Hoffman Butterfly Wing Screw Back Sterling Silver Earrings

These dainty sterling silver screw back earrings are actually made from butterfly wings!  Yes, making jewelry from insects dates back to ancient times, and butterfly wing jewelry is still made today.  These earrings were made by Hoffman in approximately the 1940s.  Hoffman still manufactures this type of jewelry today that sells in the Amish Country in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Like the earrings featured today, the wing of the butterfly is used to make the vibrant blue background in most butterfly jewelry (sky and ocean above), with an artist reverse painting a foreground on the wing to complete the scene (palm trees and sandy beach above). 

Feel free to contact me if you are interested in purchasing this piece.  Questions, comments, and additional information are always appreciated.  My online shop on http://www.rubylane.com/ is coming soon.

Thank you to the following website(s) for the historical content of this blog post:

Vintage Jewelry Lane. Retrieved 3/15/2011 from http://vintagejewelrylane.com/information/butterflywingjewelry.htm