured that they appeared in their collections regularly.

By having such big names willing to invest in day and night territory, it has meant many other jewelers have continued to produce the earrings, right down to home workshop makers.

And or To?

VCA Emerald Drop Earrings
The terms “day and night” and “day-to-night” have become interchangeable as the style has increased in popularity, but they really should be thought of - and described - as two different things.

Day-to-night actually applies to those earrings which are designed to be worn continuously throughout the day/night event, without any additional pieces or sections being added.

True day and night earrings will always have the additional section to be added prior to the evening. As our world, and how we live in it seems to move faster almost every day it is, perhaps, surprising that day and night earrings aren’t actually more popular than they are.

One would imagine that the convenience of simply being able to add a section to those earrings already being worn would appeal for many reasons. Besides the advantage of simple convenience, reducing the risk of loss or damage associated with carrying extra jewelry would also lend itself towards a less-is-more approach.

Changing earrings is likely to mean changing other pieces worn during the day, but day and night drop earrings mean that they style of the added drop is already sympathetic to the top section of the earring.

All in all, though, day and night earrings aren’t just for convenience. The nature of working with two separate sections means designers have to work hard at allowing top section to perform well in its own right, with the bottom drop section then elevating an already beautiful creation into something really quite special indeed.