OK, here's the info from p. 83 of Cathy Gordon & Sheila Pamfiloff's "Miriam Haskell Jewelry":
"An interesting and unique earring style was custom-made for Mrs. Mann of Seattle beginning in the 50s. She loved large shoulder-duster earrings, but standard flat-back clips were not capable of supporting their weight. Haskell added a metal wire, in addition to the flat-back clip, which hooked over the top of Mrs. Mann's ear. These earrings were made from the 1950s to the 1980s, but are rarely found."
So there you have it--it wasn't Mrs. Mann's earlobes that couldn't handle the weight, it was the earring back!
