Día de Muertos

Day of the dead skull earrings – handmade and recycled sterling silver shilling coin.

Day of the Dead skull earrings –  Día de Muertos earrings are ancient Aztec celebration amulets handcrafted from old silver coins. I individually hand cut each one and carve using traditional hand tools and age old techniques worthy of such ceremony.   In the same fashion as the festival of the Day of the Dead, I made the earrings joyous rather than mournful figures. This, to me, perfectly reflect the idea of being together forever.

These day of the dead earrings are super difficult to cut and engrave . The space is very small, at only 12 mm diameter working area. The special earrings are handmade from a Victorian shilling silver coin. Coincidently, coin collectors do not value these shillings. This is down to marks and blemishes on the surface. Wear and tear make these coins unwanted – but not to me. I refuse to let these coins be melted down for the silver content. With this in mind, I made it my job to transformed them into something desirable. I create designs and ideas to preserve the coins’ personalities and quirks. I do this in order for the historical are retained, which adds depth, interest and intrigue to the design.

For each one, I individually hand cut, carved and engrave the pair of Calaca’s into the silver shilling.  Each pair is completely unique, contemporary, ethical and beautiful. I present the earrings with a sterling silver ‘off-cut’ which connects them beautifully to their interesting, recycled material history.

Sizes approx : 12mm