Featured Where are these earrings from? And the stone?

They test as .925 silver but have gilt finish. The sideways mark on the clip backs is a large "n" with "a2" inside. I'm thinking Israel and eilat stone but my researchers brain is a bit fuzzy today. I've seen the mark called Belgium and Austria but I doubt both are even close.

Appreciate your insights!

 

Belgium has an A2 silver grade mark, and Austria has an A2 town mark. Both are completely different from this mark... So, sellers that didn't see the N, and used Google/AI info without any additional check?

 

I like them, very nice overall design and beautiful stones. The filigree isn't as precise as European filigree generally is, so I would rule out Europe.

Makes sense, but I'm not entirely sure.

 

I think they're Israeli metal with Ethiopian-import "Eilat". The real thing is played out, so they've been importing something similar from Ethiopia for a while. That's what this looks like.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I don't think these are recent and the DO test as sterling. I agree that those who gave misattributions weren't doing much research and probably just expected Google AI to do it for them! (Cited from: https://www.antiquers.com/threads/where-are-these-earrings-from-and-the-stone.93237/)

 

https://www.silver-collector.com/t/israel-silver-identification/21523
"The use of the Hebrew letter 'Mem’or מ with a number in the center can be traced back to its use as a confirmation that the fees imposed, at the time, had been paid. Located within the letter Mem would be a number. The number that is found within the center of the letter was believed to represent the identification number of the tax collector, as it is likely that tax may have been imposed on the item if it were to be exported. Further research revealed that numbers repeatedly found on items originating from one source may indicate that an individual number was assigned to a specific gold or silversmith, jewelry maker, or retailer. No matter to which they were assigned these marks would still indicate that appropriate fees were been paid. Mem marks have been observed on items manufactured circa mid-20th century. Examples of numbers seen within the Mem letter have been; 8,16,25,30,31,32,83, but it is likely there are others. There has also been the occasional alphanumeric combination seen as well. It is to noted that the actual mark can look distinctly different from one example to the next. This would seem to indicate that the punches may have been create individually for each entity assigned a number. To date no list defining the numbers, their corresponding agent or region has been discovered."

 

Fantastic! So VERY helpful! I'm pleased to find out my Israel guess was correct. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

 

Ditto. For one, clips are rarely made nowadays. I never see them on recent earrings.

 

I think an American company called Monet still makes some, but I couldn't swear to it. No idea if anyone else makes them in Europe. Maybe Dior?

 

Dior currently has mostly studs, some Euro leverbacks. No clips.