Crotalia earrings were found in Pompeii and there’s an extant pair from the third century in the British Museum. In addition, they’re seen in a number of Fayum mummy portraits. Altogether, that puts them solidly through most if not all of the Imperial era. I love how versatile they are. The mummy portraits often feature pearls, as did the Pompeii pair. The British Museum pair features pearls as accents to colored stones. This is my process for making basic crotalia earrings.
Start with your bar, cut from sheet. I honestly don’t know, but I think this is 24 or 22 gauge. 22, I’m pretty sure.
Sand the bar’s edges and round the corners slightly. Form 6 2-3mm jump rings, three for each earring.
Solder the jump rings to the bar. I find pick soldering works great for this task.
Solder a straight piece of 20 gauge to the back.
Polish and form your ear wire. Don’t forget to work harden the ear wire.
Add beads! These are styled after the British Museum wrapping technique, but just using pearls as seen in other examples.
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