Guillotine Earrings

These rare vintage guillotine earrings come from a sleeping stock of collectible pendants and we've added gold plated closures to the set. The pendants themselves are gold-plated copper made in the later half of the 20th century. 

One of the most unusual stories to come out of post-revolutionary France must be the bals des victimes, or victim’s balls. Writings and records from the era suggest that an unusual subculture of society balls emerged as orphaned aristocrats began to see the return of their confiscated fortunes. The gatherings are thought to have been organised by relatives of guillotine victims, and only those who had lost a close relative to the guillotine, or narrowly escaped it, could be admitted to exclusive balls. The most coveted invitation in the late 1790’s Paris, France, came with its own set of manners and dress.

To enter, rather than a graceful bow to the host, guests allegedly saluted à la victime, by jerking their heads sharply downwards to imitate the moment of decapitation.

The dress code to these events were quite radical as well. It’s been recorded that women wore red chokers around their necks to symbolize where the blade would have severed the heads of their relatives from their body.

In Paris' Musée de Carnavalet, a pair of antique gold guillotine earrings from post-revolutionary France are on display, which were likely a product of this unlikely fashion subculture.