Nearly any fantasy writer knows someone who cosplays the Lord of the Rings* movies. It may actually be a rule of fandom, I’m not sure. The jewelry, props, and costumes were that damned good. I draw the line at some of the ‘elf ear’ pointy earcuffs, because I’ve only seen a few that were magnificent.
But regular ol’ ear cuffs? Gimme.
These were an experiment this weekend, inspired by some examples I found online. I’m still playing with the exact shape to bend these, to fit my ears, but I’ll get there. They’re really clumsy compared to the ones I’m going to show you on the next Etsy Showcase, fair warning.
Dimensions: 5.25″H x 1.8″W
Materials: .925 sterling silver round wire, .925 sterling silver ballpins, smokey quartz, aquamarine, .925 sterling silver Italian-style quality tag. Aquamarines from a Tucson Rock & Gem Show vendor. Smokey quartz from Beads Galore. Silver wire, ballpins, and tags from Plazko.com.
Finish: oxidized with Win-Ox, then satin stripped with 900-grit wet/dry sandpaper. I’ll probably give them shinier highlights with some oxide buffing.
Time to make: 2.5 hours (ish)
Final cost: to be determined. I rarely sell prototypes, but I have been known to give them away to deserving victims test wearers.
*The new cosplay drug of choice being Game of Thrones, which is a whole other post.
Idle question. Do the Sirrithani wear ear decorations? They have those lovely elegant (and by our standards, large) ears. Which they do no disregard, given the pleasure-potential of their ear fringes.
I’m sure they do, depending on culture. Anyone with more Dana or Round-Ear (humans) body types will certainly have familiar-looking ear jewelry. Anyone more closely related to Sonnaroi probably wouldn’t, because of ear sensitivity. OTOH, for them it might not be any different than other body piercings. Possibly a sensual enhancement.
Physiologically, the shape means that full over-the-ear cuffs like these would be impossible for Sirr. The tendons at the back and top of the ear create a different shape. But the cartilage lobes and that fringe offer lots of possibilities. Knowing that most of these folks love gaudy ornament and wild patterns… I wouldn’t be surprised.