Stunning large Victorian Blonde Bombe Star Earrings.
 
Each drop comprises a large tortoiseshell ball inlaid with gold stars, and a smaller ball set with a single bigger star that holds the gold shepherds hook wire.
 
When the light floods through the earrings  they look like stars floating in liquid caramel!
 
Piqué work is a decorative technique in which tiny points or pins made of gold or silver are laid into a material to form a pattern. In pique jewelry, this is usually tortoise shell from the hawksbill turtle. 
It is also called pique d'or. (when gold is the metal used).
The technique originated in the mid-1600s in Italy and developed in France where it reached its peak in the 17th and 18th centuries and was highly prized.
It was first used to make boxes and other small decorative items, then became widespread in jewelry in the early 19th century, becoming very popular in the Victorian era, particularly in the 1850s-1880s.
 
There are two types of pique work, which were sometimes combined into one piece: 
-piqué point ( also piqué petits et gros points ) , in which tiny metal pins or wires are inserted into the base material to form a complex inlaid pattern . 
-piqué posé , in which small metal pieces fill in an engraved design - this is often either scenic or floral .
 
drop length (from wire) about 44mm
weight - 20g
bottom balls about 22mm diameter
immaculate condition
English circa 1860 - 70