Are most antique earrings actually Victorian?

No. The two largest date buckets in the archive are the 1950s and the 1960s, and between them they outnumber the Victorian and Edwardian listings. Victorian and Edwardian work is still a strong presence, roughly a fifth to a quarter of the category, and it's where Etruscan revival, cannetille, jet and pique tortoiseshell appear.

What metal turns up most often?

9ct gold, named in around a third of all titles and the single commonest metal statement. It carries the everyday studs and drops. Above and beside it sit 18ct, silver, platinum, 15ct and 14ct. The 18ct, white gold and platinum mounts cluster with the diamond pieces at the top of the range.

Do single earrings ever come up for sale?

Rarely. The category is sold in pairs, and dozens of titles say so outright. One lone Victorian silver acorn drop is offered on its own, which gives some idea of how unusual singles are.

How many earrings are listed each year?

Around 217 pairs a year on Sellingantiques, handled by 54 different dealers. That's one of the broader dealer bases on the site. The full archive runs to over 1,500 listings, with 949 of them carrying a clean year rather than an era label.

Which stones and materials appear beyond diamond?

Diamond is named in over a third of titles, but garnet, amethyst, sapphire, ruby, moonstone, amber and pearl all run through the archive too. Non-precious materials appear in smaller numbers: jet, pique tortoiseshell, bakelite, phenolic, micro mosaic, pinchbeck and plique-a-jour each turn up a handful of times.

What are the odder pieces in the archive?

A pair of Roman gold and garnet drop fishhook earrings dated before 1700 stands alone as the only listing not from the last two and a bit centuries. Turkmen tribal drops from the Merv Oasis appear once, as does a pair in Portuguese 19.2ct gold, a fineness recorded a single time.