Research into the origins of ear cuffs

"When it comes to ear cuffs, Fumiya is the place to go."

This is a sentence I saw on social media from a customer who recently purchased an ear cuff.
I was curious, so I did a search and found an image of Fujii Fumia wearing it on the side of his ear when he was in the Checkers.

The ear cuff was also a gift to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the Checkers' fan club, "Cute Beat Club."
The design was almost the same as the one in the image of Fumiya wearing it, and when I found it on Mercari, I couldn't help but buy it.

AROM. has been making ear cuffs for about 5 or 6 years now.
The opportunity to start making ear cuffs came from seeing many fashionistas wearing them during Milan Fashion Week.
At that time, ear cuffs weren't widely available in Japan yet, so at the POP UP we started by explaining what ear cuffs were.
But in fact, more than 30 years ago, Checkers was synonymous with ear cuffs.
Although I'm from the Checkers generation, I was in elementary school at the time, so I didn't know anything about them.
I was curious about the history of ear cuffs before Fumiya, so I did a little research.

Ear cuffs dating back to 2000 BC

Ear cuffs first appeared in Greece around 2000 BC.
Originally it was called "Kaffa" and was a type that was hooked across the base of the ear.
Taking advantage of the fact that earphones are worn over the entire ear and therefore put less strain on the ear, most of them were large and dramatic in design.
I saw quite a few people wearing this type in Milan, so I made a prototype of this type as well. However, since it has a large surface area that fits over the ear, it feels like you are actually wearing it, so it ended up just being a prototype.

In 18th century Europe, floral motifs were used, making it feminine and gorgeous.
Made from precious stones such as diamonds and sapphires and precious metals, it was an item that symbolized the wealth of the aristocrats.

From Kaffa to Earrite

In the 20th century, French jeweler Marcel Boucher, who immigrated to the United States in the early 1920s, created an item called "Earrite" to meet the needs of elite American women.
The Earrite is designed to hook around the entire ear like the Kaffa, but has a clip that fastens at the earlobe.
In the 1950s, Earrite was hugely popular among fashionistas and socialites, and there are photos of actresses such as Lisa Baron and Marilyn Monroe wearing them.

And the modern shape of ear cuffs

Twenty years later, Earrite was a thing of the past, and a new trend was emerging: wearing ear cuffs as a symbol of strength and rebellion.
In the 1980s, as part of the mixed culture of pop and punk, it began to appear on the runways of fashion designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier.
In the 90s, ear cuffs became very popular as silver accessories, either in simple designs or redesigned with chains or stud motifs.
The Checkers ear cuffs are also thought to be from around this time.

Nowadays, there are many different designs available, from simple designs to designs like Kaffa and Earrite.
With the current trend of wearing masks, many people prefer small designs that are attached to the sides of the ears as they are less likely to get caught when putting on and taking off the mask.

When I looked into the origins of ear cuffs after trying Fumiya's ear cuffs, I made many interesting discoveries.
It's amazing to think that people have been hanging things from their ears for 4000 years.

Check out AROM. 's ear cuff collection here .

*Reference images borrowed from Sophie's Closet