Wander & Company (American, 1921–1980s), Earrings, circa 1966, gold, diamonds

Audio Description

Made by American jewelry house Wander & Company, these earrings were designed and manufactured around 1966. Wander & Company was manufacturing jewelry beginning in 1921 and into the 1980s.

These clip-on earrings are large in scale. A triangular shape with rounded points fits on the ear. Wires extend downward and attach to three teardrop shapes that form the dangles. Each of these shapes has raised, concentric lines and the centers are embellished with very small diamonds laid side by side.

Label Copy

Made by American jewelry house Wander & Company, these earrings were designed and manufactured around 1966. Wander & Company was manufacturing jewelry beginning in 1921 and into the 1980s.

First founded in 1921 as Levy-Wander, Inc., the firm’s offerings in the 1960s and ‘70s were both typical of the times and innovative. In the late 1950s, advertisements touted their work as heirlooms, but by the early 1960s, fashion magazines publicized the company’s Art in Jewels, Inspiration: Space, and Futurist collections. These abstract designs were an attempt by Wander & Company to capture a younger audience and a more adventurous older one.

Fred Wander, son of one of the original owners, wanted to offer artistic jewelry with bold abstract designs, mixing precious and semi-precious gems to create work that was not simply an investment for their clientele. These large-scale earrings are an example of Wander’s experimentation and exaggerated forms. Fabricated from textured and polished gold and set with pavé diamonds at the center of each oblong shape, they are a girandole style—a pendant earring with three dangling elements—with a modern touch.

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