S925 Silver Tibetan Two Deer Earrings

The two deer on the roof look like two small dots from a distance. Close up you see they are lying down, heads slightly raised. Deer Park is where the Buddha first turned the wheel of the law, and its emblem is a wheel with a deer on either side, listening. The combination later became the standard on Tibetan monastery roofs: a golden wheel at the centre and two deer flanking it. The deer are not ornament. They are a diagram of that sentence.

As earrings, only the head and neck are taken. The antlers branch backwards and the number of points has to stay low; too many and at this size they blur into a small thicket. The ears must stand up, because a drooping ear turns the animal into a sheep. Leave the eye slightly raised so that light catches it and it comes alive. Keep the bright surface for the bridge of the nose and the forehead, and darken the neck, so that there is depth from front to back. The two deer must be symmetrical; one antler off and the pair looks wrong when you see them side by side on the ear. The line of the nose has to be straight. Bend it and the deer loses the bone structure that makes it a deer.

The first consideration with any earring is weight. An earlobe cannot carry a large piece. Half a day and it drags, and over the years the hole stretches. This one is kept within what a lobe will take: close to the ear, not hanging, so it does not strike the jaw when you turn your head. Both earrings must weigh the same; one heavier than the other and the neck begins to tilt after a long walk. The post has to suit the hole: too thin and it cuts, too thick and it will not go through. Test the clutch as well, because a loose one is gone within two steps.

It does not mind the occasion. With the hair up it shows completely, with the hair down only half, and each has its own look. Plain clothing is safest, since the deer's lines are fine and a busy print fights with them. Wearing one alone also works, leaving the other ear bare, except that the weight is then uneven and one side swings more as you walk.

Silver earrings dislike water. Take them off before showering and dry the post before putting it back, and the hole is less likely to become inflamed. Wipe with a soft cloth when the silver dims, and do not bend the post; once the curve changes it will not sit comfortably. The tips of the antlers are fine, so store the pair separately rather than piling them into a compartment with other earrings, where antlers catch chains. Posts bend with use. Do not force them straight; have a jeweller replace one. The rubber washers on the clutches perish with time, and changing them once a year is cheaper than losing an earring.