The Beauty of White in Jewelry

Janice's 3 Pearl Clip-on Drop Earrings

The color white represents cleanliness (think a chef's uniform), innocence (a baby lamb), purity (the bride's gown), neutrality, lightness, and exactitude.  In ancient times, it was one of the first colors used by Paleolithic artists and was made from calcite or chalk and used as a background or highlight.  In ancient Egypt white was associated with the goddess Isis. Also, priests and priestesses of Isis wore white linen in ceremonies, and those who died had strips of white cloth wrapped around them. 

Opal Chunks Clip On Earrings

In ancient Greece and other nations white was associated with mother's milk and was written about in mythological stories.  In the Muslim holy book, the Talmud, milk is one of the four sacred substances along with wine, honey, and a rose.  In politics of ancient Rome, if a man wanted to hold a public office, he wore a white toga brightened with chalk called a toga candida (origin for the word candidate.)  A white toga was also worn for ceremonial occasions by all Roman citizens over the age of fourteen. Magistrates and certain priests wore white togas with a broad purple stripe.   Once Augustus became emperor, the white toga became mandatory to wear in order to enter the Roman forum.

Granulated & White Enamel Clip on Oval Earrings

White also became the color worn by priests during mass and monks of the Cistercian order under Pope Pius, a former monk of the Dominican Order. He was the first to wear white as Pope and it continues to be the official color worn by popes.  The color white has other religions associations too. The white elephant is considered sacred in Asian cultures.  In Buddhism white is associated with the birth of Buddha.  Native Americans of the Great Plains considered the white buffalo sacred as it represented fertility and the gods of the earth.   White also has a negative connotation. In some Asian cultures, it is a symbol of death. In the Ancient Egyptians, culture white was considered the color of life when black mud covered fertile lands created any time the Nile flooded.  

Today much of the same symbolic associations are still present today.  A majority of brides still wear white gowns. In home, design white makes a room look lighter and larger in appearance. White is also considered a calming color. In the fashion, world white is used extensively and often paired with other colors like black for major contrast.

Pearl Grape Cluster Earrings with White Pearl Lacy Ring

These are just a small sample of the numerous clip on earrings that feature white alone or as an accent. Cliptomania has a dedicated section for white earrings as well as many scattered in other sections.  If white is not the only color you like, there are countless other colors among the 500+  non-pierced earrings you can check out when you visit the top site for clip on earrings, Cliptomania.com!

Meet the Designer: Jan Michaels

Ovalicious Genuine Pearl Clip-on Drop Earrings

One of cliptomania’s newest designers is Jan Michaels whom I met at the NYNow show a few years back.    She is a San Francisco native and metalsmither who over a course of a 25 year career has designed and created clip earrings, bracelets, necklaces and other jewelry accessories.  They all have a touch of antiquity, dashes of current styles and some pieces have a futuristic feel.  

Jan Michaels personally designs all her pieces and will also make the first piece herself by hand. She also works with a group of skilled crafts women who assemble the parts of her jewelry into finished products.  Ms. Michaels feels that although the rest of the jewelry field believes in mass production, she prefers like a few other artisans, that there is nothing like making jewelry by hand because unlike machines an artisan and crafts person cares about what he or she makes.

Ms. Michael’s technique is to take brass in its natural state and give it a golden, burnished luster through an antique process that allows the brass to age, thus developing a wonderful patina.  If it loses its luster, a little rubbing with a cloth will bring back the shine, which fares better than the less environmentally safe electroplating done with metals and a chemical bath.


Ms. Michael’s or one of her crafts women then takes the finished parts and manually combines them with a hand-operated riveting machine then will finish it with semi-precious or natural stones.  These include carnelian, jade, onyx, jade, fire agate, Botswana agate, and many more gemstones.  As well as beads, freshwater pearls, fossilized stones and other items she has collected over the decades.

In many ways Jan Michael’s jewelry collections reflects her personality in the colors she likes, the moods she has, the styles she wears as well as paying homage to past artistry and civilizations Persian, Indian, Roman, Byzantine, Egyptian, Arabian, Chinese, and Celtic.Lastly like the environmentally friendly atmosphere in her shop, Jan Michaels is also supportive of various worthwhile organizations like Sea Turtle Restoration Project, Environmental Defense and others.

I am glad to have met this wonderful designer and a clip earring wearer herself.  Jan Michael’s designs are truly one-of-a-kind and will fit well in our Tomorrow’s Heirloom section with other designers like Michal Golan, Lori Bonn, Katherine Kornblau and others.  See their earrings on the Cliptomania.com website.