Caroline's Jewelry with a Past is offering a pair of Ed Wiener handmade sterling silver earrings c. 1950. The earrings feature a teardrop shaped base that is slightly concave with light oxidation. The centerpiece is a slightly baroque shaped cultured white pearl. The pearl, sitting in the middle of the teardrop, is 5.2mm and has a pale pink body color. The earrings are 15/16" long X 1/2" wide. They have screw back fixtures are marked marked "Ed Wiener". The fixtures are marked "Sterling" and overall the earrings weigh 5.3 grams.

Ed Wiener (1918-1991) was a leader in the Abstract Expressionist or modernist art jewelry movement which sprung up in several urban areas in the 1940’s. He was a native New Yorker and his shops were located in Greenwich Village, although for a time he also had a shop in Provincetown, Rhode Island. His early jewelry was somewhat primitive looking, since he was largely self-taught. As his capabilities became refined, his pieces became more artistic and he moved from silver jewelry to pieces of gold with precious gems in the late 1950’s. The majority of his work is in silver. His jewelry combines Bauhaus style and Abstract Expressionism. Ed Wiener’s goal throughout his career was to create art, rather than focus on the material value of the jewelry. His jewelry offered style rather than merely abstractionism for its own sake.

The silver content of this piece has been tested using standard accepted testing methods, such as acid testing. The silver backs are marked "Sterling".

When you own vintage handmade jewelry, you wear a design that is unique and represents the artist's vision. It is made by a skilled craftsman and can have features which are only found in this piece. The jewelry may exhibit the marks of the craftsman. It will not be perfect. The jewelry shows age appropriate tarnish.