As St Patrick's Day is later this month, an emerald feature is definitely a must!

Here are two pairs of emerald tear drop earrings owned by two celebrities with renowned jewelry collections. The emerald drops are surrounded by several diamonds, a design detail shared by both pairs.

The pair on the left was a gift from
Josephine de Beauharnais (1763- 1814) and her husband Napoleon Bonarparte (1769-1821) to their adopted daughter Stephanie de Beauharnais when she married. Set in gold and silver, the earrings with a matching necklace were likely made in 1806 by Nitot & Fils (now Chaumet of Paris), Napoleon's court jewelers.
The pair of earrings on the right belong to Elizabeth Taylor. The earrings were made by Bulgari and were a present from Richard Burton - husband # 5 and 6. There is also a matching necklace. According to her account in her book, the filmset for their movie, Cleopatra was in Rome which was conveniently close to the famous jeweler's shop.

Almost 200 years separate the creation of both pairs of earrings. It goes to show that good design endures.
Celebrities at the recent Oscars also showed a preference for this classic gemstone design. Check out the emerald tear drop earrings worn by Cameron Diaz at http://www.coolcelebs.org/entry/the-emerald-trend/

References

Elizabeth Taylor (2002). Elizabeth Taylor: My Love Affair with Jewelry. Simon and Schuster.

Claire Phillips (2000). Jewels and Jewelry. Watson-Guptill Publications.