Mystery Vintage Clip Earrings Marked 'Zappe' and 'Austria'

[Martha LL M]

Hello! I just recently discovered this site and this is my first post. I'm so excited to find such an amazing resource. I recently bought these clip on earrings but I'm absolutely stumped by them and was wondering if anyone could help. I believe that the carved central stone is carnelian and the black surround and upper stones are both glass. On the back they are marked 'Austria' on the clips and are signed 'Zappe.' I have searched the internet but cannot find anything about what I assume is the maker, Zappe. I've attached some photos which I hope you can view. Has anyone ever come across this name? Any clues would be much appreciated in this ongoing mystery...Thank you! Martha

 

[Linn]

Very pretty earrings. They are hard to date because earrings like this are still available. They could be anywhere from the 1950s when that type of clip was used to the present. Zappe could have been the store where they were sold or a maker - or even the maker of the clip. The red stone could be molded glass or plastic - or Carnelian. The black between the gold tone looks like enamel or maybe black resin or hard plastic rather than glass. You might be able to tell by tapping or doing a "tooth" test. Glass is much cooler than plastic, and the sound is different.

I "flipped" your first photo to show what they would look like on your ears. The rhinestones go on the bottom. Unfortunately my image is a bit distorted:

Not sure if I helped but I like the earrings!