These beautiful earrings have three layers of shells... The shells are varying shades of shimmery blue and red, and the metal parts are all gold plated surgical steel, so you wont get allergies! These are made from dyed mussel shells, so the front sides of the shells are vibrant, smooth and shiny and the backsides are more muted and natural like a shell (refer to the photo of me holding the earrings as then you can see both the front and the back sides).The approximate length from the base of the earwire to the bottom of the largest shell is 3cm/1.25 inces and the diameter of the largest shell disc is 2 cm/.75 inches. They are simple, elegant, lightweight and make little tinkle sounds as you move!