Laurel Burch was a folk artist whose work features bright, vivid colors and evocative, non-realistic depictions of animals, women and elements of nature. As with any commercially successful artist, Burch's work, including her bird and heart earrings, have been reproduced by copycats. Key details can help you distinguish the real thing from the rip-offs.
Instructions
1. Look for the Laurel Burch signature. When you buy earrings, they should be attached to a cardboard paper backing. This paper should bear the Laurel Burch signature. Her signature is in cursive, and you can find comparisons to it on the official Laurel Burch website (see references). The signature should be just above the phrase "Authentic Design."
2. Compare the earrings you want to buy with pictures, prices and descriptions of the same pair on the Laurel Burch official merchandise page (see references) if you are buying from an online vendor. Browse the profiles of some of the Laurel Burch jewelry designs, and see how the pair you want to buy matches up. Knock-offs usually take liberties with the size, weight and materials. Real Laurel Burch "Open Hearts" earrings, for instance, will be made of pewter and antique brass plating with surgical steel posts.
3. Look at the shaping and symmetry. Laurel Burch jewelry designs are often asymmetrical, but the edges of her shapes are smooth. On earrings, the pairs usually face different directions. For instance, one bird will be left-facing and one bird will be right-facing. If you find a pair of two right-facing birds, they are probably not Laurel Burch bird earrings. If you are buying the "Open Hearts" earrings, you'll want to identify a misshapen heart that is large, leaning and overbalanced at the top, with swirls on opposite sides of each earring. If you see earrings that are perfectly-shaped hearts or have swirls on the upper right side of each heart, those are not real Laurel Burch earrings.
