Maple and Ebony Earrings

Handcrafted earrings combining Maple and Ebony — the quietest pairing we make, and the one with the cleanest contrast.

Why these two

Maple is naturally pale with very little figure. Ebony is naturally near-black and very dense. Put them together and you get contrast without noise: no competing grain, no warm tone pulling against a cool one, just light against dark.

That makes this the pairing to choose when the design itself is the point — a star, a bow, a geometric form — and you want nothing in the wood distracting from the shape.

How they are combined

  • Inlay — Ebony set into a Maple ground, where the pale even surface makes a fine black line read at its crispest
  • Separate elements — an Ebony form above a Maple one, joined by a metal ring
  • Joining — strips bonded and shaped as one piece

How they age

Less than any other pairing we make. Maple yellows very slightly over years and Ebony holds almost completely, so a piece looks much the same in five years as it does today.

Styling

  • Black, navy and charcoal: the Maple keeps the piece visible
  • Cream and ivory: the Ebony provides the definition
  • Office and formal wear: the most restrained combination in the catalogue
  • Printed fabric: works better than the warmer pairings, because there is no third colour in play

Common questions

Is the pale wood bleached, or the dark wood stained?
Neither. Maple grows pale and Ebony grows near-black. Nothing here is dyed or treated for colour.

How is this different from Boxwood and Ebony?
Boxwood is warmer — honey gold rather than pale. Maple and Ebony reads cooler and more graphic; Boxwood and Ebony reads warmer and more traditional.